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Coping as a mediator of emotion
1University of California School of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, San Francisco 94143-0320.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|March 1, 1988
Summary
This study reveals how coping strategies influence emotions during stressful events. Effective coping mechanisms can alter both positive and negative emotional experiences, highlighting the bidirectional relationship between coping and emotion.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Emotion Research
Background:
- Traditionally, research focused on how emotions affect coping.
- A gap exists in understanding how coping influences emotional outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mediating role of coping in emotional responses to stress.
- To address the imbalance in research favoring emotion's effect on coping.
Main Methods:
- Utilized hierarchical regression analyses on residual data.
- Assessed stressful encounters, coping mechanisms, and emotions repeatedly in two Caucasian samples.
- Examined eight forms of coping mediating four sets of emotions.
Main Results:
- Coping strategies were significantly associated with changes in all measured emotion sets.
- Specific coping forms correlated with increased positive emotions.
- Other coping forms were linked to increased negative emotions.
Conclusions:
- Coping significantly mediates emotional experiences during stressful encounters.
- The findings support a bidirectional influence between coping and emotion.
- Understanding coping's role is crucial for managing emotional well-being.