THERELATIONSHIPBETWEENPERSONALITY,

COPINGSTYLESANDSTRESS,ANXIETYAND

DEPRESSION

Athesissubmittedinpartialfulfilmentoftherequirementsforthe

Degree

ofMasterofScienceinPsychology

intheUniversityofCanterbury

byHaleyvanBerkel

UniversityofCanterbury

2009

Acknowledgements

Thisthesiswouldnothavebeencompletedwithoutthedirection,supportandlovefromanumber

ofdifferentpeople.

IwouldfirstlyliketoacknowledgemyLordandSaviourJesusChrist.Hehasrescuedmefrommy

sinandgivenmeeternallife.WithoutHimeverythingismeaningless,achasingafterthewind.

IwouldliketothankmyprimarysupervisorDr.JanetCarter.Thankyouforyourguideddirection

andyourcommitmenttomakingthisthesisexcellent.Iwouldalsoliketothankmyco-supervisor

Dr.KumariFernando.ThankyouforcontinuallyencouragingmewhenIwasoverwhelmed,and

providingmewithpositivefeedbackaswellasconstructivecriticism.Thankyoutobothofyoufor

takingonthesupervisoryroleandmakingmeapriorityinyourworkinglives.

ThankyoualsotoJohannahBetmanandFelicityDalyforallyourhelpwithcomputersoftwareand

statisticalanalyses.Yourgivingofprecioustimewasgreatlyappreciated.

IwouldalsoliketoacknowledgeandthankmymotherKathy,whohasnotonlybeenmymother

forthepast25yearsbutalsomyteacher,myadvisorandmyfriend.Thankyouformakingityour

lifesworktoshapemeandmakemethepersonIamtoday.Iwouldalsoliketoacknowledgemy

latefatherNicholas,whoIknowwouldbesoproudofme,andwhosehardworkanddetermination

Ihaveinherited.

LastlyIwouldliketoacknowledgeandthankmyfiancBruce.Thankyouforyourcontinuedlove

andsupportthroughthegoodtimesandthehardtimes.Throughoutthisperiodyouhavehelpedme

keepthingsinperspective.YouaremyRock,Icanthinkofnobetterpersontowalkthislifewith.

i

TableofContents

LISTOFTABLES.................................................................................................................... iv

LISTOFFIGURES.................................................................................................................. iv

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................

1

1.INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 2

1.1Coping........................................................................................................................................ 21.1.1CopingStyles........................................................................................................................ 3

1.2CopingStyleandPsychologicalDistress................................................................................. 31.2.1Overview............................................................................................................................... 31.2.2AvoidantCopingandPsychologicalDistress.................................................................. 41.2.3Problem-FocusedCopingandPsychologicalDistress.................................................... 61.2.4Emotion-FocusedCopingandPsychologicalDistress.................................................... 91.2.5Summary.............................................................................................................................. 10

1.3Personality................................................................................................................................ 111.3.1PersonalityTraitsandtheirAssociationswithStress,AnxietyandDepression............ 121.3.2Cloninger'sPsychobiologicalModelofPersonality........................................................ 131.4PersonalityandPsychologicalDistress................................................................................... 141.4.1HarmAvoidance,Self-DirectednessandPsychologicalDistress................................... 141.4.2RewardDependenceandPsychologicalDistress..................................................... 191.4.3Summary.............................................................................................................................. 20

1.5PersonalityandCopingStyle................................................................................................... 211.5.1Overview............................................................................................................................... 211.5.2ReviewofPersonalityandCopingStyle........................................................................... 211.5.3ReviewofCloninger'sPsychobiologicalModelandCopingStyles............................... 221.5.4Summary............................................................................................................................. 24

1.6CurrentStudy.......................................................................................................................... 25

2.METHOD................................................................................................................................ 27

2.1Participants............................................................................................................................... 272.2Procedure.................................................................................................................................. 272.3EthicalApproval....................................................................................................................... 282.4Measures................................................................................................................................... 282.4.1TheTemperamentCharacterInventoryRevised(TCI-R;Cloningeretal.,1994)............... 28

ii

2.4.2TheCopingOrientationofProblemExperienceInventory(TheCOPE;Carveretal.,1989)...................................................................................................................................

342.4.3TheDepressionAnxietyStressScale(DASS;S.H.Lovibond&P.F.Lovibond,

1995)...................................................................................................................................

36

2.5StatisticalAnalyses................................................................................................................... 382.5.1CheckingtheDataforNormality......................................................................................... 38

3.RESULTS................................................................................................................................ 41

3.1DescriptiveInformation........................................................................................................... 413.2ExaminationofData................................................................................................................ 433.3RelationshipbetweenCopingandStress,AnxietyandDepressionVariables....................... 443.3.1CopingStyles(Problem-Focused,Emotion-Focused,Avoidant)andPsychological

Distress...............................................................................................................................

44

3.4IndividualCopingStylesandPsychologialDistress............................................................... 453.4.1PostHocAnalysisofProblem-FocusedCopingStylesandDepressionScores.................. 453.4.2PosthocAnalysisofAvoidantCopingStylesandStress,AnxietyandDepressionScores..................................................................................................................................

46

3.5RelationshipbetweenPersonalityandStress,AnxietyandDepressionVariables................ 473.5.1AssociationsbetweenPersonality(HarmAvoidance,RewardDependence,Self

Directedness)andPsychologicalDistress.................................................................................

47

3.6RelationshipbetweenPersonalityandCopingStyles............................................................. 473.6.1AssociationsbetweenPersonalityTraitsandCopingStyles................................................ 47

3.7TheContributionofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCopingtoStress,AnxietyandDepression...............................................................................................................................

483.7.1TheContributionofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCopingtoStress............................... 483.7.2TheContributionofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCopingtoAnxiety............................. 503.7.3TheContributionofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCopingtoDepressive

Symptoms............................................................................................................................

51

4.DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................ 55

4.1ComparisonwithPreviousResearch....................................................................................... 554.1.1AvoidantCopingandDistress.............................................................................................. 554.1.2Problem-FocusedCopingandDistress............................................................................... 564.1.3Emotion-FocusedCopingandDistress................................................................................ 584.1.4HarmAvoidanceandDistress.............................................................................................. 604.1.5Self-DirectednessandDistress............................................................................................. 614.1.6RewardDependenceandDistress........................................................................................ 624.1.7PersonalityandCoping........................................................................................................ 624.1.8TheContributionofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCopingtoPsychological

Distress...............................................................................................................................

644.2StrengthsandLimitations........................................................................................................ 654.3ImplicationsandFutureResearch.......................................................................................... 68

iii

4.4Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 74

REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................................

75

APPENDIX......................................................................................................................................................

82

AppendixA:RecruitmentDocumentationDescriptionofStudyforWebsite,PosterAdvertisement,InformationSheet,ParticipantContact

Details,ConsentForm,DebriefForm,EthicsApproval...............................................................

83AppendixB:MaterialsusedintheCurrentStudyDemographicInformation,IndexofQuestionnaires,TemperamentCharacterInventoryRevised,

TheCopingOrientationofProblemExperience,TheDepressionAnxietyStressScale.................

92

AppendixC:Tables........................................................................................................................ 119

iv

LISTOFTABLES

Table1.DescriptionoftheTCI-RSubscales.................................................................................... 32Table2.TheCOPESubscalesasusedintheCurrentStudy............................................................ 35

Table3.ExampleofItemsintheDASS............................................................................................. 37Table4.Kolmogorov-SmirnovTestingofDataNormalityStress,AnxietyandDepressiveSymptoms(N=201)...........................................................................................................

39Table5.Means,StandardDeviationsandRangesFoundforPersonality,CopingStylesand

PsychologicalDistress(N=201).......................................................................................

42Table6.ComparisonofDescriptiveStatisticsforStress,AnxietyandDepressionLevelswithPastStudies(UniversityandGeneralPopulation)............................................................

42Table7.ComparisonofHarmAvoidance,RewardDependenceandSelf-DirectednessScoresAcrossPastStudies(GeneralPopulation)........................................................................

43Table8.ComparisonofCopingStyleScoreswithPastStudies(UniversityandGeneral

Population).........................................................................................................................

43Table9.PercentageofParticipantsClassifiedasMild,Moderate,SevereLevelsofStress,

AnxietyandDepressiveSymptoms)....................................................................................

44Table10.Association(PearsonsCorrelation)betweenPersonality,CopingStylesandStress,

AnxietyandDepression(N=201).....................................................................................

45Table11.Association(PearsonsCorrelation)betweenAvoidantCopingsubscalesandStress,

AnxietyandDepressionVariables(N=201).....................................................................

46

Table12.AssociationsbetweenPersonalityTraits(HarmAvoidance,RewardDependence,Self-DirectednessandCopingStyles(Problem-Focused,Emotion-Focused,Avoidant)(N=201)...........................................................................................................................

48Table13.MultipleRegressionExaminingtheEffectofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCoping

onStress...........................................................................................................................

49Table14.MultipleRegressionExaminingtheEffectofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCoping

onAnxiety........................................................................................................................

51Table15.MultipleRegressionExaminingtheEffectofHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCoping

onDepressiveSymptoms.................................................................................................

52Table16.TableshowingtheMeansandStandardDeviationsforHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCopingasPsychologicalDistressIncreases....................................................

54

LISTOFFIGURES

Figure1.TheInteractionbetweenHarmAvoidanceandAvoidantCopinginPredictingDepressiveSymptoms................................................................................................

53

.

1

Abstract

Ourpersonalityandthewaywecopewithstressaretwofactorsthatareimportantinthe

developmentofpsychologicaldistress.Thecurrentstudyexploredtherelationship

betweenpersonality,copingstylesandpsychologicaldistressin201studentsfromthe

UniversityofCanterbury.ParticipantscompletedtheTemperamentCharacterInventory-

Revised(TCI-R;Cloningeretal.,1994),theDepressionAnxietyStressScale(DASS;S.H.

Lovibond&P.F.Lovibond,1995)andtheCopingOrientationofProblemExperience

(COPE;Carver,Scheier,Weintraub,1989).Thestudyshowedthatparticipantswithhigh

harmavoidanceandlowself-directednessreportedincreasedstress,anxietyand

depression,whilelowharmavoidanceandhighself-directednessappearedtobea

protectivefactoragainstthedevelopmentofdistress.Avoidantcopingwasshowntobethe

mostmaladaptivecopingstyleasitwasassociatedwithincreasedstress,anxietyand

depression,whileproblem-focusedcopingappearedtoreducedepressivesymptoms.

Strongassociationswerealsofoundbetweenpersonalityandcopingstyles,asindividuals

withhighrewarddependenceweremoreinclinedtoengageinemotion-focusedcoping,

whilehighself-directedindividualsengagedinmoreproblem-focusedcoping.Highharm

avoidancewasassociatedwithavoidantcoping,resultingingreaterdistressthaneither

predictoralone.Thecurrentstudysuggeststhatourpersonalityandthecopingstyleswe

employmayinfluencewhetherweexperiencestress,anxietyanddepressivesymptoms.

Furthermore,theassociationbetweenpersonalityandcopingstylessuggeststhat

individualswithmaladaptivepersonalities(e.g.highharmavoidance)areatagreaterrisk

forexperiencingpsychologicaldistressastheyaremorelikelytouseamaladaptivecoping

stylesuchasavoidantcoping.

