Does trait coping exist? A momentary assessment approach to the evaluation of traits.
This study investigated the extent to which momentary reports of coping are a traitlike phenomenon and the validity of a questionnaire assessment of coping style. Participants (N = 96) completed the questionnaire, then monitored stressful events and coping activities for 2 days using a hand-held computer that administered a brief assessment every 40 min. Momentary reports exhibited a sizable traitlike component: Individual differences accounted for 42% of the variance for 2 coping items and 15-30% of the variance for 15 items. The questionnaire assessment of coping style was a poor predictor of average momentary coping; the coping style measure and the aggregated momentary measure of trait coping shared 23% of their variance for religion and 0-12% for the 16 other coping measures. Self-report assessments of trait coping are poor measures of the trait component of momentary coping and very poor predictors of coping in specific situations.
Schwartz
J E
JE
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794-8790, USA. jschwartz@mail.psychiatry.sunysb.edu
Neale
J
J
Marco
C
C
Shiffman
S S
SS
Stone
A A
AA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires