Hassles, health, and personality

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Psychosomatic Medicine

Background:

• Daily hassles are recognized stressors.
• Trait anxiety and reactivity are individual difference variables.
• Perceived stress, psychiatric symptomatology, and minor physical ailments are key health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between daily hassles, psychological variables, and health outcomes.
• To investigate the independent and interactive effects of hassles and psychological factors on stress, physical ailments, and psychiatric symptoms.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 211 college undergraduates completed self-report measures.
• Measures included a hassles scale, trait anxiety, reactivity, perceived stress, psychiatric symptomatology, and minor physical ailments.
• Scales for perceived stress, psychiatric symptomatology, and minor physical ailments were time-referenced to the past month.

Main Results:

• Hassles and trait anxiety jointly explained 58% of the variance in perceived stress.
• Hassles and reactivity together accounted for 23% of the variance in minor physical ailments.
• Hassles and trait anxiety showed a significant interaction effect on psychiatric symptomatology, explaining 67% of the variance.

Conclusions:

• Daily hassles are significant predictors of perceived stress, minor ailments, and psychiatric symptomatology in college students.
• Trait anxiety and reactivity play crucial roles in moderating the impact of hassles on health outcomes.
• The findings highlight the interplay between stressors, individual differences, and mental and physical health.