Adaptation encompasses the mental and physical states where individuals achieve harmony with their environment, while adaptive behavior denotes the actions living organisms take to adjust their behaviors and thoughts in response to environmental demands. When conventional coping mechanisms prove ineffective, organisms strive to adapt through various means, including learning new behaviors, altering the environment, seeking sources of escape, or modifying their desired state. Stress reactions, encompassing psychological, physical, behavioral, and cognitive responses, ensue in response to stressors. Successful adaptation facilitates crisis avoidance and restores homeostasis, while failure to adapt can result in a crisis, perpetuating imbalance and increasing susceptibility to disease.

Sister Callista Roy’s “Theory of Adaptive Nursing” delineates four adaptive styles through which individuals respond to change: physiological need, self-concept, role function adaptation, and interdependence adaptation styles. Nursing professionals are tasked with integrating these adaptive modes into their assessments, necessitating comprehensive data collection, understanding, and interpretation across all four modes. Additionally, to assess an individual’s adaptive response effectively, a thorough understanding of their potential is paramount.

The concept of adaptation extends beyond individuals to encompass various systems, including families, groups, and communities.

• Japan Academy of Nursing Science, Nursing Academic Terminology Review Committee (Ed.). (1995). Nursing academic terminology (4th Academic Terminology Review Committee). Japan Academy of Nursing Science.
• Oda, M. (Ed.). (2009). Understanding and practicing Roy’s adaptive nursing theory. Igaku-Shoin.
• Taniguchi, K., & Fukuoka, K. (2006). Psychology of interpersonal relationships and adaptation: Theory and practice of stress management. Kitaoji Shobo.