Nostalgia: Retreat or Support in Difficult Times?

Author(s): Krystine Irene Batcho

Source: The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 126, No. 3 (Fall 2013), pp. 355-367
Published by: University of Illinois Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.3.0355
Accessed: 02-05-2017 09:53 UTC

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 Nostalgia: Retreat or Support
in Difficult Times?
KRYSTINE IRENE BATCHO
Le Moyne College

The relationship between nostalgia and coping during difficult times was explored in 2 empiri-
cal studies. In the first, 80 undergraduates, 60 women and 20 men, completed the Nostalgia
Inventory, a measure of nostalgia proneness, the COPE Inventory, a dispositional measure of
strategies for coping with stressful events, and the Childhood Survey, a survey of impressions of
childhood experiences. Nostalgia proneness correlated with use of adaptive coping, including
emotional social support, expressing emotions, turning to religion, and suppressing competing
activities, and did not correlate with escapist or avoidance strategies, including denial, behav-
ioral disengagement, and substance abuse. Nostalgia proneness was related positively to favor-
able emotional and behavioral childhood experiences and did not correlate with adverse experi-
ences. Favorable impressions of childhood correlated positively with adaptive coping strategies
and inversely with dysfunctional ones, whereas unfavorable childhood experiences correlated
positively with dysfunctional coping. Regression analyses suggested that the relationship be-
tween nostalgia proneness and certain coping strategies may be mediated in part by childhood
experiences. In a second study, 100 undergraduates, 86 women and 14 men, completed the
Nostalgia Inventory, recalled autobiographical memories that illustrated how childhood is either
special or similar to their present life, and rated their likely use of strategies in dealing with 2
hypothetical problems. Nostalgia proneness correlated with emotional and instrumental social
coping and with the goal-directed strategies of planning, taking action, and positive reframing.
Further research is recommended to explore the role of childhood memories in coping and to
identify mechanisms that mediate the relationship between nostalgia and coping.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1860/1983, p. 978) observed (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999), depression (Pluck et al.,
that in every crisis the greatest consolation, derived 2008), prolonged distress, and discontinuity (Hol-
from the transitoriness of all things, is the realization man & Silver, 1998).
that “this, too, will pass away.” Appreciating the tran- A positive time perspective on the past has been
sience of things may be facilitated by positive reflec- shown to correlate with nostalgia for one’s past (Ba-
tion on one’s past. A favorable perspective on the past tcho, Nave, & DaRin, 2011). However, nostalgia has
has been associated with greater personal continuity had a longstanding reputation as a maladaptive pre-
and social support (Hamilton, Kives, Micevski, & occupation with the past, stemming from its origins
Grace, 2003; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999), and an aver- as a medical and then a psychiatric term denoting a
sive view of the past has been associated with less debilitating disorder (Griesinger, 1867/1965; Hofer,
satisfaction with relationships and life, poor planning 1688/1934; Jackson, 1986; Rosen, 1975; Tuke, 1892).

