Predicting occupational coping responses: the interactive effect of gender and work stressor context

This study examined whether gender and work stressor context interacted to affect reports of occupational coping strategies. Participants (N=113) were asked to indicate how they would cope with both self-focused (i.e., solitary) and interpersonal (i.e., group) work overload contexts by providing responses to the Cybernetic Coping Scale (J. Edwards & A. J. Baglioni, 1993). Consistent with the hypothesized interaction, male and female participants evidenced similar coping strategies in the self-focused work overload context, whereas female participants showed significantly higher use of coping (T(2)=.08, p<.05) and, in particular, greater emotional-expressive coping (T(2)=.07, p<.01) in the interpersonal work overload context as compared with male participants. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.