2

1.Introduction

Theprimaryaiminthisthesisistoexaminetheassociationbetweencertainpersonality

traits,copingstylesandpsychologicaldistress.Psychologicaldistresscanbe

conceptualisedinavarietyofways.Forthepurposeofthisstudyitwillbedefinedas

symptomsofstress,anxietyanddepression.Inthissectionthepreviousresearchregarding

thecontributionofcertainpersonalitystylesandcopingtopsychologicaldistresswillbe

discussed.Inaddition,thisresearchwilloutlinepreviousresearchthathasshownthereis

alsoanassociationbetweencertainpersonalitiesandcopingstyles.Itisarguedthata

maladaptivepersonalityandamaladaptivecopingstylepredictincreasedpsychological

distress,relativetoeachpredictoralone.Thegoalofthisstudyistoprovidegreater

understandingoftheetiologyandmaintenanceofstress,anxietyanddepression.

Consequentlyindividualsmaybeidentifiedthatare'atrisk'forexperiencingpsychological

distress.

1.1Coping

Copingisaprocessthatweasindividualsemployeveryday.Weengageincopingwhen

wefeelunderstressorwanttomanageataxingsituation.Theprocessofcopinginvolves

twocomponents,appraisalandcoping(Lazarus,1966).Appraisalistheactofperceivinga

stressorandanalysingone'sownabilitytodealwiththestressor.Appraisalcanbemadein

threedifferentconditions:whenwehaveexperiencedastressor,whenweanticipatea

stressorandwhenweexperienceachanceformasteryorgain(Lazarus,1966).Oncewe

appraiseastressfulsituationwemustdecidehowwewillrespondorcopewiththe

stressor,eitherchoosingtomasterit,reduceitortolerateit.Thecopingstyleweengagein

isultimatelydeterminedbywhetherwebelievewehavetheresourcestoresolvethe

stressor(Lazarus,1966).

3

1.1.1CopingStyles

Thereappeartobethreemaincopingstylesthatpeopleemploywhenattemptingtoresolve

orremoveastressor:problem-focusedcoping,emotion-focusedcopingandavoidant

coping.Problem-focusedcopinginvolvesalteringormanagingtheproblemthatiscausing

thestressandishighlyactionfocused.Individualsengaginginproblem-focusedcoping

focustheirattentionongatheringtherequiredresources(i.e.skills,toolsandknowledge)

necessarytodealwiththestressor.Thisinvolvesanumberofstrategiessuchasgathering

information,resolvingconflict,planningandmakingdecisions(Lazarus&Folkman,

1984).Emotion-focusedcopingcantakearangeofformssuchasseekingsocialsupport,

acceptanceandventingofemotionsetc(Carveretal.,1989).Althoughemotion-focused

copingstylesarequitevariedtheyallseektolessenthenegativeemotionsassociatedwith

thestressor,thusemotion-focusedcopingisaction-orientated(Admiraal,Korthagen,&

Wubbels,2000;Folkman&Lazarus,1980).Thethirdmaincopingstyleisavoidant

coping.Avoidantcopingcanbedescribedascognitiveandbehaviouraleffortsdirected

towardsminimising,denyingorignoringdealingwithastressfulsituation(Holahan,

Holahan,Moos,Brennan,&Schutte,2005).Althoughsomeresearchersgroupavoidant

copingwithemotion-focusedcopingthestylesareconceptuallydistinct.Avoidantcoping

isfocusedonignoringastressorandisthereforepassive,whereasemotion-focusedcoping

isactive(Admiraaletal.,2000,Holahanetal.,2005).

1.2CopingStyleandPsychologicalDistress

1.2.1Overview

Althoughmanyfactorsareinvolvedinthedevelopmentofpsychologicaldistress,coping

styleshavebeenshowntobeasignificantcontributor.Problem-focusedcopingappearsto

4

bethemostadaptivecopingstyleasitisassociatedwithreducedpsychologicaldistress.

Alternatively,avoidantcopingappearsthemostmaladaptiveasitisassociatedwith

increaseddistress.(Ben-Zur,1999;Bouteyre,Maurel,&Bernaud,2007;Carver,Scheier,

&Weintraub,1989;Crockettetal.,2007;Folkman,1997;Knibb&Horton,2008;

Penland,Masten,Zelhart,Fournet,&Callahan,2000;Sherbourne,Hays,&Wells,1995;

Wijndaeleetal.,2007).Theresultsregardingemotion-focusedcopingaremorecomplexas

thiscopingstylehasbeenassociatedwithbothincreasedanddecreasedlevelsof

psychologicaldistress(NetworkofRelationshipsInventory;Ben-Zur,1999;Billings&

Moos,1984;Bouteyre,Maurel,&Bernaud,2007;Brown&Harris,1978b;Brown,

Svrakic,Przybeck,&Cloninger,1992;Carver,Scheier,&Weintraub,1989;Crockettet

al.,2007;Knibb&Horton,2008;Penland,Masten,Zelhart,Fournet,&Callahan,2000;

Wijndaeleetal.,2007).Thissectionwillanalysepreviousresearchtodemonstratethe

relationshipbetweencopingstylesandpsychologicaldistress.Particularfocuswillbe

placedonuniversitystudentsasthisistheareaofinterestforthepresentresearch.

1.2.2AvoidantCopingandPsychologicalDistress

Avoidantcopinghasbeenshowntobeassociatedwithgreaterdistressthanothercoping

styles.Ingeneral,clinicallydepressedparticipantsexperiencelessimprovementand

greaterdysfunctionwhentheyengageinavoidantcoping(Billings&Moos,1984).

Holahanetal.(2005)showedthatavoidantcopingispositivelyassociatedwithdepressive

symptomsinatenyearlongitudinalstudy.Theirstudyexaminedthecopingstyles,life

stressorsanddepressivesymptomsof1,211participantsoveratenyearperiod.

Participantsweremeasuredforbaselinedepressionlevelsattheinitialtestingperiod,four

yearslaterandtenyearslater.Holahanetal.foundthatindividualsthatengagedin

avoidantcopingatbaselineweremorelikelytoexperiencechronicandacutestressors

whenmeasuredfouryearslaterandtoexhibitdepressivesymptomstenyearslater.

5

AlthoughHolahanetalsresearchisonlycorrelationalitdoessuggestthatavoidantcoping

mayfailtoremovestressorsandasaconsequencedepressivesymptomsmayincrease.An

importantelementofHolahanetalsstudyisthatdepressivesymptomswerecontrolledfor

atthebeginningofthestudy,thussuggestingthattheincreasesinlifestressorsand

depressionmayhavebeeninfluencedbyavoidantcoping.

Avoidantcopinghasalsobeenassociatedwithincreasedpsychologicaldistressinnon

clinicalpopulationssuchasthegeneralpopulation(Wijndaeleetal.,2007)anduniversity

samples.Penlandetal.(2000)foundintheiruniversitystudythatparticipantsexperienced

greaterdepressivesymptomswhentheyengagedinanavoidantcopingstylesuchas

wishfulthinking.Crockettetals(2007)studyalsorevealedstrongpositiveassociations

betweenavoidantcopingandpsychologicaldistress.Participantswereshowntohave

increasedsymptomsofanxietyanddepressionwhentheyengagedinavoidantcoping,as

opposedtoparticipantsthatengagedinproblem-focusedcoping.

Thepositiveassociationshownbetweenavoidantcopingandstress,anxietyanddepression

mayoccurbecauseavoidantcopingfailstoremoveminorstressors(Holahanetal.,2005).

Asstressorsareallowedtofesterandgrowtheycanbecomemorestressful,resultinginan

individualexperiencingincreasedanxietyanddepression.Anegativecyclecanthen

developwheredepressedindividualsmaybemorelikelytoappraisetheirabilitytodeal

withstressorsaslowandbemorepessimisticaboutfutureoutcomes(Abramson,

Seligman,&Teasdale,1978).Thisnegativethinkingmayleadthemtoengageinmore

passivecopingstylessuchasavoidantcopingandthusthenegativecycleiscontinued.

6

1.2.3Problem-FocusedCopingandPsychologicalDistress

Problem-focusedcopingisthemostadaptivecopingstyleasitappearstoreduce

symptomsofstress,anxietyanddepression.Anumberofdifferentpopulationshave

demonstratedthatproblem-focusedcopingisassociatedwithreduceddistress.Wijndaele

etal.(2007)recentlyshowedthatproblem-focusedcopingisthemosteffectiveatreducing

psychologicaldistressinthegeneralpopulation.Theirstudyanalysedthecopingstylesand

psychologicaldistresslevelsof2,616Belgianadults.Wijndaeleetal.foundthat

participantsthatengagedinproblem-focusedcopinghadreducedsymptomsofstress,

anxietyanddepression,comparedtoparticipantsthatengagedinothercopingstyles.

Althoughasignificantassociationwasshownbetweenproblem-focusedcopingand

psychologicaldistressitisimportanttonotethatWijndaeleetalsstudyhadalow

responserate(28%),whichmayhaveaffectedthegeneralityofthestudy.

Problem-focusedcopingisalsoassociatedwithreduceddistressinthegaypopulation.

Problem-focusedcopingisanadaptivecopingstyletouseinuncontrollablesituations,

suchasterminalillness,asitprovidesindividualswithasenseofcontrol.Folkman(1997)

foundinastudyof314mencaringforadyingpartnerthatparticipantsexperiencedan

increaseinmoodoncetheyengagedinproblem-focusedcoping.Inaddition,Folkman

showedthatparticipantsweremoreinclinedtoengageinproblem-focusedcopingcloserto

theirpartnersdeathastheyneededtofeelanincreasedsenseofcontrol.Folkmansstudy

suggeststhatproblem-focusedcopingisnegativelyassociatedwithpsychologicaldistress

asitempowersindividualsandallowsthemtosetandachievesmallgoalsinsituations

wheretheyhavelittlecontrol.AlthoughFolkmansfindingsprovidesupportforthe

negativeassociationsbetweenproblem-focusedcopingandpsychologicaldistressone

cannotgeneraliseherfindingstothewholepopulation.Furthermore,itisestimatedthat

only30%-40%ofgaymenbecometheprimarycaregiverfortheirillpartner(Harry&

7

Devall,1978)thushersamplemayhavepersonalityqualitiesorotherfactorsthat

distinguishthemfromthegaypopulation.

Problem-focusedcopingisassociatedwithreduceddistressinclinicalpatients(Billings&

Moos,1984;Cronkite,Moos,Twohey,Cohen,&Swindle,1998)withthestrongest

reductioninsymptomsshownbyseverelydepressedindividuals(Sherbourne,Hays,&

Wells,1995).Sherbourneetal.(1995)foundthatdepressedparticipantsshowedgreater

improvementwhentheyengagedinproblem-focusedcopingcomparedtoavoidantcoping.

Theirstudymeasuredthecopingstylesanddepressivesymptomsof604depressed

individualsattwopointsintimes:12monthspostbaselineand24monthspostbaseline.

Interestingly,thegreatestimprovementwasdisplayedinseverelydepressedparticipants,

suggestingthatproblem-focusedcopingmaybethemosteffectivecopingstylefor

severelydepressedindividuals.ItisimportanttonoteafewlimitationsinSherbourneet

alsstudy.Sherbourneetal.hadarelativelylowresponseratetotheirstudywhichcould

haveledittobecomebiasedinsomeway.Furthermore,onlyonebaselineself-report

questionnairewasusedtomeasureanumberofdifferentfactors,suchassupport,stress,

copingstyleandlifestylefactors.Thestudycouldbeimprovedbyusingaspecialised

measureofcoping,suchastheWaysofCopingQuestionnaire(Folkman&Lazarus,1988)

ortheCOPE(Carveretal.,1989).

