Employee adjustment to stress: The role of coping resources, situational factors, and coping responses

Abstract The present study was designed to examine further the stress-adjustment relationship in employees. Specifically, the relations among employees' coping resources (self-esteem, generalized control beliefs, neuroticism, and social support), their appraisals of a recent stressful event experienced at work (appraised stress, self-efficacy, and situational control beliefs), the coping strategies (problem- and emotion-focused coping) used to deal with the event, and levels of employee adjustment (psychological well-being and job satisfaction) were examined. Data were collected from 153 male and female employees in a public sector department, employed in a range of middle-management administrative activities. The data provided support for a modified version of a model that proposed that both situational appraisals and coping strategies are mediating processes in the stress-adjustment relationship. There was evidence that employees' coping responses to the recent stressful event experienced at work were related to concurrent levels of adjustment. As predicted, the use of problem-focused coping, in general, had positive relationships with the measures of adjustment, whereas the effects of emotion-focused coping were generally negative (there was, however, some evidence that the effects of coping were dependent on event controllability). There was also evidence that coping resources had both direct and indirect effects (via coping and via situational appraisals) on employee adjustment. The latter effects were most marked for generalized control beliefs and self-esteem. Situational appraisals (in particular, efficacy expectancies) also had indirect effects on employee adjustment, through their effects on coping responses.     

Do core self-evaluations and coping style influence the perception of job insecurity?

Over the last few decades, increased flexibility and lack of stability in employment has made job insecurity a work stressor that affects more and more employees. Since worrying about potential job loss (quantitative job insecurity) or possible loss of valued job features (qualitative job insecurity) constitutes a subjective perception, it has been claimed that personality factors may be decisive for job insecurity perceptions. Furthermore, the perception of a stressor, in this case job insecurity, could be argued to be dependent on appraisals of available coping resources. This study investigates whether core self-evaluations predict job insecurity perceptions, and whether coping mediates this relationship, in a two-wave data set from a Swedish sample of white-collar workers (N = 425). The results show that core self-evaluations had a negative total effect on both qualitative and quantitative job insecurity. Core self-evaluations were positively related to problem-focused coping but not to emotion-focused coping. However, there was no mediating effect of coping style on the association between core self-evaluations and job insecurity.     

Self-Esteem, Discrimination, and Coping Among Refugees: The Moderating Role of Self-Categorization

The present study examines the relationship between the personal self and ethnic identity among Iranian refugees living in the Netherlands. The extent to which participants considered themselves to be typical members of their ethnic minority group moderated the relationship between (a) personal self-esteem and ethnic self-esteem; (b) perceived personal discrimination and group discrimination; and (c) ethnic self-esteem and the use of emotion-focused and problem-focused strategies for coping with discrimination. Participants who saw themselves as typical Iranians showed a stronger association between personal and ethnic self-esteem, less personal/group discrimination discrepancy, and a relationship between ethnic self-esteem and coping with discrimination. In addition, participants favored problem-focused coping over emotion-focused coping, and perceived greater group discrimination than personal discrimination overall.     

Coping Options: Missing Links between Minority Group Identification and Psychological Well-Being

Using concepts from social identity theory ( Tajfel & Turner, 1979 ) and Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) cognitive theory of stress and coping we tested the capacity for group identification to foster beliefs in one's ability to cope successfully and in turn predict psychological well-being. Black American participants appraised the availability of coping options that varied by level of identity (individual, intragroup, and intergroup) as well as function of coping (problem-focused and emotion-focused). Replicating prior work, participants who were higher in racial group identification reported more positive well-being. Appraisals of individual emotion-focused and intergroup problem-focused options mediated the relationship of group identification with both self-esteem and life satisfaction. Appraisals of intergroup emotion-focused options also partially mediated the relationship between group identification and life satisfaction. Findings suggest that the relationship between minority group identification and well-being may partly be due to its influence over a person's sense that they and their group can respond effectively to disadvantage.     

Explication of the coping goal construct: implications for coping and reemployment.

This longitudinal study developed a reemployment coping goal construct and examined its role in a job-loss context. Several predictors of displaced workers' reemployment coping goal intensity were examined: human capital, employment commitment, internal coping resources, and anticipation of job loss. Results show that human capital, employment commitment, internal coping resources, and anticipation of job loss positively predicted a reemployment coping goal. Human capital also directly predicted reemployment. Finally, unemployed individuals' reemployment coping goal intensity positively predicted job-search effort, which positively predicted reemployment. Implications for the process of coping with job loss and future research are discussed.     

Adjustment to multiple sclerosis: application of a stress and coping model.