American Journal of Psychology

Fall 2013, Vol. 126, No. 3 pp. 355–367 • © 2013 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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 Theorists have argued that nostalgia represents an Greater social connectedness suggests that in
inability to accept the loss of the past (Kaplan, 1987; difficult times feeling nostalgic can promote personal
Werman, 1977) and an inability to move forward, to growth rather than a counterproductive preoccupa-
appreciate life in the present, or to confront reality, tion with the past (Wildschut et al., 2010). Nostalgic
problems, and conflicts realistically (Bassin, 1993; reminiscence has been shown to help people with de-
Hart et al., 2011; Iyer & Jetten, 2011; Koneke, 2010; mentia remain connected to others (Mills & Coleman,
Nikelly, 2004). In a clinical context, Zinchenko (2011) 1994). Nostalgia-prone college students preferred
argued that a malignant form of nostalgia engaged song lyrics focused on others and found them more
recent refugees in repetitive reconstructions of bit- meaningful and relevant than did less nostalgia-prone
tersweet memories rather than in the creative recon- students (Batcho, DaRin, Nave, & Yaworsky, 2008),
struction of past experiences. These involuntary and nostalgia-prone people expressed greater em-
reminiscences interfered with adaptation to their phasis on others in their autobiographical memories
present reality and threatened their psychological (Batcho, 1998). Nostalgia has been shown to occur in
well-being. response to loneliness (Wildschut, Sedikides, Arndt,
The consequences of nostalgia may depend on & Routledge, 2006) and to serve a restorative function
personality characteristics. Nostalgia has been asso- by increasing perceived social support during loneli-
ciated with traits that inhibit healthy coping such as ness (Zhou, Sedikides, Wildschut, & Gao, 2008).
neuroticism and neuroexcitability for sadness (Bar- Although such beneficial functions of nostalgia
rett et al., 2010; Koneke, 2010). For people high in nar- are well documented, whether nostalgia is associated
cissism, nostalgic recollections were accompanied by with adaptive or maladaptive coping has not yet been
self-positivity but not social connectedness (Hart et adequately examined. The present article reports the
al., 2011). The benefits of nostalgia might depend also findings of two empirical studies that explore the re-
on the extent to which a person believes it is possible lationship of nostalgia to coping strategies. Healthy
to maintain identity continuity in a time of change coping strategies result in greater growth after ad-
(Iyer & Jetten, 2011) and the degree to which others versity when people have high levels of pre-event re-
are perceived as available or responsive (Wildschut, sources such as social support and emotional bonds
Sedikides, Routledge, Arndt, & Cordaro, 2010). with loved ones (Armeli, Gunthert, & Cohen, 2001;
On the other hand, considerable evidence sup- DeRoma et al., 2003; Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh,
ports the role of nostalgia in an enhanced sense of self & Larkin, 2003; Joseph et al., 2005; Linley & Jo-
and social connectedness. Motivating the rehearsal of seph, 2004; Parappully, Rosenbaum, van den Daele,
past experiences, nostalgic yearning may promote the & Nzewi, 2002). Their more positive attitude toward
sense of ownership of thoughts, actions, and feelings the past suggests that nostalgia-prone people have en-
across time and change (Frederick, 2003; Robins, joyed more favorable emotional and social experienc-
Noftle, Trzesniewski, & Roberts, 2005; Sedikides, es earlier in their lives. The first study reported here
Wildschut, Gaertner, Routledge, & Arndt, 2008). focuses on impressions of the quality of childhood
Cavanaugh (1989, p. 603) proposed that nostalgic experiences. The relationship between nostalgia and
reminiscence sustains identity by serving as “the pri- continuity suggests that nostalgia-prone people are
mary means by which one maintains relationships more likely to reflect on their past and its relation to
with old parts of the self and by which one measures their present identity. Such reflection may provide
personal change over time.” Nostalgic reminiscence the consolation that comes from appreciation of the
increased as Holocaust survivors coped with the transience of time and circumstance, and it may bring
trauma they had suffered (Hertz, 1990), supported to mind adaptive coping options learned during a
identity continuity in the face of relocation (Milli- favorable past. Greater social connectedness among
gan, 2003; Sedikides, Wildschut, Routledge, Arndt, nostalgia-prone people suggests that they might be
& Zhou, 2009), and mitigated the threat posed by the more likely to identify social strategies for dealing
awareness of the inevitability of death (Juhl, Rout- with stressful situations.
ledge, Arndt, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2010; Rout- Does nostalgic longing for the past facilitate adap-
ledge, Arndt, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2008). tive coping or inhibit growth by entrenching a per-

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son in an inability to leave the past behind? Theories COPING.
that conceptualize nostalgia as a maladaptive preoc- The COPE Inventory was administered to assess
cupation with the past predict greater reliance on dispositional ways of responding to stress (Carver,
counterproductive coping strategies such as denial, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Respondents rate how
disengagement, or escape via substance abuse. Theo- often they do or feel each response when they experi-
ries and research that support a constructive role for ence stressful events on a 4-point scale (1 = I usually
nostalgia in maintaining identity continuity and so- don’t do this at all, 4 = I usually do this a lot). Relevant
to this study, four COPE scales assess adaptive use of
cial connectedness predict that nostalgia proneness
social and emotional resources: Instrumental social
will be associated with more favorable impressions of
support refers to seeking advice, assistance, or infor-
childhood and greater reliance on adaptive social and mation from others; emotional social support refers
emotional coping strategies such as seeking social to receiving moral support, sympathy, or understand-
support, planning, and positive reframing of adverse ing; venting is focusing on and expressing emotions;
events or circumstances. and turning to religion refers to finding comfort in
God and one’s religion. Two scales assess problem-
STUDY 1 directed strategies: Suppression of competing activi-
ties involves trying to avoid becoming distracted by
METHOD other events, and planning refers to thinking about
how to handle a problem. In addition, growth refers
Participants to construing a problem in positive terms. Three
Given that nostalgia has been found to be particularly strategies are regarded as dysfunctional or ineffective:
strong in young adults (Batcho, 1995; Koneke, 2010), Denial, which refers to acting as though the problem
undergraduate students were recruited for this study. is not real; behavioral disengagement, which refers to
A sample of 80 undergraduates, 60 women and 20 activities that reduce efforts to deal with the situation;
men, ranging in age from 18 to 38 years (M = 19.5, and substance abuse to avoid the problem. Strategies
SD = 4.23), completed the study. that can be productive in some circumstances but
not in others include restraint, or waiting for an op-
Materials and Procedure portunity to act, and acceptance, that is, recognizing
Every participant individually completed the Nostal- the reality of a situation.
gia Inventory, the COPE Inventory, and the Child-
CHILDHOOD SURVEY.
hood Survey. The order of completion of the mate-
The perceived quality of childhood was assessed
rials was counterbalanced across participants. Data
with the Childhood Survey, a retrospective survey
were collected in a classroom setting with privacy and
of a range of favorable and unfavorable experiences
confidentiality assured in an informed consent form.
(Batcho et al., 2011). A set of 32 items describe 16
NOSTALGIA . favorable and 16 unfavorable behaviors experienced
Participants completed Batcho’s Nostalgia Inventory by the respondent when a child. Favorable items
(2007) as a measure of nostalgia proneness. Consistent include eight social events such as parties or fam-
with Stern’s (1992) definition of personal nostalgia as ily traditions and eight solitary experiences such
the longing for one’s remembered past, Batcho’s (1995, as playing alone or engaging in creative activities.
1998) inventory instructs respondents to rate the ex- Sixteen unfavorable items include eight social expe-
tent to which they miss each of 20 items from when riences such as being rejected or bullied and eight
they were younger on a 9-point scale (1 = not at all, solitary experiences such as self-abuse or academic
9 = very much). Items include conceptual aspects such difficulty. Respondents rate the frequency or extent
as “not knowing sad or evil things” and more concrete of each aspect on a 5-point scale (1 = never, 5 = daily
aspects such as “someone you loved.” The inventory is or greatly). A second set of 16 items with clear emo-
reported to have a split-half reliability of .78 and 1-week tional phrasing includes eight items denoting posi-
test–retest reliability of .84 (Batcho, 1995), an accept- tive experiences such as feeling loved by parents and
able level of internal consistency of .86 as measured by eight items describing negative experiences such as
Cronbach’s alpha (Batcho, DaRin, Nave, & Yaworsky, being afraid of someone. Half of the positive and
2008), and test–retest reliability of .82 over a 4-week negative experiences are solitary, and half reflect a
interval (Batcho et al., 2011). social context. Affective items are rated on a 9-point