Studentshavelowerlevelsofstress,anxietyanddepressionwhentheyengageinproblem-

focusedcopingcomparedtoothercopingstyles.Penlandetal.(2000)foundthat

participantswhoengagedinproblem-focusedcopingexperiencedagreaterdecreasein

depressivesymptomscomparedtoparticipantswhoengagedinothercopingstyles.

Crockettetal.(2007)alsofoundproblem-focusedcopingtobethemostadaptivecoping

styleemployedbyuniversitystudents.Crockettandcolleaguesexaminedtheassociations

8

betweenproblem-focusedcopingandstress,anxietyanddepressionin148Mexican

Americancollegestudents.Theirstudymeasuredparticipantslevelofsocialsupport

(NetworkofRelationshipsInventory;Furman&Buhrmester,1992)copingstyles,(COPE;

Carveretal.,1989),stress(TheSocial,Attitudinal,FamilialandEnvironmental

AcculturativeStressScale;Mena,Padilla,&Maldonado,1987),anxiety(BeckAnxiety

Inventory;Beck&Steer,1993)anddepressivesymptoms(TheCenterforEpidemiological

StudiesDepressionScale;Radloff,1977).Theirfindingsshowedthatproblem-focused

copingwasassociatedwithreduceddepressivesymptoms.Anadditionalstudyby

Bouteyreetal.(2007)furtherdemonstratesthenegativeassociationbetweenproblem-

focusedcopingandpsychologicaldistressinuniversitystudents.Bouteyreetal.were

interestedtoexamineboththeprevalenceofdepressivesymptomsinFrenchstudentsand

theroleofcopingstylesinrelationtodepressivesymptoms.Theirstudyshowedthat41%

ofthe233studentstheymeasuredexhibiteddepressivesymptoms,however,participants

thatengagedinproblem-focusedcopingwerelesslikelytoexhibitdepressivesymptoms.

Problem-focusedcopingappearstobeeffectivesimplybecauseitremovesdailystressors.

Althoughdailystressorsareonlysmalltheyhavebeenassociatedwithloweredmoodin

universitystudents(Wolf,Elston,&Kissling,1989).Perhapsmoresignificantly,daily

stressorscandevelopintomajorstresses,thusincreasingthepotentialforincreasedstress,

anxietyanddepression(Holahanetal.,2005).Theremovalofthesestressorstherefore

decreasesthelikelihoodofexperiencingdistress.Inaddition,problem-focusedcopingmay

benegativelyassociatedwithpsychologicaldistressasitrequiresindividualstosetand

accomplishgoals.Asaconsequenceindividualsareprovidedwithasenseofmasteryand

control,thusreducingtheiranxietyandstress(Folkman,1997).

9

1.2.4Emotion-FocusedCopingandPsychologicalDistress

Emotion-focusedcopingincorporatesanumberofdiversecopingstylesthathavebeen

showntobebothadaptiveandmaladaptive(Billings&Moos,1984;Penland,2000;

Wijndaeleetal.,2007;Crockett,2007;Bouteyre,2007).Ingeneral,thecopingstrategies

thatfocusonnegativeemotionsandthoughtsappeartoincreasepsychologicaldistress

(e.g.ventingofemotionsandrumination),whereascopingstrategiesthatregulateemotion

(e.g.seekingsocialsupport,affectregulationandacceptance)appeartoreducedistress.

Themixedfindingsregardingemotion-focusedcopinghasbeenclearlydemonstratedin

BillingsandMooss(1984)clinicalstudy.Theirstudyanalysedtherelationshipbetween

copingstylesanddepressivesymptomsin424menandwomenenteringtreatmentfor

depression.Depressedpatientsexperiencedlessseveresymptomswhentheyengagedin

affect-regulation.However,participantsthatusedthecopingstyleventingofemotions

experiencedgreaterdysfunction.

Themixedfindingsinregardstoemotion-focusedcopingarealsodemonstratedin

universitysamples.Bouteyreetal.(2007)showedapositiveassociationbetweenventing

ofemotionsanddepressivesymptomsin233firstyearpsychologystudents.Incontrast

however,Penlandetal.(2000)foundventingofemotionswasanadaptivecopingstrategy

asparticipantsexperienceddecreaseddepressivesymptomswhentheyexpressedtheir

distressingemotions.Theinconsistencyoftheseresultsdemonstratesthatitisdifficultto

ascertaintherelationshipbetweenventingofemotionsandpsychologicaldistress.

Anemotion-focusedcopingstrategythathasconsistentlybeenshowntobenegatively

associatedwithpsychologicaldistressisseekingsocialsupport.Wijndaeleetal.(2007)

exploredtherelationshipbetweenemotion-focusedcopingandpsychologicaldistressin

theirgeneralpopulationstudyandfoundthatindividualshadloweranxietyanddepressive

10

symptomswhentheyregularlyreceivedsocialsupport.Seekingsocialsupportisalso

negativelyassociatedwithstress,anxietyanddepressioninuniversitystudents.Crockettet

al.(2007)foundthatseekingsocialsupportwasaneffectivecopingstrategyforstudents

experiencinghighlevelsofstress,asstudentsreportedfeweranxietyanddepressive

symptomswhentheyreceivedsocialsupport,asopposedtostudentswhodidnotreceive

socialsupport.Thenegativeassociationbetweenseekingsocialsupportandpsychological

distresshasfurtherbeensupportedbyPenlandetal.(2000)andBouteyreetal.(2007).

Emotion-focusedcopingappearstovaryinitseffectivenessasitincorporatesanumberof

diversecopingstyles.Copingstylesthatregulateemotionareeffectiveastheyprevent

peoplefromdwellingontheirnegativeemotionsandensuretheytakeproactivestepsto

resolvetheirnegativeemotions(Carveretal.,1989).Forexample,seekingsocialsupport

iseffectiveasitencouragesstudentstoseekadvicefromothersregardingsuitablecoping

strategiesinwhichtoengage(Bouteyreetal.,2007).Anotheradaptivecopingstyle,

acceptance,appearstobeeffectiveasitrequiresindividualstotakeproactivestepsto

acceptadistressingsituation,ratherthancontinuetoexperiencenegativeemotions(Carver

etal.,1989).Conversely,emotion-focusedstrategiesthatfocusonnegativeemotionsare

maladaptiveastheyrequireindividualstofocusontheirnegativeemotionsratherthan

removethem(Billings&Moos,1984).Copingstylessuchasventingofemotionsand

ruminationaregenerallyshowntobemaladaptiveastheydonotremovethenegative

emotionsbutinfactexacerbatethemandprolongexistingfeelingsofdistress(Windle&

Windle,1996).

1.2.5Summary

Insummary,researchhasshowncopingstylesareassociatedwithpsychologicaldistressin

anumberofdifferentpopulations.Problem-focusedcopingisnegativelyassociatedwith

11

stress,anxietyanddepressivesymptomswhileavoidantcopingispositivelyassociated

withstress,anxietyanddepression.Theresearchsurroundingemotion-focusedcopinghas

producedmixedfindings,withsomestudiesshowingittobeassociatedwithincreased

distressandothersdecreaseddistress.Thisappearstooccurbecauseemotion-focused

copingencompassesabroadrangeofcopingstrategies,eachwithvaryingeffectiveness.

1.3Personality

Personalitytraitsappeartoplayaninfluentialroleinthedevelopmentofpsychological

distress.Personalitiesthataremorenegativearetraditionallyassociatedwithgreaterdistress,

whilemoreoutgoingandpositivepersonalitiesgenerallyexperiencepositivepsychological

health(Duggan,Sham,Lee,Minne,&Murray,1995;Magnus,Diener,Fujita,&Payot,1993;

Suls,Green,&Hillis,1998;Vollrath&Torgersen,2000).Themajorityofresearchthathas

examinedtherelationshipbetweenpersonalityanddistresshasfocusedontheBigFive

personalitytraits.Thisresearchhasshowntherearesignificantassociationsbetween

psychologicaldistressandthepersonalitytraitsneuroticism,extraversionand

conscientiousness.Morerecently,greaterattentionhasfocusedonthegeneticmake-upof

personalitywhichledtothedevelopmentofCloningerspsychobiologicalmodel(Cloninger,

Svrakic,&Przybeck,1993).Cloningersmodelpostulatesthatpersonalitydevelopmentis

influencedbybothbiologicalandpsychologicalprocesses.Strongassociationshavebeen

foundbetweenCloningerspersonalitytraitsandpsychologicaldistresswhichsuggeststhat

certainpersonalitiesmaybegeneticallypredisposedtoexperiencedistress.Thissectionwill

brieflyanalysethegeneralfindingsregardingpersonalityandpsychologicaldistressandwill

thenexaminetheassociationsshownbetweenCloningerspersonalitymodeland

psychologicaldistress.

12

1.3.1PersonalityTraitsandtheirAssociationswithStress,AnxietyandDepression

Thepersonalitytraitsneuroticism,extraversionandconscientiousnesshavebeenlinked

withhighandlowpsychologicaldistressinanumberofdifferentpopulations.Individuals

highinneuroticism(characterisedbynegativeemotionalstatesandpredisposition)arethe

mostvulnerabletoexperiencingincreaseddistress.Dugganetal.(1995)foundthat

participantswithafamilyhistoryofdepressionweremorevulnerabletodeveloping

depressivesymptomswhentheyhadhighlevelsofneuroticism.Individualswithhigh

neuroticismmaybemorevulnerabletoexperiencingdistressastheyrespondmore

negativelytodailystressorsandreportexperiencingmorestressfulevents.Sulsetal.,

(1998)demonstratedthisfindingintheirstudyofcommunityparticipants.Participants

completedtheNEOPersonalityInventory(NEO-PI;Costa&McCrae,1985)ataninitial

appointmentandthencompleteddiaryentriesoveraneight-dayperiod.Sulsetal.found

thatallparticipantsexperiencedaloweringofmoodwhentheyencounteredastressor.

However,individualswithhighneuroticismreactedmorenegativelytothestressorsand

weremoresusceptibletotherecurrenceofthesameproblems.Inaddition,neurotic

personsreportedexperiencingmorestressfulevents.

Thepersonalitytraitsneuroticism,extraversionandconscientiousnessarealsoassociated

withpsychologicaldistressinuniversitystudents.Asindividualswithhighextraversion

andconscientiousnessaremoresociable,positiveandgoal-orientatedtheyarelesslikelyto

becomeasdistressedashighlyneuroticindividuals.Vollrath(2000)showedthatstudents

withmoreadaptivepersonalitiessuchashighextraversionandconscientiousnesswereless

affectedbydailystress.Hemeasuredthepersonalityandstresslevelsof119university

studentsthreemonthsaftertheybeganuniversityandthenthreeyearslater.Thestudy

findingsshowedthatextraversionandconscientiousnesswerenegativelycorrelatedwith

dailystresswhileneuroticismwaspositivelycorrelatedwithstress.