This study examined the use of a stress and coping model of adjustment to multiple sclerosis (MS). A total of 122 MS patients were interviewed and completed self-administered scales at Time 1 and 12 months later, Time 2 (n = 96). Predictors included stressful life events, illness (duration, severity, and disability), social support, appraisal (threat and control/challenge), and coping (problem focused and emotion [wishful thinking, self-blame, and avoidance] focused). Adjustment outcomes were Time 2 depression, global distress, social adjustment, and subjective health status. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for the effects of Time-1 adjustment, better Time-2 adjustment was related to less disability, greater reliance on problem-focused coping, and less reliance on emotion-focused coping. There was limited support for the stress buffering effects of coping and social support. Findings offer some support for the use of a stress and coping model of adaptation to MS.     

Coping and the Job Demands-Control-Support Model: An Exploratory Study

The job demands-control-support model indicates job control and social support enhance coping with job demands. This proposition was tested, using a heterogeneous sample of 272 full-time workers. The results indicated a series of complex interactions among demands, control, support, and coping on psychological well-being. Overall, control and support appeared to increase the effectiveness of problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping up to a threshold depending on job demands. The results indicate that beyond this threshold, these forms of coping become less effective. Control appeared to enhance moderate levels of appraisal and cognitive escape-focused coping, but not high levels of appraisal or cognitive escape-focused coping. Social support appeared to enhance high levels of appraisal-focused coping. The results indicate that including coping in empirical tests of the job demands-control-support model enhances its explanatory and predictive power.     

Coping Strategies,Substance Use,Sexual Activity,and HIV Sexual Risks in a Sample of Gay Male STD Patients1

The relationships of coping strategies with levels of substance use and sexual activity, and with HIV sexual risks, are examined in a sample of gay male STD clinic patients (n = 416). Previous research has suggested that use of problem-focused coping strategies should be negatively related to levels of substance use, levels of sexual activity, and HIV sexual risks; use of emotion-focused coping strategies should be positively related to these outcomes. It is argued that substance use and sexual activity clearly fit within a coping perspective, but that the HIV sexual risks/coping relationship is less clear. In multivariate analysis, the problem-focused strategy of advice seeking is negatively related to the number of types of drugs used and to the number of sexual partners; the problem-focused strategy of support seeking is negatively related to the number of days using drugs; and the use of emotion-focused strategies is positively related to the number of types of drugs used. Problem-focused coping strategies are less directly related to engaging in HIV sexual risks when measures of substance use and of sexual activity are included in the prediction; emotion-focused coping strategies are more stably related to HIV risk. Indirect effects of coping on HIV risk are also identified through the effects of coping on the number of types of drugs used, number of sex partners, and number of times having sex. It is proposed that the relationships between coping and levels of substance use and sexual activity reflect the use of these activities as ways of relieving strain, but that relationships between coping and HIV sexual risks involve less clearly understood direct and indirect relationships.     

COPING WITH AN ORGANIZATIONAL MERGER OVER FOUR STAGES

This longitudinal study examined how individuals cope over 4 stages of a merger. The study replicated and extended past coping research by examining changes in coping variables over time. Employee appraisals, coping resources, negative emotions, and emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies were measured. Negative appraisal, social support, perceived control, and emotion-focused coping significantly changed across stages. Coping variables exhibited linear, quadratic, and cubic trends over time, highlighting the complex and dynamic nature of the coping process. The findings provide important insight into how company management may influence employee coping during a merger. Implications for future research also are discussed.     

Salesperson Burnout: A Test of the Coping-Mediational Model of Social Support

Salesperson burnout continues to be a major concern among sales organizations. In this work, the authors examine whether certain coping strategies mediate the impact of sales manager support on salesperson burnout; as suggested by Thoits’s (1986) Coping-Mediational Model. More specifcally, this work investigates if problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping mediate the impact of sales manager support on feelings of emotional exhaustion in a feld sales setting. Study fndings indicate that positive sales manager support has a signifcant negative direct effect on salespersons’ emotional exhaustion. Findings also support the assertion that sales manager support encourages salespersons’ use of problem-focused coping strategies that, in turn, further reduce emotional exhaustion. In contrast, sales manager support does not signifcantly infuence salespersons’ use of emotion-focused coping; however, emotion-focused coping does signifcantly increase emotional exhaustion.     