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 scale (1 = rarely or not very much, 9 = very often or Childhood Happiness and Coping Strategies
very much). Each of the Childhood Survey scales The relationship of the remembered quality of child-
is reported to have acceptable internal consistency, hood to coping strategies was explored by examining
with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .65 for the correlations between the Childhood Survey ratings
positive behavioral items, .75 for the negative be- and mean scores on the COPE scales (Table 1). Fa-
havioral items, .70 for the positive affective items,
vorable impressions of childhood were correlated
and .85 for the negative affective items. Test–retest
reliability over a 4-week interval has been reported significantly with adaptive coping strategies. Both
as .84 for the positive behavioral score, .86 for the social and solitary pleasant childhood emotions
negative behavioral, .73 for the positive affective, correlated with the adaptive cognitive strategies
and .80 for the negative affective score (Batcho et of planning and suppression of competing activi-
al., 2011). ties. Whereas pleasant social emotions correlated
positively with instrumental social support and turn-
RESULTS ing to religion and inversely with substance abuse,
pleasant solitary emotions correlated positively with
Theories that conceptualize nostalgia as adaptive sug- restraint and inversely with expressing emotions.
gest that nostalgia-prone people enjoy resources that Both social and solitary unfavorable childhood
contribute to psychological benefits during difficult emotions correlated with substance abuse and with
times. The extent to which such resources include acceptance. In addition to substance abuse and ac-
favorable impressions of their childhood and adaptive ceptance, unpleasant social emotions correlated also
coping skills was explored by examining the relation- with the nonproductive strategies of denial and be-
ship of nostalgia proneness to childhood experiences havioral disengagement.
and coping strategies. Childhood behavioral experiences also reveal a
pattern of adaptive coping strategies related to favor-
Nostalgia Proneness and Childhood Experiences able impressions and dysfunctional strategies related
The relationship of nostalgia proneness to the re- to unfavorable impressions (Table 2). Social favor-
membered quality of childhood was explored by able experiences correlated positively with emotional
examining correlations between ratings on the Nos- and instrumental social support and inversely with
talgia Inventory and the average ratings for each of substance abuse and denial. Solitary favorable experi-
eight groups of Childhood Survey items: favorable ences correlated positively with growth and accep-
social and solitary and unfavorable social and solitary tance and inversely with behavioral disengagement.
affective items, and favorable social and solitary and Social adverse experiences correlated positively with
unfavorable social and solitary behavioral items. As substance abuse and behavioral disengagement. Soli-
predicted by theories linking nostalgia to favorable tary adverse experiences correlated positively with
impressions of childhood, nostalgia proneness was substance abuse and inversely with emotional social
correlated positively with higher ratings of the favor- support, restraint, and planning.
able affective and social behavioral dimensions of
childhood. Mean ratings on the Nostalgia Inventory Nostalgia Proneness and Coping Strategies
correlated positively with mean ratings for the social The relationship between nostalgia proneness and
favorable emotional, r(79) = .32, p < .003; solitary coping strategies was explored in correlational
favorable emotional, r(79) = .27, p < .01; and social analyses. The mean ratings from the Nostalgia In-
favorable behavioral, r(79) = .28, p < .01, Childhood ventory were correlated with mean ratings for each
Survey items. The absence of correlation between of the COPE Inventory scales. Nostalgia proneness
nostalgia ratings and solitary favorable behavioral correlated significantly with four adaptive strate-
childhood items, r(79) = .03, p > .05, is consistent gies and did not correlate with reliance on any of
with research supporting the strong social con- the dysfunctional strategies. The degree of nostalgia
nectedness of nostalgia-prone people. As expected, proneness correlated significantly with two COPE
nostalgia ratings did not correlate with unfavorable scales associated with strengthened social support:
childhood experiences. seeking emotional social support, r(79) = .23, p < .04,

