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Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
Published on: May 4, 2020
[Relationship between dispositional optimism/pessimism and stress coping strategies]
Alfonso Martínez-Correa1, Gustavo A Reyes del Paso, Ana García-León
1Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de Jaén, Spain. almarcor@ujaen.es
Abstract:
Recent studies confirm that dispositional pessimism is related with a worse state of physical health, in comparison with dispositional optimism . The efficacy of stress coping strategies has been considered as a mediating mechanism in this relationship. The aim of the present study is to analyze in a sample of university students (n = 200) the association between dispositional optimism/pessimism and different categories of self-reported somatic symptoms , and evaluate the possible mediation of the stress coping strategies in this relationship. The results indicate that: 1) pessimism is positively related with the report of physical symptoms, whereas optimism is negatively associated to somatic complaints; and 2) this relationship can be mainly explained by the differential utilization of the coping strategy denominated self-criticism (characteristic of pessimism).
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