A model of stress and coping and their influence on individual and organizational outcomes

A model of coping with stress is proposed in which coping mediates the relationship among organizational stressors and personal characteristics, and job-related strains and organizational outcomes. Study results, based on a sample of professional salespeople, provide overall support for most of the hypothesized relationships among work-related stressors, personal characteristics, and coping styles. Findings also support the influence of emotion-focused coping on the psychological outcomes of emotional exhaustion and job-induced anxiety; which in turn are found to influence job satisfaction and intention to withdraw. While problem-focused coping had no effect on job-induced anxiety, problem-focused coping did effect emotional exhaustion, which in turn influences job satisfaction and intention to withdraw. Minor differences were found when the proposed model was applied to saleswomen versus salesmen. Overall, however, the model was robust across both genders.     

When Do Leaders Initiate Changes? The Roles of Coping Style and Organization Members’ Stability-Emphasizing Values

We explore the roles of leaders’ coping style and organization members’ emphasis on stability in predicting leaders’ initiation of changes in their organizations. Specifically, we hypothesized that leaders’ problem-focused style will be positively, and emotion-focused style negatively, related to the initiation of change. We further proposed that organization members' emphasis on stability will moderate the effect of leaders’ problem-focused style. We tested our model using time-lagged data from 75 school principals and 495/409 (Time 1/Time 2) teachers. Our results support the moderating role that the emphasis on stability has on the effect of problem-focused coping on leaders’ initiation of changes and provide some support for the negative effect of emotion-focused coping. Our findings complement the psychological literature on recipients of change with psychological insights about the factors that make leaders become change agents.     

Coping strategies from the perspective of two developmental markers: age and social reasoning

In this study, we examined coping from a developmental perspective, including its relation to age and social cognitive maturity. The 60 participants, who ranged from adolescents to mature adults, were given Lazarus' Ways of Coping Scale. This consists of both an emotion-focused and problem-focused coping score and two measures of social reasoning performance. Social reasoning was the best predictor of emotion-focused coping, above and beyond years of education and age. None of the developmental variables predicted problem-focused coping. Analyses examining the effect of perceived controllability of the stressful situation on coping demonstrated that it differentially mediated choice of coping strategy across age groups. Whereas older participants endorsed more problem-focused strategies in perceived controllable situations and emotion-focused strategies in perceived uncontrollable situations, adolescents endorsed emotion-focused and defensive coping styles, irrespective of perceived controllability. Implications for the study of development of coping styles in affectively salient contexts is discussed.     

Job loss as a blessing in disguise: The role of career exploration and career planning in predicting reemployment quality

Job loss is one of the most difficult work related situations that an individual may encounter. Yet, sometimes job loss may also turn into a blessing in disguise. Combining the careers literature with the literature on unemployment, the current paper addresses potential positive outcomes of job loss by focusing on specific career adaptability activities that individuals can undertake to obtain these outcomes. Three hundred and four unemployed outplacement attendees reported their use of self and environmental career exploration and career planning, as well as of job search (general and networking) and the availability of two resources that may foster these activities, general self-efficacy and social support. Six months later, 215 individuals reported their current reemployment status and, when applicable, the quality of that reemployment. Results replicate the positive effects of job search on finding reemployment but moreover outline the relevance of career planning and exploration during unemployment on ensuring the quality of this reemployment. Theoretical implications and directions for practice and future research are discussed.     

Management of multiple sclerosis: the role of coping self-efficacy and self-esteem

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) engage in various coping behaviours in order to manage their disease. The aim of this study is to find out if the self-esteem of patients is associated with coping strategies – problem-focused (e.g. making a plan of action when confronted with a problem); emotion focused (e.g. get emotional support from community); and focused on stopping unpleasant emotions and thoughts (e.g. keeping oneself from feeling sad), and if it can enhance or hinder coping efforts in the disease management. We collected data from 155 consecutive MS patients who completed the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE) and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE). Explained variance for problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and coping focused on stopping unpleasant emotions and thoughts was 33, 24, and 31%, respectively. Self-esteem seems to be associated with coping strategies indicating that feelings of self-worth are linked with the ability to handle difficult life situations and can be helpful in chronic disease management.     

Expanding coping goodness-of-fit: religious coping, health locus of control, and depressed affect in heart failure patients

The goodness-of-fit coping hypothesis posits that problem-focused (PF) coping is particularly helpful under high controllability conditions, while emotion-focused (EF) coping is more helpful in low controllability situations. However, little research has examined whether the goodness-of-fit hypothesis applies to religious coping, a distinct set of coping resources and efforts. Further, little goodness-of-fit research has been conducted in the context of life-threatening illness. We tested coping goodness-of-fit for PF and EF as well as religious coping resources and strategies in 202 congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Multiple regression analyses examined the extent to which each type of coping, health locus of control (HLOC) regarding their CHF, and their interactions related to subsequent depressed affect. Neither religious coping efforts nor religious resources were related to depressed affect. However, when examined in conjunction with internal HLOC, active coping and organized religious commitment were related to less depression for those higher in internal HLOC, while daily spiritual experience was related to less depression for those lower in HLOC. These results partially support the goodness-of-fit hypothesis and indicate a need to consider the perceived controllability of situations when examining the associations of religious coping resources and activities on depressive symptoms in the context of illness.     