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TABLE 1. Correlations Between Coping Strategies and Childhood Affect, Study 1 (N = 80)

Positive affect Negative affect

COPE strategy Social Solitary Social Solitary

Emotional social support .190 .026 –.107 –.064

Instrumental social support .244* .165 –.199 –.012
Venting emotions –.121 –.220* .182 .118
Turning to religion .254* .146 –.122 –.049
Suppress competing .238* .240* –.094 –.020
Planning .225* .221* –.128 –.005
Growth .097 .188 –.039 .061
Restraint .206 .259* –.196 –.126
Acceptance –.108 .004 .251* .297**
Denial –.144 –.050 .325** .211
Behavioral disengagement –.166 –.191 .281* .153
Substance abuse –.419*** –.132 .311** .251*
Note. Childhood affect was rated on a 9-point scale (1= rarely/not very much, 9 = very often/very much). Respondents rated how often they do
or feel each COPE item when they face stressful events on a 4-point scale (1 = I usually don’t do this at all, 4 = I usually do this a lot).
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

TABLE 2. Correlations Between Coping Strategies and Childhood Behavioral Experiences, Study 1 (N = 80)

Positive behaviors Negative behaviors

COPE strategy Social Solitary Social Solitary

Emotional social support .302** –.067 –.144 –.278*

Instrumental social support .257* –.012 –.211 –.219
Venting emotions –.003 –.161 .133 –.015
Turning to religion .172 .076 –.169 –.114
Suppress competing .150 .004 –.164 –.210
Planning .103 .116 –.112 –.244*
Growth .001 .222* –.103 –.037
Restraint .110 –.023 –.080 –.247*
Acceptance –.119 .238* .123 .172
Denial –.228* –.138 .104 .154
Behavioral disengagement –.142 –.263* .240* .100
Substance abuse –.335** –.102 .340** .324**
Note. Childhood experience was rated on a 5-point scale (1 = never, 5 = daily or greatly). On the COPE, respondents rated how often they do or
feel each item when they experience stressful events on a 4-point scale (1 = I usually don’t do this at all, 4 = I usually do this a lot).
*p < .05. **p < .01.

NOSTALGIA IN DIFFICULT TIMES • 359

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 and expressing emotions, r(79) = .255, p < .02. Nos- tailed p = .46. Marginal support for favorable social
talgia proneness correlated also with suppression of childhood behavioral experiences as a mediator of
competing activities, r(79) = .24, p < .03, and turning the relationship of nostalgia proneness to coping by
to religion, r(79) = .25, p < .03. Results were inconsis- seeking emotional social support indicates the need
tent with theories that conceptualize nostalgia as an for further research to examine such a possibility.
unhealthy preoccupation with the past that inhibits Similarly, the relationship between nostalgia
realistic problem solving and encourages avoidance proneness and coping by expressing emotions was
or escapist behaviors or processes. Inconsistent explored in a linear regression analysis with emo-
with theories of nostalgia as an unhealthy inability tional expression the dependent variable and nos-
to confront problems realistically, nostalgia proneness talgia proneness the independent variable. Nostalgia
did not correlate with escapist or avoidance strate- proneness significantly predicted expressing emo-
gies, including denial, r(79) = .025, p = .83; behav- tions, β = .255, SE = .075, t = 2.33, p < .022. The
ioral disengagement, r(79) = .07, p = .51; substance addition of the eight Childhood Survey scale mean
abuse, r(79) = –.11, p = .35; and restraint, r(79) = .186, ratings yielded a significant model, F(9, 70) = 2.49,
p = .098. p < .016, adjusted R 2 = .145, in which nostalgia
The possibility that the correlation between proneness remained significant, β = .35, SE = .083,
nostalgia proneness and use of particular coping t = 2.88, p < .005. Two childhood emotional expe-
strategies is mediated by the advantage of favorable rience scales also predicted coping by expressing
childhood experiences was explored in linear regres- emotions. Unfavorable social emotional childhood
sion analyses. Given that nostalgia-prone participants experiences positively predicted emotional expres-
reported greater reliance on emotional social sup- sion, β = .357, SE = .079, t = 2.04, p < .045, and
port, as well as more favorable childhood emotional favorable solitary emotional experiences yielded a
and social behavioral experiences, a linear regression significant inverse association with expressing emo-
analysis was conducted to determine the extent to tions, β = –.284, SE = .098, t = –2.01, p < .048. Sobel
which learning from or recalling more favorable child- test analyses yielded no support for mediation effects
hood experiences might contribute to their greater of favorable solitary emotional experiences, Sobel
use of emotional social support. By itself, nostalgia statistic = –1.578, two-tailed p = .114, or unfavorable
proneness significantly predicted reliance on emo- social emotional experiences, Sobel statistic = 0.18,
tional social support, β = .230, SE = .077, t = 2.08, two-tailed p = .857.
p < .04. The addition of mean ratings from the eight In a similar regression analysis, nostalgia prone-
Childhood Survey scales as predictors resulted in a ness significantly predicted coping by suppressing
significant model, F(9, 70) = 2.43, p < .018, adjusted competing activities, β = .241, SE = .052, t = 2.19,
R2 = .14, but a nonsignificant association between p < .031. The addition of the eight childhood vari-
nostalgia proneness and emotional social support, ables did not yield a significant model, F(9, 70) = 1.37,
β = .127, SE = .086, t = 1.04, p = .30. Two Childhood p = .217, and no further analyses were conducted. In
Survey scales significantly predicted coping via emo- a corresponding analysis, nostalgia proneness sig-
tional social support. Favorable social behavioral nificantly predicted coping by turning to religion,
events positively predicted emotional social support, β = .249, SE = .092, t = 2.27, p < .026, but a signifi-
β = .427, SE = .255, t = 2.71, p < .008, and unfavorable cant model did not emerge with the addition of the
solitary behavioral events negatively predicted emo- childhood variables, F(9, 70) = 1.09, p = .381.
tional social support, β = –.353, SE = .293, t = –2.40,
p < .019. The Sobel test statistic for the effect of fa- STUDY 2
vorable social behavioral events (1.92) reached the The results of Study 1 were consistent with theories
one-tailed significance level, p < .027, but only mar- that emphasize emotional and social benefits associ-
ginally met the two-tailed significance level, p = .054. ated with nostalgia proneness and yielded no sup-
No support emerged for mediation by unfavorable port for theories that profile nostalgia as maladaptive.
solitary behavioral experiences, with a nonsignifi- Nostalgia proneness was associated with the adap-
cant Sobel statistic = 0.74, one-tailed p = .23, two- tive coping strategies of suppression of competing

