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 neuroticism emerged in coping patterns over time and (b) whether the influence of neuroticism 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.

Journal

Title: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Abbreviated Title: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)

ISSN (Electronic): 1939-1315

ISSN (Print): 0022-3514

Publication date Created: 1990

Publication date (Electronic): 1990

Volume: 59

Issue: 3

Pages: 525-537

Article

PubMed ID: 2231283

Copyright statement: © 1990

Product

Self URI (article page): http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.525