Coping as a personality process: A prospective study.

Abstract

The study tested the proposition that coping is personality in action under stress. Using a stressful medical school entrance examination, the study examined (a) whether neurotieism emerged in coping patterns over time and (b) whether the influence of neurotieism on coping accounted for changes in anxiety and examination performance. Fifty premedical students reported their coping efforts at 35 days before, 10 days before, and 17 days after the examination. They provided daily reports of anxiety for 35 days surrounding the examination. Neuroticism influenced coping efforts and increases in daily anxiety under stress. Two types of coping, wishful thinking and self-blame, explained over half the relationship between neuroticism and increases in preexamination anxiety. Consistent with previous research, neither neuroticism nor specific coping efforts influenced examination performance. I am grateful to Jane Crawford and Don Cook for access to the sample, to Paula Hanpeter and Stuart Beraha for research assistance, and to

Relationship between Cortisol Responses to Stress and Personality

“…Individuals with high neuroticism have been reported to have higher levels of anger and depression when faced with interpersonal conflict than individuals with low neuroticism (Bolger and Zuckerman, 1995), as well as larger increases in anxiety in response to stressful events (Bolger, 1990). Personality researchers have long maintained that neuroticism is a vulnerability marker for depression and other comorbid psychiatric disorders (Khan et al, 2005;Ormel et al, 2004).…”

The Playful Advantage: How Playfulness Enhances Coping with Stress

“…This is noteworthy in light of the evidence linking Neuroticism with less adaptive coping strategies, such as behavioral disengagement, wishful thinking, and self-blame (Bolger, 1990;Carver et al, 1989;Connor-Smith & Flachsbart, 2007).…”

“…Studying coping in relation to personality has been conducted with the Five Factor Model of personality, and relationships have been found with Vulnerability to Stress, one of the facets of the Neuroticism dimension (Costa & McCrae, 1985). Subsequent study has shown Neuroticism to predict numerous maladaptive coping strategies, such as wishful thinking, self-blame, withdrawal, and escapeavoidance (Bolger, 1990;Connor-Smith & Flachsbart, 2007;O'Brien & DeLongis, 1996), although causal relationships have been debated (see Bolger, 1990). …”

“…It should be noted that in this particular study the limitations included a non-generalizable sample, as well as difficulties establishing causality between coping and stress, as personality and coping efforts were measured in a proximal time frame. Bolger (1990) studied the relationship between coping patterns and Neuroticism among students taking a medical school entrance exam. Coping efforts were reported at three points in time: 35 days and 10 days before the exam, as well as 17 days after the exam.…”

Coping with arthritis: Current status and critique

“…Since the stress posed by arthritis is chronic, an individual's disposition may play a critical role in the coping process. Some studies of individuals coping with other MANNE AND ZAUTRA life stressors have suggested that certain personality traits, including neuroticism, predict coping choices (36). For example, in arthritis patients, internal locus of control has been related to active coping (17) and neuroticism has been associated with wishful thinking and catastrophizing (37).…”