Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

6-1987

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education

Major Professor

Kathleen Lawler

Abstract

Gender and the possibility for change were studied to determine their effect on the type of coping preferred in two hypothetical work situations. Twenty-five male and twenty-five female teachers from the same metropolital high school served as subjects. Each participant read two scenarios of stressful school situations, representing a high and a low potential for change. Immediately following the reading of each scenario, subjects completed The Ways of Coping Checklist (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984), and answered the appraisal question and two evaluation questions. It was hypothesized that in the high change situation, males would use significantly more problem-focused coping than females and significantly less emotion-focused coping. Gender differences in the appraisal of the potential for change in the two situations was also expected with more males than females perceiving possibilities for action or a need for information. None of the hypothesized effects was supported by the data; however, further investigation revealed a significant main effect of the type of situation on certain types of coping. Significantly more problem-focused coping and self-blame were evident in the high potential for change situation, while detachment, focusing on the positive, and keeping to self were used significantly more in the low potential for change situation. The results are discussed with regard to Richard Lazarus' theory of stress and coping, and suggestions for further research are given.

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