Stress & Coping MCAT Practice Question
A 23-year-old female medical student presents to the student health clinic reporting 3 months of tension headaches, insomnia, and difficulty concentrating. She attributes her distress to the rigorous demands of her anatomy course and upcoming board exams. Upon further discussion, she describes joining a study group to better understand difficult material, exercising 4 times weekly, and regularly talking with friends about her academic pressures. She reports that these activities have helped her feel more confident in her knowledge and less overwhelmed by her circumstances. Which of the following coping mechanisms best explains her improved sense of control and reduced stress?
Answer choices
- AAvoidant coping through distraction and denial of academic challenges
- BProblem-focused coping addressing the stressor directly and emotion-focused coping managing the emotional responseCorrect answer
- CStress inoculation training progressively exposing herself to manageable levels of stress
- DCognitive reappraisal by reinterpreting her symptoms as normal and unimportant
- ESublimation channeling stress into academic achievement without emotional processing
- FSocial comparison reducing stress by identifying peers performing worse academically
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