Coping with Work-Related Stress

This study examined the coping behavior of a sample of young professional engineers in response to stress “incidents” experienced at work. Subjects were specifically asked to limit their recall to an incident occurring within the preceding 14 days. A primary analysis was made of the coping behavior exhibited, from which five classes of coping behavior were derived. Coping behavior was then examined in relation to the subjective appraisal of the stress encountered, and to characteristics of both the individual experiencing the stress and of the work environment in which it occurred. Analysis indicated that all three predictor groups (stress appraisal, individual, and envrionmental characteristics) were important in relation to the coping behaivor reported. Evidence also emerged suggesting that certain types of coping response are behavior correlates of particular individual characteristics, whereas others were more likely to be related to differences in the environmental context and to the way in which the stress incident is appraised. The results question the relevance of attempts to derive “effective” coping techniques which can be applied universally regardless of differences between individuals or environments. In addition, they do not support a theoretical emphasis upon the subjective appraisal of stress as primary in modeling coping behavior, since individual and environmental characteristics appear to be equally important and may directly effect the range and choice of coping options available.

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