13

1.3.2Cloninger'sPsychobiologicalModelofPersonality

Althoughpreviousresearchhasshownassociationsbetweencertainpersonalitytraitsand

psychologicaldistress,fewpersonalitymodelshavefocusedonthegeneticcomponentsof

personality.Cloningerspsychologicalmodelofpersonalityisamoreusefulmodeltouse

whenstudyingtherelationshipbetweenpersonalityandpsychologicaldistressasithas

shownthatcertainpersonalitiesappeartocontainageneticvulnerabilitytodistress

(Cloningeretal.,1993).Cloningerproposedthatpersonalitycontainstwocomponents;

temperamentandcharacter.Temperamentisregardedasthebiologicalaspectof

personalityasitisgeneticallyinheritedanddevelopsearlyinlife.Processessuchas

memory,habitformation,emotionalresponseandinformationprocessingareall

influencedbytemperament(Cloningeretal.,1993).Characterdevelopmentontheother

handisacontinuousprocessthatisinfluencedbyourlifeexperience.Inessencethe

characteraspectofpersonalityisrelatedtodifferentaspectsoftheself,i.e.whoweare,

whywearehere(Cloningeretal.,1993).Theinclusionofbothtemperamentandcharacter

isusefulasitensuresCloninger'smodelismeasuringbothstableandchangingaspectsof

personality.

Cloningertheorisedthattemperamentandcharacterinteracttoproduceouroverall

personality.Hebelievedtheretobefourmainpersonalitytemperaments;noveltyseeking,

harmavoidance,rewarddependenceandpersistenceandthreecharacterdimensions;self-

directedness,cooperativenessandself-transcendence.Thisstudywillfocusonharm

avoidance,rewarddependenceandself-directednessastheyhavebeenshowntobe

associatedwithpsychologicaldistress.Harmavoidancedescribestheinhibitionor

cessationofbehaviour.Individualshighinharmavoidancearedescribedasapprehensive,

shy,pessimisticandpronetofatiguewhilethoselowinharmavoidancetendtobe

carefree,relaxed,courageous,composedandoptimisticeveninsituationsthatworryother

14

people.Rewarddependenceontheotherhanddescribesthemaintenanceandcontinuation

ofbehaviourthatisrewarded,especiallysocially.Individualshighinrewarddependence

aredescribedaslovingandwarm,dependentandsociablewhilethoselowinreward

dependencearemoredetached,non-conforming,cynicalandexhibitlowpersistence.Self-

directednessreferstoanindividual'sabilitytodirectandguidetheirbehaviourtowardsa

specifiedgoal.Individualshighinself-directednessaredescribedasself-determined,able

tomeetdesiredgoals,andacceptresponsibilityfortheiractionswhileindividualslowin

self-directednessstruggletosetandachievegoals,failtotakeresponsibilityfortheir

actionsandoftenhavedysfunctionalattitudesandalowerself-esteem(Cloningeretal.,

1993).

1.4PersonalityandPsychologicalDistress

1.4.1HarmAvoidance,Self-DirectednessandPsychologicalDistress

Highharmavoidanceandlowself-directednessappeartobethemostmaladaptiveof

Cloningerspersonalitytraitsastheyareassociatedwithincreasedpsychologicaldistress.

Theseassociationsarefoundregardlessofage,genderandeducation(Jylh&Isomets,

2006).Furthermore,individualswithhighharmavoidanceandlowself-directednessare

morelikelytoseektheadviceofamentalhealthprofessionalandtohavealifetimemental

illness(Jylh&Isomets,2006).JylhandIsomets(2006)showedthereweresignificant

associationsbetweenpersonalityandpsychologicaldistressintheirFinnishgeneral

populationstudy.Participantswererandomlydrawnandmailedself-reportquestionnaires

thatmeasuredpersonality(TheTemperamentCharacterInventoryRevised;Cloningeret

al.1994),depressivesymptoms(BeckDepressionInventory;Becketal.,1979)and

anxiety(BeckAnxietyInventory;Beck,Epstein,Brown,&Steer,1988).Theirresults

15

showedtherewasastrongrelationshipbetweenpersonality,anxietyanddepressive

symptoms,withhighharmavoidanceandlowself-directednessassociatedwithincreased

anxietyanddepressivesymptoms.Thefindingthatharmavoidanceandself-directedness

wereassociatedwithanxietyisalsosignificantasfewstudieshaveusedtheTCI-Rto

examinetherelationshipbetweenpersonalityandanxietyinthegeneralpopulation.

Strongassociationsbetweenhighharmavoidance,lowself-directednessandpsychological

distresshavealsobeenfoundinclinicalpopulations.Richter,PolakandEisemann(2003)

foundthatdepressedindividualshadhigherharmavoidanceandlowerself-directedness

levelsthanparticipantsfromtheGermanpopulation.Theirresultsledthemtoconclude

thathighself-directednessandlowharmavoidanceareprobablyfactorsofresilience

againstthedevelopmentofdepressivesymptoms.Onemethodologicalflawinthisstudy

howeverwasthatlittlesocio-demographicinformationwasprovidedaboutthetwo

participantgroupswiththeexceptionofthecontrolgrouphavingasignificantlowermean

agetothatofthedepressedgroup.Thisdifferenceinmeanagebringsintoquestionthe

validityofthecontrolgroup.Inordertoevaluatewhetherthecontrolgroupwasavalid

controlgroup,moreinformationregardingeducation,maritalstatusetcshouldhavebeen

provided.

Harmavoidancelevelsappeartoberelatedtotheseverityofpsychologicaldistressand

oftendecreasefollowingtreatment.Hansenneetal.(1998)showedthatdepressed

individualshadhigherlevelsofharmavoidancethanacontrolgroupandthathigherharm

avoidancelevelswereassociatedwithmoreseveredepressivesymptom.Brown(1992)

showedthatharmavoidancelevelsdecreasedfollowingtreatment.Theirstudyexamined

theharmavoidancelevelsof50patientsreceivingtreatmentforanxietyanddepression.

Brownetal.foundthatpatientsthatreceivedtreatmentfortheiranxietysymptoms

16

experiencedareductioninharmavoidancelevels.Asharmavoidancelevelsarerelatively

stableamongstthegeneralpopulationthissuggestsharmavoidanceplaysaroleinthe

developmentofanxiety.Itisimportanttonote,however,thatthissamplewasnon-random

andtherewasnocontrolgroupusedinthestudy,therefore,theresultsshouldbe

interpretedwithcaution.

Universitystudentswithhighharmavoidanceandlowself-directednessarealsomore

vulnerabletopsychologicaldistress.Laidlawetal.(2005)foundthatuniversitystudents

experiencedgreaterpsychologicaldistresswhentheyhadhighlevelsofharmavoidanceor

lowlevelsofself-directedness.Theirstudymeasuredthepersonality(TCI;Cloninger,et

al.,1993),stress(PSS;Cohen,1988)anxiety(STAI;Spielberger,Gorsuch,&Lushene,

1970)anddepressivesymptoms(POMS;McNair,Lorr,&Droppleman,1971)of80third

yearmedicalstudents.Thesemeasuresshowedthatstudentswithlowself-directedness

(morethanonestandarddeviationbelowthemean)hadhigherlevelsofharmavoidance

andreportedhigherlevelsofstress,anxietyanddepressioncomparedtostudentswhose

personalityfellinthenormalrange(Laidlawetal.,2005).Studentswithlowlevelsofself-

directednesswerealsofoundtohavelowerlevelsofrewarddependence,althoughthis

effectwasnotsignificant.Svrakic,PrzybeckandCloninger(1992)alsofoundhighharm

avoidancetobeassociatedwithincreaseddepressivesymptomsinuniversitystudents.

Svrakicetalsstudycontained86universitystudentswhowererequiredtofilloutthe

TridimensionalPersonalityQuestionnaire(TPQ;Cloninger,1987a)andtodescribetheir

mood(assessedbytheProfileofMoodStatesbipolarform;Lorr&McNair,1988)over

thepastweek.Svrakicetalsfindingsrevealedthathighharmavoidancewasstrongly

associatedwithdepressivemoodsymptoms.Althoughthesamplesizeforthestudyis

relativelysmall,themeanscoresfoundfortheTPQandPOMS-biareconsistentwith

previouscollegeandgeneralpopulationstudies,thussuggestingtheresultsarereliable.

17

Themajorityofresearchsurroundinghighharmavoidanceandlowself-directednesshas

beenconductedinEuropeanandAmericanpopulations.However,highharmavoidance

andlowself-directednesshavealsobeenshowntobemaladaptivepersonalitytraitsin

Asianpopulations.ArecentstudybyMatsudairaandKitamura(2006)showedthat

personalityisassociatedwithpsychologicaldistressinJapanesestudents.Fivehundred

andforty-onestudentswererequiredtofillouttheJapaneseversionofthe125-short

TemperamentCharacterInventory(TCI;Cloningeretal.,1993)andtheJapaneseversion

oftheHospitalAnxietyandDepressionScale(HAD;Zigmond&Snaith,1983).

MatsudairaandKitamurasfindingsshowedthathighharmavoidancepredictedincreased

anxietywhilelowself-directnesswasshowntoindependentlypredictbothanxietyand

depression.ThisresultreplicatesanearlierfindingbyNaito,KijimaandKitamura(2000)

thatshowedhighharmavoidancewasassociatedwithdepressivesymptomsoverathree

monthperiod.Naitoetal.(2000)measuredthepersonalityanddepressionlevelsof167

undergraduateJapanesestudentsattimeoneandthenre-measuredparticipantsdepressive

symptomsthreemonthslater.Naitoetalsresultsfoundthatpersonalitypredicted

depressivesymptomsovertime,withhighharmavoidanceandlowself-directedness

associatedwithincreaseddepressivesymptoms.

Highharmavoidancehasalsobeenshowntoincreaseonesvulnerabilitytodeveloping

posttraumaticstressdisorder(PTSD).Gil(2005b)foundthatpersonalityplayedarolein

thedevelopmentofPTSDinIsraelistudents.Shemeasuredthepersonalityof185students

twoweeksbeforetheywitnessedabombexplosiononauniversitybusandsixmonths

laterassessedtheproportionofstudentsthathaddevelopedPTSTD.Gilsfindingsshowed

thatparticipantsthatdevelopedPTSDhadhigherlevelsofharmavoidancecomparedto

participantsthatdidnotdevelopPTSD.Onelimitationofthestudyisthatnoinformation

wasgatheredonstudentspreviousexposuretostressfulevents(whichhavebeenshownto

18

beariskfactorfordevelopingPTSD).Itispossible,therefore,thatpreviousexposuremay

haveinfluencedthedevelopmentofPTSDratherthanhighharmavoidance.Richmanand

Frueh(1997)alsodemonstratedthatharmavoidanceplaysaroleinthedevelopmentof

PTSD.Theyexaminedthepersonalityof53warveteranswithPTSDandfoundthat

participantswithPTSDhadhigherlevelsofharmavoidancethanparticipantswithout

PTSD.

Individualswithhighharmavoidancemaybemorevulnerabletopsychologicaldistressas

theyarecharacterisedbyanticipatoryworry,fearofuncertainty,shynessandfatigability

(Balletal.,2002).Researchsuggeststhathighharmavoidantindividualsarecharacterised

bythesenegativequalitiesastheyoftenhavelowerlevelsoftheneurochemicalserotonin

andaremorelikelytoexperienceabiasintheirBehaviouralInhibitionSystem(BIS).Low

serotoninhasgenerallybeenshowntobeassociatedwithlowmood(Peirson,etal.,1999)

whileabiasintheBIScanleadhighharmavoidantindividualstoperceivestimuliasbeing

morenegativeandthreateningthanotherpersonalitytraits(Peirsonetal.,1999).This

increasedpropensitytoworryandfeartheunknownmaybeoneexplanationwhyhigh

harmavoidantindividualsexperienceincreasedstress,anxietyanddepression.

