Analyzing the Temporal Structure of Proactive Coping: An Integrative Approach

Proactive coping is an important construct in health and well-being research. Yet, not much is known about its temporal stability and how life events affect it. Conceptualizations of coping have mainly focused on either (i) stable, trait-like characteristics, (ii) state-like, context-dependent features, or (iii) process-oriented aspects of coping. This preregistered study integrates these approaches to investigate the variability and stability of five dimensions of proactive coping. It further examines whether proactive coping is sensitive to an exemplary life event: unemployment.

The study uses monthly panel data of two cohorts of initially employed German job seekers (N₁ = 1540; N₂ = 909). It utilizes a latent-state-trait model with autoregressive effects.

Proactive coping was highly stable over time. This stability was largely driven by dispositional (trait) differences. Situation-specific factors had a very small effect. Similarly, the effects of previous situations were overall small; however, they were larger on the early and late occasions of measurement. Furthermore, no effects of unemployment were found. The results were largely similar in the two cohorts.

Proactive coping is highly stable over time and across episodes of employment and unemployment. However, it also contains a dynamic component, which suggests it can be affected by situational influences.