Experimentally testing Taylor's stress,coping and adaptation framework

Abstract

Taylor (1995) constructed a comprehensive framework of stress and adaptation, which considers internal and external resources/impediments as moderators, based on previous studies and models. However, most past research used correlation designs and has not taken into account all of the framework's components within one study. This study tested the effects of the event (minor, major), primary appraisal (benign, severe), coping (problem-focused coping (PFC) versus emotion-focused coping), external resources (with/without social support), and internal impediments (hostility), on estimated distress (dependent variable) in written imagined stressful daily scenarios. All components except hostility were experimentally manipulated within subjects in the scenarios. The scenarios were rated by 281 Dutch students. The variables event, appraisal, and social support significantly and independently affected estimated distress. Event and appraisal synergistically interacted in relation to estimated distress. Finally, appraisal interacted with coping such that the distress-reducing effects of PFC occurred only in benign events, while coping did not affect estimated distress in severely appraised events. This study experimentally tested most components of Taylor's framework, and showed that events, appraisal, and social resources were independent determinants of estimated distress, and that appraisal interacts in a complex manner with the event and with coping.     

Coping and emotional distress in a sample of Swedish unemployed.

The study investigated the associations between coping and symptoms of emotional distress within a sample of 166 unemployed men and women (mean age 40 +/- 10 years, range 22 to 63 years, 52% males). All variables were measured with a questionnaire comprising sociodemographic background, length of unemployment, financial strain, coping style ("Ways of Coping Checklist"), and emotional distress (Hopkins Symptom Check List-25). Emotional distress was positively related to financial strain and more common among younger subjects, divorced subjects and those with foreign background, but less frequent among subjects who had been unemployed for more than three years. After controlling for age, gender, education, foreign background, length of unemployment and financial strain, hierarchical regression analyses showed that emotion-focused coping, i.e. self-blame and wishful thinking, was positively related to emotional distress. Problem-focused coping and cognitive restructuring were negatively associated with emotional distress. Younger subjects and divorced subjects made frequent use of both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping. Female subject and subjects with mandatory school made frequent use of emotion focused coping, if exposed to high financial strain. Problem-focused coping was less frequent among subjects with a low education coupled with low financial strain. Cognitive restructuring was less common among subjects who had been unemployed for more than three years. Younger subjects who were also divorced made less use of both problem-focused coping and cognitive restructuring. The results confirm that coping style has importance for the mental health of the unemployed, and indicate a differential use of coping strategies among subjects with different sociodemographic backgrounds and different levels of financial strain.     

失业人员求职行为的影响因素及作用机制 ——基于沈阳市的一项研究

对失业人员求职行为影响因素的研究是开展失业人员求职培训的重要依据。本研究对272名失业人员的求职行为的影响因素及作用机制进行了研究。多元回归分析的结果表明,（1）环境变量对求职行为没有显著的预测作用,而经济压力和知觉到的就业机会对求职意向有显著的预测作用。（2）求职自我效能感和就业承诺对求职行为起到了显著的预测作用。求职自我效能感和就业承诺越高,求职行为的频率越高。（3）求职意向对求职行为有显著的正向预测作用。（4）求职意向在求职自我效能感、就业承诺对求职行为的作用过程中中介作用显著;在知觉到的就业机会、经济压力和社会支持对求职行为的作用过程中中介作用不显著     

Appraised changeability of a stressor as a modifier of the relationship between coping and depression: a test of the hypothesis of fit

The goodness of fit among the appraised changeability of a stressor, coping, and depression in people with psychiatric, physical health, work, and family problems was examined (N = 746). It was expected that problem-focused coping (as opposed to emotion-focused coping) would be used more and be more adaptive in situations appraised as changeable as compared with situations appraised as not changeable. Although few relationships existed between appraisal and coping, tests of fit between coping and depressed mood (maladaption) were much stronger. In people with nonpsychiatric conditions, problem-focused coping and depressed mood were negatively related when a stressor was appraised as changeable but were unrelated when a stressor was appraised as not changeable. Emotion-focused coping was positively related to depression when a stressor was appraised as changeable. No general relations were observed in the people with psychiatric conditions.