Individualswithlowself-directednessmaybemorevulnerabletopsychologicaldistressas

theystruggletosetandachievegoalsandexperiencedeficienciesinpersonal,social,

cognitiveandspiritualdevelopment(Matsudaira&Kitamura,2006).Poorcognitive

developmentinparticular,hasbeenshowntobeavulnerabilityfactorforthedevelopment

ofpsychologicaldistress.Forexample,someresearchersclaimlowself-esteemisamore

importantcomponentofdepressionthanothercognitivevariables(Pyszczynski&

Greenberg,1987).Inaddition,poorproblem-solvingskillscouldbeassociatedwith

19

increaseddistressasitmayleadlowself-directedindividualstoobtainlesssuccessinlife

andincreasetheirpropensitytoengageinmoremaladaptivecopingstyles.

1.4.2RewardDependenceandPsychologicalDistress

Whileresearchindicateshighharmavoidanceandlowself-directednessaremaladaptive

personalitytraits,therelationshipbetweenrewarddependenceandpsychologicaldistress

hasyieldedmoreinconsistentresults.Manystudiesfailtofindanyrelationshipbetween

lowrewarddependenceandpsychologicaldistress.Itdoesappearhowever,theremaybea

subtlerelationshipbetweenlowrewarddependenceandstress,anxietyanddepression.

Starcevicetal.(1996)foundthatpatientswithgeneralisedanxietydisorder(GAD)had

lowerlevelsofrewarddependencethanthegeneralpopulation,suggestingthatreward

dependencemaybeassociatedwithanxietyinsomeform.BothNaitoetal.(2000)and

MatsudairaandKitamura(2006)alsofoundthatstudentswithlowrewarddependence

weremorelikelytohaveincreaseddepressivesymptoms.Rewarddependencehasalso

beenshowntobenegativelyassociatedwithposttraumaticstressdisorder.Richmanand

Freuh(1997)foundintheirstudyofwarveteransthatparticipantswithPTSDhadlower

levelsofrewarddependencethanparticipantswithoutPTSD.

Individualswithlowrewarddependencemaybemorevulnerabletoexperiencing

psychologicaldistressastheyarecharacterisedbylowlevelsofattachment,sentimentality

anddependenceandarelessinclinedtopersevereandobtainsuccess(Ball,Smolin,&

Shekhar,2002;Brownetal.,1992).Cloningeretal.(1993)hypothesisedthatindividuals

withlowrewarddependenceexhibitbehaviorthatislessinfluencedbysocialrewardas

theyaremoreinclinedtohavelowlevelsoftheneurotransmitternorepinephrine(a

chemicalthatinfluencesbehaviourmaintenancethroughrewardornon-punishment).The

failuretoengageinsociallyacceptedbehaviours,e.g.seekoutfriendshipsorpersevereand

20

achievesuccessmayleadindividualswithlowrewarddependencetoexperienceincreased

distress.

Althoughthisstudyhasfocusedonhowpersonalityisassociatedwithpsychological

distress,itisimportanttonotethatpersonalitycanalsoworkasaprotectivefactoragainst

thedevelopmentofdistress.Individualswithlowharmavoidancearelesslikelytobecome

stressedoranxiousastheyhaveatendencytobeoptimisticandunconcernedinsituations

thattypicallyworrypeople.Additionally,individualswithhighself-directednessareless

likelytoexperiencepsychologicaldistressastheyarecharacterisedbyhighself-esteem

andastrongpurposeinlife(Cloningeretal.,1993).Someresearchersevenclaimthathigh

rewarddependenceisoneofthestrongestprotectivefactorsagainstpsychologicaldistress

(Farmeretal.,2003;Jylh&Isomets,2006).Asindividualswithhighrewarddependence

aremorewarmandsociable,theyaremorelikelytohavegoodsocialsupportand

consequentlylesspsychologicaldistress.

1.4.3Summary

Insummary,researchhasshownthatpersonalitymaygeneticallypredisposeindividualsto

experiencegreaterpsychologicaldistress.Itsuggeststhatindividualswithhighharm

avoidanceandlowself-directednessaremorevulnerabletoexperiencingincreasedstress,

anxietyanddepression.Researchalsosuggeststheremaybeanassociationbetweenlow

rewarddependenceandincreasedpsychologicaldistress.However,theseassociationsare

moresubtlethanthosefoundforhighharmavoidanceandlowself-directedness.

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1.5PersonalityandCopingStyle

1.5.1Overview

Althoughalargeamountofliteraturehasanalysedtheassociationsbetweenpersonality

andpsychologicaldistressandcopingstylesandpsychologicaldistress,lessattentionhas

beenfocusedontheassociationsbetweenpersonalityandcopingstylesthemselves.This

sectionwillreviewthefewstudiesthathaveexaminedtherelationshipbetweenpersonality

andcopingstyles.Duetoalackofresearch,themajorityofstudiesrevieweddonot

measurepersonalityusingCloningerspsychobiologicalmodel.

1.5.2ReviewofPersonalityandCopingStyles

Lazaruscognitive-phenomenologicaltheoryofpsychologicaldistresssuggeststhatour

personalitymayinfluencethetypeofcopingstyleweengagein(Lazarus,1966).Asseen

earlier,copingcontainstwoprocesses:theappraisalofthesituation,andthesubsequent

employmentofanappropriatecopingstyle(Lazarus&Folkman,1984;Vollrath&

Torgersen,2000).Lazarussuggeststhatourpersonalityinfluencestheappraisalprocess

andconsequentlythecopingstylewechoose.Individualswithoptimisticandpositive

personalitiesaremorelikelytoappraiseastressfulsituationmorepositivelyand

consequentlyengageinapro-activecopingstyle(Balletal.,2002).Incontrast,more

pessimisticorfearfulindividualsaremorelikelytoappraiseastressfulsituationas

negativeandunderestimatetheirabilitytodealwiththestressor.Thisleadsthemtochoose

amorepassivecopingstyle(Balletal.,2002).Therefore,stressisnotcausedsolelybythe

situationorbypersonalitycharacteristics,butbytheinteractionbetweenthetwo

(Montgomery&Rupp,2005).

22

Mosheretal.(2006)showedthatparticipantswithoptimisticpersonalitiesweremore

likelytoengageinanadaptivecopingstyleandconsequentlyexperiencereduceddistress.

Theymeasuredthepersonality(LifeOrientationTest;Scheier&Carver,1985)andcoping

styles(COPE;Carveretal.,1989)of136AfricanAmericanuniversitystudents.Mosheret

alsresultsshowedthatstudentswithhighlevelsofoptimismweremorelikelytoengage

inproblem-focusedcopingandexperiencedecreaseddepressivesymptoms.Mosheretals

findingsreplicatedanearlierstudybyAspinwallandTaylor(1992)whichfoundgreater

optimisminuniversitystudentswasassociatedwithproblem-focusedcopingandbetter

adjustmenttocollegeatthethree-monthfollow-up.Carveretal.,(1989)alsoexploredthe

relationshipbetweenpersonalityandcopingstylesin978undergraduatestudents.Carver

etal.foundthatstudentswithhighlevelsofnegativityandlowlevelsofoptimismwere

morelikelytoengageinavoidantcoping,whilestudentswithhighlevelsofoptimismwere

morelikelytoengageinproblem-focusedandemotion-focusedcoping.

1.5.3ReviewofCloninger'sPsychobiologicalModelandCopingStyles

Aswellasbeingmorevulnerabletoincreasedpsychologicaldistress,individualswithhigh

harmavoidanceandlowself-directednessarealsomoreinclinedtoengagedin

maladaptivecopingstylessuchasavoidantcopingorrumination.Balletal.(2002)

recentlycomparedthepersonalitiesofclinicallydepressedandanxiousparticipantswitha

setofcontrolstoassesswhetherpersonalitywasassociatedwithmaladaptivecoping

styles.Theirfindingsshowedthatclinicallyanxiousanddepressedparticipantshadhigher

levelsofharmavoidanceandlowerself-directednessthanthecontrolgroupandweremore

likelytouseavoidantcopingratherthanproblem-focusedcoping.Universitystudentswith

highharmavoidancearealsomorelikelytoengageinmaladaptivecopingstyles.Krebs,

WeyersandJanke(1998)foundstrongassociationsbetweenpersonalityandcopingstyles

inaGermanuniversitystudy.Theymeasuredthepersonalityandcopingstylesof200

23

Germanstudentsandfoundthatstudentswithhighharmavoidanceengagedinmore

maladaptivecopingstylessuchasavoidantcoping(e.g.escape)andemotion-focused

coping(e.g.rumination).Highharmavoidancewasalsoshowntobenegativelyassociated

withmoreadaptivecopingstylessuchasproblem-focusedcoping.

Lazaruscognitive-phenomenologicaltheoryofpsychologicaldistresssuggeststhat

individualswithmaladaptivepersonalitytraitsmaybemoreinclinedtoengageinavoidant

copingastheyarecharacterisedbyhigherlevelsofpessimismandlowself-esteem

(Cloningeretal.,1993).Thishighpessimismandlowself-esteemmayleadthemto

appraisestressfulsituationsandtheirabilitytosuccessfullyresolvestressorsmore

negatively,thuscausingthemtochooseapassivecopingstrategy.Inaddition,itispossible

thatlowself-directedindividualsmayengageinapassivecopingstylesuchasavoidant

copingastheystrugglewithmotivationandgoal-setting.Thisrelationshipbetweenhigh

harmavoidance,lowself-directednessandavoidantcopingcouldpossiblydevelopintoa

negativecycle.Forexample,individualswithmoremaladaptivepersonalitiesmaybeless

likelytosuccessfullyresolvestressorsduetotheirincreasedpropensitytoengagein

maladaptivecopingstyles.Asaconsequence,theymayexperiencegreaterdistresswhich

inturncouldencouragethemtocontinuetoappraisestressorsandtheircopingresources

negatively.

Whilelowharmavoidanceandhighself-directednessappeartobeassociatedwithmore

maladaptivecopingstyles,highlevelsofrewarddependenceandself-directednessare

generallyassociatedwithmoreadaptivecopingstylessuchasemotion-focusedcopingand

problem-focusedcoping.Kreb,WeyersandJanke(1998)foundthatuniversitystudents

withhighrewarddependenceweremorelikelytoseeksocialsupportandlesslikelyto

engageincopingstylesthatwerenotsociallyrewarded.Balletal.(2002)alsofounda

24

strongpositiveassociationbetweenrewarddependenceandemotion-focusedcopingin

theirclinicalstudy.Inaddition,theirresultsshowedtherewasarelationshipbetweenhigh

self-directednessandcoping,asindividualswithhighself-directednessengagedinmore

problem-focusedcopingstyles.

Individualswithhighrewarddependenceandself-directednessmayengageinactive

copingstrategiesastheyaremoreinclinedtoappraisestressorsandtheirabilitytoresolve

stressorsmorepositively.Asindividualswithrewarddependencetendtoengagein

behaviourthatissociallyrewarded,thismayleadthemtoengageinemotion-focused

copingstrategiessuchasseekingsocialsupport.Individualswithhighself-directedness

mayalsobemoreinclinedtoengageinproblem-focusedcopingastheyareadeptat

problem-solvingandcognitiveappraisal.Consequently,theyarealsobetterableto

commandtheirownbehaviorandtoaccommodatetodifferentsituationsinordertosetand

achievegoals

1.5.4Summary

Thefindingthatpersonalitymaybeassociatedwithcopingstylessuggeststhatindividuals

withhighharmavoidanceandlowself-directednessmayhaveagreaterriskof

experiencingdistressastheyarealsomorelikelytoengageinavoidantcoping.Asthe

studyofpersonalityandcopingstylesisarelativelynewareaofresearch,nostudiesasyet

haveexaminedwhetherhavingbothamaladaptivepersonalityandmaladaptivecoping

stylepredictsgreaterpsychologicaldistresscomparedtoeitherpredictoralone.Thisisan

importantareatostudy,especiallyaspastresearchsuggeststhatpersonalityandcoping

stylesareassociatedwithoneanother.