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activities and turning to religion and two strategies that childhood isn’t as special a time in life that some
associated with strengthened social support—seeking people think it is. In the space below, please describe
emotional social support and expressing emotions— memories of your own childhood that show how your
and was not related to counterproductive coping via life then was pretty similar to your life now.” In both
conditions, respondents rated how nostalgic they felt
denial, disengagement, or substance abuse. In Study
after the recall task on a 9-point scale (1 = not at all,
1, nostalgia proneness and coping strategies were
9 = very much) according to the instruction, “Right
assessed as dispositional or trait variables. Study 2 now, how nostalgic do you feel—in other words, to
was designed to examine more directly the extent what extent do you miss aspects of your past?”
to which nostalgia is associated with helpful ways of After the state nostalgia rating, respondents con-
coping with difficult situations. In addition to assess- sidered two hypothetical problems. One posed an
ing nostalgia proneness as a dispositional trait, nostal- adverse social situation with the instruction, “Imag-
gia as an induced state was manipulated with an auto- ine that one of your close friends is telling lies about
biographical recall task that solicited either nostalgic you that can cause serious trouble for you.” The
or neutral memories. Participants were asked to rate other scenario directed, “Imagine that you are fac-
the extent to which they would use specific coping ing a serious financial problem.” For each problem,
techniques in dealing with each of two hypothetical participants used a 9-point scale to rate the extent
to which they would probably engage in each of 16
situations. One situation involved an interpersonal
options (1 = not at all, 9 = very much/often). The op-
problem, and the other posed a personal financial
tions were adapted from the statements that make up
concern. Given that nostalgia proneness is associ- eight scales of the Brief COPE relevant to this study
ated with greater social connectedness, a social and a (Carver, 1997). The emotional support scale repre-
nonsocial problem were used to explore whether nos- sents receiving comfort, sympathy, or understand-
talgia proneness would be related to coping strategy ing from others, and the instrumental support scale
only when the stressor was inherently social or more represents seeking or receiving advice or help from
broadly, even in situations not intrinsically social. others. Positive reframing is construing a stressful
event in positive terms. Active coping is taking steps
METHOD to remove, circumvent, or ameliorate the effects of
the stressful situation, and the planning scale assesses
Participants thinking about steps or actions to take. The religion
A sample of 100 undergraduates, 86 women and scale includes praying or meditating and finding
14 men, ranging in age from 18 to 33 years (M = 20, comfort in religion. The self-distraction scale consists
SD = 2.11), completed the Nostalgia Inventory and of doing things to take one’s mind off the stressor,
rated the extent to which they would engage in each such as work, watching TV, sleeping, or shopping.
of 16 options to deal with each of two different hy- Self-blame includes blaming and criticizing oneself.
pothetical problem situations. The order of com- The 16 scale items were presented in random order,
pletion of the material was counterbalanced across and the order of presentation of the hypothetical situ-
participants. Each participant completed materials ations was counterbalanced across participants.
individually in a classroom after completing an in-
formed consent form. RESULTS

