engleski

Meta-constructs of personality-coping in prediction of different aspects of subjective health

Objective: One theoretical approach to coping defines it as stable styles or preferences people use when in stressful situations and are partly related to personality and partly learned during the process of socialization. Therefore, it could be expected that personality traits and coping styles together define a common space or higher order constructs that could act as predictors of subjective health measures. Method: On the sample of 338 healthy participants multidimensional personality questionnaire, multidimensional coping qustionnaire and various measures of subjective health encompassing physical nad mental health as well as positive and negative mood were used. Results: The common structure of multidimensional measures of personality and coping has been determined. The results of the common factor analyses indicate to four-factor structure. The first factor is named orientation toward problem, the second one orientation toward emotions, the third avoidance, while the fourth, bipolar factor, is named expressiveness – constraint. These factors have been found to be differently related to various measures of subjective health status. First two factors (orientation toward problem and orientation toward emotions) were connected only to positive and negative mood, avoidance factor with measures of physical and mental health and both positive and negative mood, while the fourth factor, expresiveness-constraint, was related to mental health and positive and negative mood. The results obtained were interpreted in the context of coping as preffered styles, which in combination with personality measures could enable differential prediction of various subjective health measures.

coping styles; personality traits; subjective health

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