25

1.6CurrentStudy

Thisstudyaimstoexaminethecontributionofpersonalityandcopingstylesto

psychologicaldistress.Todatefewresearchershaveanalysedtheassociationof

personality,copingstyleandstress,anxietyanddepressioninonestudy.Anattemptwill

bemadetoreplicatepreviousassociationsbetweenpersonality,copingstylesand

psychologicaldistressthathavebeenshownacrossdifferentstudiesinanumberof

differentpopulations.Thecurrentresearchwillalsoundertaketoanalysearelatively

unexploredareaofpsychologybyexaminingtherelationshipbetweenCloninger's

psychobiologicalmodelofpersonalityandcopingstyles.Inaddition,thisstudywill

expandonpreviousstudiesbyexaminingwhethertheassociationsfoundbetween

personalityandcopingstylesareassociatedwithincreasedstress,anxietyanddepressive

symptoms.Onthebasisofpreviousresearchthisstudycontainsfourhypotheses:

1. Anassociationwillbefoundbetweencopingstylesandstress,anxietyand

depression(psychologicaldistress).Inparticular;(a)Avoidantcopingstyleswillbe

positivelyassociatedwithstress,anxietyanddepressivesymptoms;(b)Problem-focused

copingwillbenegativelyassociatedwithsymptomsofstress,anxietyanddepressive

symptoms;and(c)Emotion-focusedcopingwillbenegativelyassociatedwithsymptoms

ofstress,anxietyanddepressivesymptoms.

2. Anassociationwillbefoundbetweensomedimensionsofpersonalityandstress,

anxietyanddepression(psychologicaldistress).Specifically;(a)Harmavoidancewillbe

positivelyassociatedwithstress,anxietyanddepression;(b)Self-directednesswillbe

negativelyassociatedwithstress,anxietyanddepression;and(c)Rewarddependencewill

benegativelyassociatedwithstress,anxietyanddepression.

26

3. Arelationshipwillbefoundbetweendimensionsofpersonalityandcopingstyles;

(a)Harmavoidancewillbepositivelyassociatedwithavoidantcopingandself-

directednesswillbenegativelyassociatedwithavoidantcoping;(b)Rewarddependence

willbepositivelyassociatedwithemotion-focusedcoping;and(c)Self-directednesswill

bepositivelyassociatedwithproblem-focusedcopingscores.

4. Personalityandcopingstyleswillhaveanadditiveeffectinexplaining

psychologicaldistress.Morespecifically;(a)Increasesinharmavoidanceandavoidant

copingwillresultingreaterincreasesinstress,anxietyanddepressionthanthedegreeof

distressassociatedwitheachpredictoralone.

27

2.Method

2.1Participants

Theparticipantsinthisstudywere53(26%)maleand148(74%)femalevolunteersfromthe

UniversityofCanterbury,NewZealand.Themeanandmedianageswere21.5(SD=6.39)

and19yearsrespectively.Seventypercentoftheparticipantswerefirstyearpsychology

studentswhoreceivedpartialcoursecreditforparticipating.Theremainingparticipantsreplied

toaposteradvertisementaroundtheuniversityandreceiveda$10voucherfortheirtime.The

participantscompletedonaverageameanof1.73(SD=0.94)yearsofstudy.Themajorityof

theparticipantswereNewZealandEuropean(73.6%)and91%wereunmarried.

2.2Procedure

Thestudywasadvertisedthroughthestudentpsychologywebsiteandviapostersthroughout

theuniversity.Participantsmadecontactwiththeresearcherthroughthestudentparticipant

poolorviaphoneoremail.Theresearcherthenarrangedasuitabletimefortheparticipantsto

comeandfilloutaquestionnairebooklet.Upontheirarrival,participantswereprovidedwitha

one-pageinformationsheetthatdescribedthestudy(seeAppendixA).Studentswereassured

theirinformationwasconfidentialandanonymous,andtheyhadtherighttodisengage

themselvesfromthestudyatanytimewithoutpenalty.Interestedparticipantsthencompleted

aconsentform(seeAppendixA).

ThequestionnairebookletgiventostudentscontainedtheTemperamentCharacterInventory-

Revised(TCI-R;Cloninger,1994),theDepressionAnxietyStressScale(DASS;S.H.

Lovibond&P.F.Lovibond,1995)andtheCopingOrientationofProblemExperience(COPE;

Carver,Scheier,Weintraub,1989)(SeeAppendixB).

28

Completionofthequestionnairestookonaverage60minutes.Onceparticipantshad

completedthequestionnairebooklettheywereverballydebriefedaboutthenatureofthestudy

andweregivenawrittendebriefingsheet(seeAppendixA).Thissheetstatedthemain

purposeofthestudyandprovidedabriefbackgroundaboutpersonalityandcopingstylesand

theirassociationwithstress,anxietyanddepression.Thedebriefingsheetalsocontainedthe

numberofahealthprofessionalattheUniversityofCanterbury.Furthermore,participants

wereprovidedwiththeresearcherscontactdetailsshouldtheyhaveanymorequestionsabout

thestudy.Firstyearpsychologystudentscompletedashortassignment,requiredbythe

DepartmentofPsychology,togaincoursecredit,whereasotherparticipantsreceiveda$10

voucherfortheirtime(seeAppendixA).

2.3EthicalApproval

ThestudywasapprovedbytheUniversityofCanterburyEthicsCommittee(seeAppendixA).

2.4Measures

2.4.1TheTemperamentCharacterInventoryRevised(TCI-R;Cloningeretal.,1994)

TheTCI-RistherevisedversionoftheTemperamentCharacterInventory(TCI;Cloningeret

al.,1994)whichwasdevelopedbasedontheTridimensionalPersonalityQuestionnaire(TPQ;

Cloninger,1987a).Itisa240itemself-reportquestionnairewithafive-pointtrue/falsescale

(seeAppendixB).TheTCI-Rinstructsparticipantstoreadovereachitemstatementcarefully

andcirclethenumberthatdescribesthewaytheyusuallyorgenerallyactorfeel,notthe

waytheyarefeelingatthepresenttime.

TheTCI-RwasdevelopedtomeasurepersonalitybasedonCloningerspsychobiological

model.Thismodelpostulatesthatpersonalityismadeupofbothtemperamentandcharacter.

Temperamentisbelievedtobegeneticallydeterminedandlinkedtoneurochemicalsystems.It

29

isdefinedasbehaviouralsystemsofautomaticemotionalresponsestoexperiences(Richteret

al.,2003).ThetemperamenttraitssetoutinCloningerspsychobiologicalmodelarenovelty

seeking,harmavoidance,rewarddependenceandpersistence.

Noveltyseekingreflectsthebehaviouralactivationsystemandindividualdifferencesinthe

activationofbehavior(Richteretal.,2003).Individualswhoarehighinnoveltyseekingare

regardedasthrill-seekersandaredescribedasimpulsive,exploratory,quick-temperedand

disorderly,whilethoselowonthisdimensiontendtobereflective,stoical,slow-temperedand

orderly.Thenoveltyseekingdimensioncontainsfoursubscales(seeTable1):Exploratory

Excitability(10items),Impulsiveness(9items),Extravagance(9items)andDisorderliness(7

items).

Harmavoidancereflectsthebehaviouralinhibitionsystemandindividualresponsedifferences

topunishmentandnegativestimuli(Richteretal.,2003).Individualshighinharmavoidance

aresensitivetosignalsofadversestimuliandthusinhibittheirbehaviourtoavoidpunishment,

novelty(potentialdisappointment)andnon-reward(Brownetal.,1992).Individualswhoscore

highlyontheharmavoidancedimensionintheTCI-Raredescribedasapprehensive,shy,

pessimisticandpronetofatigue,whilethoselowonthisdimensiontendtobeoptimistic,

carefree,outgoingandenergetic.Theharmavoidancedimensioncontainsfoursubscales(see

Table1):AnticipatoryWorry(11items),FearofUncertainty(7items),Shyness(7items),and

FatigabilityandAsthenia(8items).

Rewarddependencereflectsthebehaviouralmaintenancesystemandindividualresponsesto

themaintenanceofpreviouslyrewardedbehaviourwithoutcurrentreinforcement(Richteret

al.,2003).Individualshighinrewarddependencearehighlysensitivetosignalsofreward,

especiallysocialrewardandmaintainandresistextinctionofbehaviourthatwaspreviously

30

associatedwithrewardsorrelieffrompunishment.Theyarehighlysociable,easilyconformto

peerpressureandhaveahighneedforintimacy(Brownetal,1992).Individualswhoscore

highlyontherewarddependencedimensionintheTCI-Raredescribedastendered-hearted,

lovingandwarmandsensitivetolossandrejection.Thoselowonthisdimensiontendtobe

cold,practical,enjoytimealoneandsociallyinsensitive.Therewarddependencedimension

containsfoursubscales(seeTable1):Sentimentality(8items),Openness(10items),

Attachment(6items),andDependence(6items).

Persistencereflectsindividualdifferencesinpersistenceofbehaviourdespiteinconsistent

reinforcement(Richteretal.,2003).PersistencewasnotoriginallymeasuredintheTPQ,

Cloningersfirstpersonalitymeasure.However,factoranalysisrevealedtheTPQwas

measuringfourdimensionsratherthanthree.Thisledtothedevelopmentofpersistenceasa

temperamentdimension(Peirson&Heuchert,2001).Individualswhoscorehighlyonthe

persistencedimensionintheTCI-Raredescribedasindustrious,hardworking,persistentand

stabledespitefrustrationandfatigue.Individualswithlowpersistencetendtobeinactive,

unreliableanderratic.Thepersistencedimensioncontainsfoursubscales(seeTable1):

Eagerness(9items),WorkHardened(8items),Ambitious(10items)andPerfectionist(8

items

Characterisregardedasbeingmoreenvironmentallyinfluencedandreferstoindividualsself-

concepts,goalsandvalues.ThecharacterdimensionssetoutinCloningerspsychobiological

modelareself-directedness,cooperativenessandself-transcendence.Theyreflecthowan

individualviewsthemselves,othersandnatureingeneral.Thecharacterdimensionself-

directednessistheabilityofanindividualtocontrol,regulateandadapthis/herbehaviourto

meetsetgoalsandvalues(Hansenne,Delhez,&Cloninger,2005).Individualswhoscore

highlyontheself-directednessdimensionintheTCI-Raredescribedasresponsible,

31

purposefulandresourceful.Theyarehighlyself-motivatedandabletotakeresponsibilityfor

theiractions.Individualswithlowself-directednesshavedifficultyacceptingresponsibility,

settingandmeetingmeaningfulgoals,acceptinglimitationsandself-discipline.Theself-

directednessdimensioncontainsfivesubscales(seeTable1):Responsibility(8items),

Purposefulness(6items),Resourcefulness(5items),Self-acceptance(10items)and

Enlightenedsecondnature(11items).