Materials and Procedure Transient Nostalgic Mood

Participants completed the Nostalgia Inventory (Ba- To determine the effectiveness of the instruction in
tcho, 2007) and recalled childhood memories in one inducing nostalgic mood, ratings of how nostalgic
of two conditions. In the nostalgia condition, par-
participants felt after completion of the childhood
ticipants were given the instruction, “Some people
feel that childhood is a special time in life. In the memories recall task were examined in a regres-
space below, please describe memories of your own sion analysis. Nostalgia proneness (centered), in-
childhood that show aspects of childhood that you struction (dummy coded), and the interaction term
miss and wish you could revisit again.” In the neutral were entered as predictors of rated nostalgic mood,
condition, respondents recalled childhood memo- and a significant model emerged, F(3, 96) = 16.10,
ries in response to the instruction, “Some people feel p < .00, adjusted R 2 = .314. The main effect of

NOSTALGIA IN DIFFICULT TIMES • 361

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 ­ roneness was significant, β = .66, SE = .21,
n­ ostalgia p support, F(3, 96) = 2.12, p = .10, adjusted R2 = .033;
t(96) = 4.98, p < .00. The effect of instruction was not self-distraction, F(3, 96) = 1.88, p = .138, adjusted
significant, β = .02, SE = .27, t(96) = 0.24, p = .81, and R2 = .026; or self-blame, F(3, 96) = 0.10, p = .96, ad-
instruction did not interact with nostalgia proneness, justed R2 = –.028.
β = –.11, SE = .27, t(96) = –0.83, p = .41. Given that nostalgia proneness significantly pre-
dicted nostalgic mood and was correlated with nos-
Coping Strategies talgic mood, r(98) = .57, p < .000, partial correlations
Before exploration of the relationship between nos- between mean ratings on the Nostalgia Inventory and
talgia and coping, the possibility that coping varied each of the eight Brief COPE scales (averaged across
with the type of problem was examined in separate problems and instruction conditions) were obtained,
ANOVAs for each coping strategy, with type of prob- controlling for nostalgic mood. As evident in Table
lem (social or asocial) within participants and nos- 3, nostalgia proneness correlated significantly with
talgia proneness and nostalgic mood as covariates. mean ratings for the positive reframing, emotional
The main effect of problem type was significant only social support, active coping, planning, instrumen-
for active coping, F(1, 97) = 15.73, p < .000, ηp2 = .14, tal social support, and self-distraction Brief COPE
and planning, F(1, 97) = 4.60, p < .034, ηp2 = .045. scales. Nostalgia proneness was not correlated with
Active coping was rated as more likely for the aso- turning to religion or engaging in self-blame.
cial financial problem (M = 7.97, SD = 0.89) than
for the social gossip problem (M = 7.26, SD = 1.47); GENERAL DISCUSSION
similarly, planning was reported as more likely for
The results of the current studies reveal a favorable
the financial problem (M = 7.72, SD = 1.10) than for
portrait of nostalgia proneness as a dispositional trait.
the gossip problem (M = 7.04, SD = 1.35). Given that
Study 1 suggests that in stressful times, nostalgia-
problem type did not interact with nostalgia prone-
prone people cope by seeking greater emotional sup-
ness or nostalgic mood for any of the coping strategies
port from others and greater insight into and release
(all ps > .10), ratings for each coping strategy were
of their own emotions, suppressing competing activi-
averaged across the two problems for subsequent
analyses.
Mean ratings for each coping strategy were ex- TABLE 3. Correlations Between Mean Nostalgia
amined in separate regression analyses with nos- Scores and Coping Strategies for Problems in Study
talgia proneness, nostalgic mood, and instruction 2 with Partial Correlations, Controlling for Nostalgic
entered as predictors, and with instruction by nos- Mood (N = 100)
talgia proneness and nostalgic mood by nostalgia
proneness interactions added in Step 2. Significant Brief COPE strategy Zero Partial
models emerged for active coping, F(3, 96) = 4.52,
p < .005, adjusted R2 = .096; emotional support, Emotional social support .313*** .324***
F(3, 96) = 4.24, p < .007, adjusted R2 = .089; plan- Instrumental social support .176 .229*
ning, F(3, 96) = 2.69, p < .05, adjusted R2 = .049; and Active .345*** .275**
positive reframing, F(3, 96) = 4.92, p < .003, adjusted Planning .270** .246**
R2 = .106. Nostalgia proneness significantly predicted Positive reframing .224* .351***
active coping, β = .33, SE = .11, t(96) = 2.80, p < .006;
Religion .011 .025
emotional support, β = .39, SE = .20, t(96) = 3.36,
Self-distraction .203* .206*
p < .001; planning, β = .30, SE = .13, t(96) = 2.49,
p < .014; and positive reframing, β = .43, SE = .19, Self-blame .028 .018
t(96) = 3.67, p < .00. Instruction did not signifi- Note. Nostalgia inventory items were rated on a 9-point scale (1 =
not at all, 9 = very much). Respondents rated the extent to which
cantly predict any of the coping strategies and did they would probably engage in each coping option on a 9-point
not interact significantly with nostalgia proneness. scale (1 = not at all, 9 = very much/often). Nostalgic mood was
Significant models did not emerge for religion, F(3, rated on a 9-point scale (1 = not at all, 9 = very much).
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
96) = 1.03, p = .384, adjusted R2 = .001; instrumental