Cooperativenessreferstotheextenttowhichanindividualconsidershimself/herselftobea

partofsocietyasawhole(Richteretal.,2003)andtheextenttowhichhe/sheidentifiesand

acceptsotherpeople(Hansenneetal.,2005).Individualswhoscorehighlyonthe

cooperativenessdimensionaredescribedassociallytolerant,empathetic,helpfuland

compassionate.Individualswithlowcooperativenessaredescribedassociallyintolerant,

disinterestedinotherpeople,unhelpfulandrevengeful.Thecooperativenessdimension

containsfivesubscales(seeTable1):SocialAcceptance(8items),Empathy(5items),

Helpfulness(8items),Compassion(7items)andPure-HeartedConscience(8items).

Self-transcendencereflectsthespiritualityofanindividualandtheiridentificationwiththe

onenessofnatureandsociety(Hansenneetal.,2005).Italsoincludesconsciousnessand

moralmaturity(Richteretal.,2003).Individualswhoscorehighlyontheself-transcendence

dimensionintheTCI-Raredescribedasfeelingconnectedtotheuniverse,viewingthe

universeasone,self-forgetful,withasenseofspiritualunity.Individualswithlowself-

transcendencearedescribedasindividualistic,self-awareandrational.Theself-transcendence

dimensioncontainsthreesubscales(seeTable1):Self-forgetful(10items),Transpersonal

Identification(8items)andSpiritualAcceptance(8items).

32

Table1

DescriptionoftheTCI-RSubscales

TCI-RSubscales DescriptionofeachSubscale

NoveltySeeking(NS) ExploratoryExcitabilityvs.StoicRigidity(10items)

Impulsivenessvs.Reflection(9items)

Extravagancevs.Reserve(9items)

Disorderlinessvs.Regimentation(7items)

NSTOTAL=N1+N2+N3+N4(35items)

HarmAvoidance(HA) AnticipatoryWorryvs.UninhibitedOptimism(11items)

FearofUncertaintyvs.Confidence(7items)

ShynesswithStrangersvs.Gregariousness(7items)

FatigabilityandAstheniavs.Vigour(8items)

HATOTAL=HA1+HA2+HA3+HA4(33items)

RewardDependence(RD) Sentimentalityvs.Insensitiveness(8items)

OpennesstoWarmCommunicationvs.Aloofness(10items)

Attachmentvs.Detachment(6items)

Dependencevs.Independence(6items)

RDTOTAL=RD1+RD2+RD3+RD4(30items)

Persistence(P) EagernessofEffortvs.Laziness(items)

WorkHardenedvs.Spoiled(8items)

Ambitiousvs.Underachieving(10items)

Perfectionistvs.Pragmatist(8items)

PTOTAL=P1+P2+P3+P4(35items)

Self-Directedness(SD) Responsibilityvs.Blaming(8items)

Purposefulnessvs.LackofGoalDirection(6items)

Resourcefulness(5items)

Self-Acceptancevs.Self-Striving(10items)

EnlightenedSecondNature(11items)

SDTOTAL=SD1+SD2+SD3+SD4(40items)

Cooperativeness(C) SocialAcceptancevs.SocialIntolerance(8items)

Empathyvs.SocialDisinterest(5items)

Helpfulnessvs.Unhelpfulness(8items)

Compassionvs.Revengefulness(7items)

Pure-HeartedConsciencevs.Self-ServingAdvantage(8items)

CTOTAL=C1+C2+C3+C4+C5(36items)

Self-Transcendence(ST) Self-Forgetfulvs.Self-ConsciousExperience(10items)

TranspersonalIdentificationvs.Self-differentiation(8items)

SpiritualAcceptancevs.RationalMaterialism(8items)

STTOTAL=ST1+ST2+ST3(26items)

33

TheTCI-Rwaschosenasthepersonalitymeasureinthisstudyasitmeasuresbothpersonality

temperamentandcharacter,thusprovidingaholisticmeasureofpersonality.Itwasalso

chosenasresearchhasshowntheTCI-Rmeasuresindividualdifferencesinvulnerabilitiesto

Axis1disorderssuchasmajordepressivedisordersandanxietydisorders(Hansenneetal.,

2005).ThereisalsoshownastrongrelationshipbetweenCloningerspsychobiologicalmodel

andpsychologicaldistress(Jhlha&Isometsa,2006;Peirson&Heuchert,2001).Inparticular,

harmavoidancehasbeenpositivelyassociatedwithdistress,whileself-directednessand

rewarddependenceisnegativelyassociatedwithdistress.Asanumberofpreviousstudies

haveusedtheTCI-Rtomeasuretheassociationbetweenpersonalityanddistress,thissuggests

itisanappropriatepersonalitymeasuretouseinthecurrentstudy.

TheTCI-Rwasalsochosenasthepersonalitymeasurebecauseratherthanfocusingon

personalitydisorders,thefocusisonpersonalitydimensions.Thusitisanappropriate

personalitymeasuretouseonanon-clinicalsampleasinthisstudy.Anareaofinterestto

investigateiswhetheruniversitystudentswillshowsimilarassociationsbetweenpersonality

andpsychologicaldistressasthoseshownbyclinicalandgeneralpopulations.

TheTCI-Rhasgoodreliabilityandvalidityinclinicalorpopulationsamples(Fossatietal.,

2007).FewerstudieshaveusedtheTCI-Rinnon-clinicalsamples,however,atleastonestudy

hasfoundthattheTCI-Rhasgoodreliabilityandvalidityinanundergraduatesamplewith

acceptabletestretestcorrelations(r=.81to.94)(Hansenneetal.,2005).TheTCI(whichhas

beenshowntohavesimilarpsychometricpropertiestotheTCI-R)showedgoodreliabilityina

universitysample,withCronbachsalphasof0.60to0.85forthetemperamentdimensionsand

0.82to0.87forthecharacterdimensions(Sung,Kim,Yang,Abrams,&Lyoo,2002).Test

retestcorrelationswerealsoacceptablerangingfrom0.52to0.72forthetemperament

dimensionsand0.52to0.71forthecharacterdimensions(Sungetal.,2002).TheTCI-Ralso

34

hasaValidityScalethatcontainsfiveitems(Items36,101,120,132and209).Thisisto

ensureparticipantsarereadingtheitemquestionsandaccuratelyrecordingtheiranswer.

2.4.2TheCopingOrientationofProblemExperienceInventory(TheCOPE;Carveretal.,

1989)

TheCOPEwasdevelopedtomeasureindividualstylesofcoping(Carveretal.,1989).Itisa

52-itemself-reportquestionnairewithafour-pointLikertscale(1Iusuallydontdothis,2

Iusuallydothisalittlebit,3Iusuallydothisamediumamount,4Iusuallydothisalot).

TheCOPEmeasures13individualcopingstyles/subscalesthatcanbegroupedintothree

meta-strategies:problem-focusedcoping,emotionalcopingandlessuseful/avoidantcoping.It

instructsparticipantstoindicatewhattheynormallydoandfeelwhentheyexperiencestressful

events.

Problem-focusedcopingcanbedescribedasproblem-solvingordoingsomethingtoalterthe

sourceofthestress,whileemotion-focusedcopingcanbedescribedasreducingormanaging

theemotionaldistressthatisassociatedwiththestressor.Lessuseful/avoidantcopingcanbe

describedasstrivingtoignoreornotdealingwithastressor.

AlthoughthereareavarietyofalternativecopingstylesthisthesisusesCarversoriginalscale

andonlydiffersinlabelingdenialasanavoidantcopingstyleasopposedtopartofthe

emotion-focusedcopingmeta-strategyasCarveroriginallydid.Thisdecisionwasmadeas

recentresearchhasdemonstrateddenialisconceptuallydistinctfromemotion-focusedcoping

(Ben-Zur,1999;Holahanetal.,2005).Consequently,bothproblem-focusedandemotion-

focusedcopingmeta-strategieswithintheCOPEcontainfivesubscaleswhiletheavoidant

copingmeta-strategycontainsthree(seeTable2).

35

Table2

TheCOPESubscalesasusedintheCurrentStudy

Meta-Strategy CopingStyle/Subscale Description

Problem-FocusedCoping

ActiveCoping Theprocessoftakingactivestepstoremoveorcircumventastressororreduceitsnegativeeffects.

Planning Involvescomingupwithactionstrategies,thinkingaboutwhatstepstotakeandhowbesttohandletheproblem.

SuppressionofCompetingActivities

Involvesputtingotherprojectsasideandtryingnottobecomedistractedsoonecaneffectivelydealwiththestressor.

RestraintCoping Involveswaitinguntilanappropriateopportunitytoactpresentsitself,holdingoneselfbackandnotactingprematurely.

SeekingSocialSupportforInstrumentalReasons

Involvesseekingadvice,assistanceorinformation.

Emotion-FocusedCoping

SeekingSocialSupportforEmotionalReasons

Involvesgettingmoralsupport,sympathyorunderstanding.

PositiveReinterpretationandGrowth

Construingastressfultransactioninpositiveterms.

Acceptance Acceptingtherealityofastressfulsituation.

FocusofandVentingofEmotions

Thetendencytofocusonwhateverdistressoneisexperiencingandtoventilatethosefeelings.

TurningtoReligion Usingreligiontohelpcopewiththestressor.

AvoidantCoping Denial Refusaltoaccepttherealityofastressfulsituation.

BehaviourDisengagement Reducingone'sefforttodealwiththestressor,orgivinguptheattempttoattaingoalswithwhichthestressorisinterfering.

MentalDisengagement Attemptingtodistractonesselffromthinkingaboutthebehaviouraldimensionorgoalwithwhichthestressorisinterfering.

TheCOPEwaschosenasthecopingmeasureforthisstudyasithasaclearfocusintheitems

andwasdevelopedthroughatheoreticalapproach.Itwasalsodesirableasitassessarangeof

specificcopingstrategieswhichcanbegroupedunderthethreemaincopingmeta-strategies

(problem-focused,emotion-focusedandavoidant)thatareofinterest.

36

TheCOPEhasgoodreliability(=.45-.60)andtestre-testscores(r=.45-.86)overan

eightweekperiodinauniversitysample(Carveretal.,1989).Correlationsbetweenquestions

weresatisfactory.TheCOPEshowedgoodconvergentvaliditywiththeCopeStrategy

Indicator(CSI;Tobin,Holroyd,&Reynolds,1984)andtheWaysofCopingRevised(WOC-

R;Folkman&Lazarus,1988)(r=.55-.89)andastrongdivergentvalidity.

2.4.3TheDepressionAnxietyStressScale(DASS;S.H.Lovibond&P.F.Lovibond,1995)

TheDASSisa42-itemself-reportquestionnairewhichcontainsthreescales:stress,anxiety

anddepression(S.H.Lovibond&P.F.Lovibond,1995).Participantsareaskedtoreadover

itemstatementsandindicatehowmucheachstatementappliedtothemoverthepastweek(0

didnotapplytomeatall,1appliedtometosomedegree,orsomeofthetime,2applied

tometoaconsiderabledegree,oragoodpartofthetime,3appliedtomeverymuch,or

mostofthetime).Thedepressionsubscalecontainsitemsthatmeasuresymptomsgenerally

associatedwithdsyphoricmood(e.g.sadnessorworthlessness)(seeTable3).Theanxiety

subscalecontainsitemsthatarerelatedtosymptomsofphysicalarousal,panicattacksandfear

(e.g.tremblingorfaintness).Thestresssubscalecontainsitemsthatmeasuresymptomssuch

astensionirritabilityandthetendencytoover-react(Antony,Bieling,Cox,Enns,&Swinson,

1998).