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ties, and turning to religion. Research has shown that well as instrumental support such as advice, help, or
social and emotional coping strategies—venting emo- information from others. Not surprisingly, solitary
tions and seeking emotional and instrumental social experiences such as time spent alone with nature
support—are associated with strengthening of social were related to more reflective cognitive strategies
support after a stressful event. Therefore, the current such as construing a problem in positive terms and
findings are consistent with the conclusion that the recognizing the reality of a situation. The specific-
coping strategies favored by nostalgia-prone people ity of results argues against the possibility that the
are associated with benefits during difficult times. relationship between childhood ratings and coping
The present findings suggest that favorable child- is attributable to response bias.
hood experiences constitute a valuable resource for Equally important, adverse childhood experi-
nostalgia-prone people in coping with difficulties. ences were related to dysfunctional or nonproduc-
As predicted by theories linking nostalgia to pleasant tive strategies. Substance abuse correlated with
impressions of childhood, Study 1 demonstrated that both social and solitary emotional and behavioral
Nostalgia Inventory ratings correlated with favorable adverse experiences. Feeling afraid of someone, be-
childhood emotional experiences and social behav- ing bullied, witnessing abuse, failing academically or
ioral events and did not correlate with adverse child- in sports, or witnessing parents argue all illustrate
hood experiences. The importance of social connect- childhood experiences associated with escapist cop-
edness to nostalgia-prone people is evident in the ing via substance abuse. The nonproductive strategy
absence of correlation between nostalgia proneness of behavioral disengagement, giving up constructive
and pleasant solitary childhood behavioral events, efforts or engaging in activities that reduce efforts
such as playing alone or having a special possession. to deal with the situation, was related to adverse
The relationship between favorable impressions social experiences, such as feeling embarrassed, feel-
of childhood and adaptive coping strategies suggests ing anxiety about being disciplined or punished, or
that for nostalgia-prone people, positive early experi- being rejected, discriminated against, or separated
ences constitute a basis for developing healthy ways from a loved one. Adversity experienced alone, such
of coping. The type of coping related to childhood as considering suicide, failing to make a sport, or
varied not only with the pleasant or unpleasant na- suffering with a serious health condition, was as-
ture of the experiences but also with the role played sociated with less frequent reliance on beneficial
by other people. Generally, pleasant feelings during coping strategies.
childhood correlated with greater focus on problem- Overall, results are consistent with the notion that
centered coping via planning and suppression of ac- childhood experiences form a foundation for learning
tivities that compete with attending to resolution of how to cope with stress and difficult situations. Favor-
the problem. Pleasant social emotional experiences able social childhood events and emotional experi-
such as enjoying holidays or feeling loved were asso- ences provide opportunities for learning to seek ad-
ciated also with seeking instrumental social support vice, information, and emotional support from others,
such as asking for advice, information, or help from whereas unfavorable social events are conducive to
others and turning to religion. Solitary emotional learning to avoid confronting problems through dys-
experiences, such as being carefree or having fun functional approaches such as substance abuse and
alone, were related positively to the asocial strategy behavioral disengagement. Happy time spent alone
of restraint, waiting for an opportunity to act, and during childhood can encourage reflective processes
inversely to venting emotions. that help develop cognitive approaches to problem
Consistent with the findings for childhood emo- solving, such as reappraisal, planning, and suppres-
tions, the relationship between childhood behavioral sion of competing activities. By contrast, being alone
events and coping suggested that different activities and feeling sad, lonely, or anxious during childhood
present opportunities for learning different kinds of can be conducive to adopting evasive strategies such
strategies. Pleasant social events such as parties and as substance abuse. Time spent alone as a result of
family traditions were related to seeking emotional adverse factors can inhibit seeking emotional support
support such as sympathy and understanding, as from others and can interfere with learning how to

NOSTALGIA IN DIFFICULT TIMES • 363

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 formulate plans for problem solving and waiting for additional roles played by nostalgia beyond child-
an appropriate opportunity to implement them. hood learning or memories. Reflection on the past
Though not conclusive, regression analyses sug- is not restricted to childhood. Study 1 focused on
gested that the relationship between nostalgia prone- childhood as one important phase of a person’s life,
ness and certain coping strategies may be mediated in but clearly a nostalgia-prone person has available a
part by positive childhood experiences and that future wide range of past experiences spanning a lifetime
research to explore the role of childhood memories to reflect and draw on as a resource in coping with
in coping would prove productive. The association of present difficulties. The present findings suggest that
nostalgia proneness with seeking emotional social sup- childhood experiences play a role but are not the sole
port became nonsignificant when childhood variables mechanism by which nostalgia influences coping. In
were added in the regression analysis, which revealed addition to memory, other variables associated with
pleasant social behavioral events to be a significant nostalgia proneness, such as emotionality and other-
predictor. The prediction of social emotional coping directedness, should be explored as possible media-
by social childhood events is consistent with a view tors contributing to the choice of adaptive strategies
of mediation by childhood learning. Nostalgia-prone by nostalgic people.
people may seek social emotional support in stressful Study 2 extended the finding of greater reliance
times as a result of role modeling or because they had on adaptive coping strategies by nostalgia-prone
acquired positive feelings toward social events such as people to coping with specific problems while con-
parties, friendships, and reunions during childhood. trolling for nostalgic mood. The instructions used in
Also, the inverse association between pleasant soli- Study 2 did not induce different degrees of nostalgic
tary childhood emotional experiences and expressing mood. Both sets of instructions engaged participants
emotions suggests that people who learn early in life to in an autobiographical recall task focused on child-
enjoy time and activities alone might be more likely to hood memories that could have elicited nostalgic
take time alone to reflect about a problem and spend mood. In fact, the instruction for the intended neutral
less time venting emotionally to others. These pre- condition could have strengthened identity continu-
liminary findings suggest that a nostalgic disposition ity by asking participants to “describe memories of
promotes reflection and reminiscence that can recall your own childhood that show how your life then was
healthy feelings and models for productive ways of pretty similar to your life now.” Sustaining continu-
dealing with difficulties. ity of self has been identified as an important func-
Evidence for mediation by childhood experi- tion served by nostalgia (Batcho et al., 2008; Iyer &
ences was obtained for social emotional coping and Jetten, 2011). The finding of stronger nostalgic mood
venting, but regression analyses suggested that nos- reported by more highly nostalgia-prone participants
talgia proneness influences coping by expressing is consistent with the notion that in both conditions
emotions and suppressing competing activities even reminiscing about childhood elicited nostalgia, the
after childhood experiences are taken into account. strength of which depended on the sensitivity or nos-
Although the current research demonstrates the im- talgic predisposition of the participants.
portance of the remembered quality of a person’s Study 2 suggests that nostalgia-prone people ben-
past in coping, future research is needed to iden- efit not only in terms of emotional support such as
tify specific mechanisms underlying preferences for comfort and understanding from others but also in
coping strategies related to nostalgia and childhood. more direct problem resolution. Nostalgia was associ-
Independent methods to assess the roles of learning ated with greater attention to thinking and strategiz-
from the past and reflection on the past are needed ing and then taking action to improve the situation. It
to uncover the cognitive and emotional mechanisms is important to note that both problems described sit-
that enable nostalgia-prone people to benefit from uations that could be improved, not immutable events
their propensity for nostalgic feelings toward their such as the death of a loved one. Even in circum-
past. The present exploratory findings suggest a need stances beyond a person’s control, nostalgia-prone
to distinguish between different types of childhood people would be more likely to benefit from positive
experiences and coping strategies and to consider reappraisal, trying to find something constructive in

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the experience, but further research is needed to ex- The current findings prompt further research to
tend the present findings to coping with conditions determine the extent to which nostalgia’s relationship
that cannot be changed. These results suggest that the to adaptive coping strategies contributes to psycho-
coping advantage enjoyed by nostalgia-prone people logical benefits during difficult times. Contradicting
is not limited to the dispositional instructions of the views of nostalgia as pathological or counterproduc-
COPE that ask the respondent to rate what “you usu- tive, the present findings suggest that nostalgia can
ally do when you experience a stressful event” but facilitate moving forward by encouraging reflection
applies to at least two different types of specific prob- on the past that reminds a person of happiness that
lems. The reliance on adaptive coping was evident was once enjoyed, difficulties overcome, the tran-
not only for an interpersonal problem but also for a sience of difficult times, continuity of self, and the
nonsocial financial difficulty. These results suggest support available from others. Greater awareness of
that nostalgia-prone people prefer particular strate- the distinction between what changes and what re-
gies to cope with difficulties rather than having the mains the same may elicit the consolation Hawthorne
strategies elicited by the type of problem. Further noted in the appreciation of the transitoriness of all
research is needed to determine whether propensity things, including stressful times. The nostalgia-prone
for nostalgia is related to the ability to adapt coping person may be more likely to consider how he or she
style to particular problem demands. has survived difficulties in the past and can therefore
Inconsistent with theories that portray nostalgia remain strong in the face of challenge. These findings
as escapist or as a retreat to an idealized nonexistent encourage further investigation of possible therapeu-
past, both studies found that nostalgia proneness was tic functions of nostalgic reminiscence. It may well be
not related to dysfunctional strategies such as denial, that revisiting a healthy past can offer hope for a better
behavioral disengagement, self-blame, or substance future by reminding a person that what was possible
abuse. The association of nostalgia with coping strat- once can be possible again.
egies that are socially, emotionally, cognitively, and
behaviorally active contradicts the view of nostalgic NOTE
people as those who avoid difficulties in their present Address correspondence about this article to Krystine I. Ba-
by seeking solace in fantasy, reminiscence, or attempts tcho, Department of Psychology, Le Moyne College, 1419 Salt
Springs Road, Syracuse, NY 13214 (e-mail: batcho@lemoyne.
to live in the past.
edu).
Although these studies demonstrate an impor-
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