37

Table3

ExampleofItemsintheDASS

Scale ConstructsAssessed ItemExamples

DepressionScale

dysphoria,hopelessness,devaluationoflife,self-deprecation,lackofinterestandinvolvement,anhedonia,andinertia.

Icanseenothingtobehopefulabout.

AnxietyScale autonomicarousal,skeletalmuscleeffects,situationalanxietyandsubjectiveexperienceofanxiousaffect

IfeltIwasclosetopanic.

StressScale difficultyrelaxing,nervousarousal,beingeasilyupset/agitated,irritable/over-reactiveandimpatient

Ifoundmyselfgettingupsetbyquitetrivialthings.

TheDASSisadimensionalmeasureofsymptomsofstress,anxietyanddepressionandwas

developedonnon-clinicalsamples.Itisoftenusedasameasureofpsychologicaldistressfor

universitysamples,suchasthecurrentsample(Adlaf,Gliksman,Demers,&Newton-Taylor,

2001;P.F.Lovibond&S.H.Lovibond,1995;Wong,Cheung,Chan,Ma,&Tang,2006).The

DASSwasalsochosenasitisanefficientandcomprehensivemeasureofnotonlydepression

butalsoanxietyandstress.

TheDASShasgoodinternalreliability(depressionscale=0.91,anxietyscale=.81,stress

scale=.89)inauniversitysample(P.F.Lovibond&S.H.Lovibond,1995).Strong

correlationswerealsofoundbetweenscaleswithdepression-anxietyr=.42,anxiety-stressr

=.46anddepression-stressr=.39.TheDASSdepressionscaleishighlycorrelatedwiththe

BeckDepressionInventory(r=.74)(BDI;Becketal.,196)whiletheDASSanxietyscaleand

theBAIwerecorrelatedr=0.81(Beck&Steer,1993).Thelowercorrelationbetweenthe

DASSdepressionscaleandtheBDImaybeduetotheBDIcontainingitemsthatarenot

38

exclusivelyrelatedtodepression(e.g.weightloss,irritability,lossoflibido)(P.F.Lovibond&

S.H.Lovibond,1995).

PrincipalcomponentsfactoranalysisoftheDASSonauniversitysamplerevealedthat,in

general,mostitemsloadmoderatelytohighlyonproposedownfactor,depressionsubscale(r

=.36-.80),anxietysubscale(r=.20-.64)stresssubscale(r=40-.76).TheDASSaccurately

discriminatesbetweenthethreenegativeemotionalsyndromesalthoughthesesyndromesare

stillmoderatelytohighlycorrelatedwithoneanother(P.F.Lovibond&S.H.Lovibond,

1995).

2.5StatisticalAnalyses

DataanalyseswerecarriedoutusingtheSPSSstatisticalsoftwareprogram(version15.0)

(SPSS,2006).Thedatawasexaminedforaccuracyofinputandoutliersandtwo

questionnairebookletswereexcludedfromthestudyduetoviolationsintheTCI-R

validityscale.Inordertolookatassociationsbetweenthevariables,Pearsonsand

Spearmanscorrelationswereobtained.Inordertolookatthecontributionofpersonality

(TCI-R)andcoping(COPE)topredictingstress,anxietyanddepression,aseriesof

multipleregressionswereundertaken.

2.5.1CheckingtheDataforNormality

Normalityofthedataandconditionsforanalyseswerecheckedvisuallywithhistograms

andstatisticallywithKolmogorov-Smirnovtestfornormality(seeTable4).Histogramsof

theCOPEshowedbothproblem-focusedcopingandemotion-focusedwerenormally

distributedwhileavoidantcopingwasslightlypositivelyskewed.HistogramsoftheTCI-R

showedbothharmavoidanceandself-directednessappearednormallydistributedwhile

39

rewarddependencewasslightlynegativelyskewed.HistogramsoftheDASSshowedall

threescaleswerepositivelyskewed.

TheKolmogorov-Smirnovtestfornormalityshowedthatthevariablesemotion-focused

coping,avoidantcoping,stress,anxietyanddepressiondeviatedsignificantlyfroma

normaldistribution.TraditionallyDASSresultsareoftenpositively-skewed(Antonyetal.,

1998;Crawford&Henry,2003;P.F.Lovibond&S.H.Lovibond,1995).Aseriesof

transformationswereattemptedtonormalisethedata(includinglog,squarerootand

inverse).Emotion-focusedcoping,anxietyanddepressionscorescouldnotbetransformed

tofollowanormaldistribution.Thustheuntransformeddatawasusedinallanalysesand

wherepossible,verifiedwithnon-parametrictests(refertoAppendixCtoseeatable

containingallthetransformationsundertaken).

Table4

Kolmogorov-SmirnovTestingofDataNormality

Notes:*p

40

coping).Acorrelationmatrixwasproducedtocheckformulticollinearitybetweenthe

variables.ThisshowedthatharmavoidanceandharmavoidanceXavoidantcopingdidnot

correlater=.09,buttherewasasignificantassociationbetweenharmavoidanceX

avoidantcopingandavoidantcopingr=0.23.Althoughthisraisedthepossibilityof

multicollinearity,furtheranalysesrevealedthatallthreeregressionshadtolerancescores

higherthan0.10,andVarianceInflationFactor(VIF)scoresbelow10showingtherewas

noproblemwithmulticollinearity.Furtheranalysesalsoshowedthreecasesexceededthe

Mahalanobisdistancescut-offscore(13.82),howeverthiswasnotofconcernforasample

sizeof201(Pallant,2007).Caseswithusualresidualvalueswerelastlyexaminedto

determinewhethertheyhadasignificanteffectonthedata.Theseanalysesshowedthat

althougheachregressionhadafewoutlierstheywerenotsignificantlyaffectingthedata,

astheCooksDistancescoreforeachregressionwaslessthanone.

41

3.Results

3.1DescriptiveInformationDescriptivestatisticsforpersonality(harmavoidance,rewarddependence,self-

directedness),copingstyles(problem-focusedcoping,emotion-focusedcoping,avoidant

coping)andpsychologicaldistress(stress,anxiety,depression)variablesareshownin

Table5andcomparedtoothersamplesinTables6,7and8.Themeansforpsychological

distressweresimilartopreviousuniversitystudies(P.F.Lovibond&S.H.Lovibond,

1995)buthigherthanthosefoundforthegeneralpopulation(Antonyetal.,1998;

Crawford&Henry,2003)(seeTable6).Themeansforpersonalitywereunabletobe

comparedwithpreviousuniversitystudiesasnostudieswerefoundthatadministeredthe

TCI-Rtouniversitystudents.However,themeansfoundweresimilartothosefoundfor

thegeneralpopulation(Hansenneetal.,2005;Jylh&Isomets,2006)(seeTable7).In

addition,themeansforcopingstylesweresimilartoapreviousuniversitysample(Carver

etal.,1989)andthosefoundforthegeneralpopulation(Ingledew,Hardy,Cooper,&

Jemal,1996)(seeTable8).

42

Table5

Means,StandardDeviationsandRangesFoundforPersonality,CopingStylesand

PsychologicalDistress(N=201)

Mean(SD) PossibleRange

ObtainedRange

CopingStyles

ProblemFocused 10.30(1.83)

416

4.614.6

EmotionFocused 10.47(1.75) 416 6.615.2

Avoidant 7.28(1.78) 416 413

Personality HarmAvoidance 92.41(18.86) 33165 51150

RewardDependence 106.67(14.72) 30150 66139

Self-Directedness 135.64(18.46) 40200 83181

SymptomsofDistress

Stress 11.38(8.47) 042 040Anxiety 6.44(6.67) 042 035

Depression 7.92(9.02) 042 039

Table6

ComparisonofDescriptiveStatisticsforStress,AnxietyandDepressionLevelswithPast

Studies(UniversityandGeneralPopulation)

Study Sample PsychologicalDistress

StressMean(SD)

AnxietyMean(SD)

DepressionMean(SD)

CurrentStudy

University

11.38(8.47)

6.44(6.67)

7.92(9.02)Lovibond&Lovibond,(1995) University 10.54(6.94) 5.23(4.83) 7.19(6.54)Crawford&Henry,(2003) GeneralPopulation 9.27(8.04) 5.55(7.08) 3.56(5.39)Antonyetal.,(1998) GeneralPopulation 4.12(3.81) 1.43(1.86) 2.18(2.83)

43

Table7

ComparisonofHarmAvoidance,RewardDependenceandSelf-DirectednessScores

AcrossPastStudies(GeneralPopulation)

StudySample Personality

HarmAvoidanceMean(SD)

RewardDependenceMean(SD)

Self-Directedness

Mean(SD)

CurrentStudy

GeneralPopulation

92.41(18.86)

106.67(14.72)

135.64(18.46)Hansenneetal.,(2005)

GeneralPopulation 94.00(18.2) 101.7(13.4) 140.1(17.4)

Jylh&Isomets,(2006)

GeneralPopulation 89.2(19.8) 102.3(14.9) 146.8(18.1)

Table8

ComparisonofCopingStyleScoreswithPastStudies(UniversityandGeneralPopulation)

StudySample CopingStyles

Problem-FocusedCopingMean(SD)

Emotion-FocusedCopingMean(SD)

AvoidantCopingMean(SD)

CurrentStudy

University

10.30(1.83)

10.47(1.75)

7.28(1.78)Carveretal.,(1989) University 11.23(2.55) 10.85(3.12) 7.28(2.3)Ingledewetal.,(1996) GeneralPopulation 10.74(2.6) 9.94(3.2) 7.57(2.5)

3.2ExaminationofDataParticipantswerecategorisedintofivecategoriesbasedonDASSscores(Normal,Mild,

Moderate,SevereandExtremelySevere)usingLovibondandLovibonds(1995)cut-off

scores(seeTable9).Thenormalcategorycorrespondstothe0-78thpercentile,themild

categorytothe78.1-87thpercentile,themoderatecategorytothe87.1-95thpercentile,the

severecategorytothe95.1-98thpercentileandtheextremelyseverepercentiletothe98.1

100thpercentile.Table9showsthat19.4-29.4%ofparticipantsstudiedwere

44

experiencingsomedegreeofpsychologicaldistresswitharound3-4%experiencingsevere

toextremelyseveresymptomsofpsychologicaldistress(seeTable9).

Table9

PercentageofParticipantsClassifiedasMild,Moderate,SevereLevelsofStress,Anxiety

andDepressiveSymptoms(N=201)

PercentageineachDASScategory

Range Normal(0-781)

Mild(78-87)

Moderate(87-95)

Severe(95-98)

ExtremelySevere

(98-100)

Totalsample(N=Numberof

participantsineach

category)

Stress 0-42 80.6%(162) 8.5%(17) 6.9%(14) 3%(6) 1%(2)

Anxiety 0-42 79.6%(160) 8%(16) 9.4%(19) 2%(4) 1%(2)

Depression 0-42 70.6%(142) 11.5%(23) 14.4%(29) 1.5%(3) 2%(4)

1LovibondandLovibonds(1995)percentilecut-offscorrespondingtoeachDASScategory.

3.3RelationshipbetweenCopingandStress,Anxietyand

DepressionVariables

3.3.1CopingStyles(Problem-Focused,Emotion-Focused,Avoidant)andPsychological

Distress

Avoidantcopingwasfoundtobepositivelyassociatedwithdepressivesymptomsr=.44,

followedbyanxietyr=.40andstressr=.35confirminghypothesis1a(seeTable10).

BasedonCohens(1988)guidelines,thesizeofthecorrelati