Abstract

The present research is designed to examine the effective stress coping style corresponding to situational factors and propose the dynamic psychological theory of stress coping. 10 scenarios describing stress situations were developed varying on the 3 dimensions of stressor, locus(internal vs. external), stability(temporal vs. enduring), context(individual vs. interpersonal). Participants completed a depression scale (CED-S) and recorded their expected reaction to each stress situation presented in scenarios. In temporal stress situations, the less depressed(more social adaptive) people did take active rather than passive coping styles and behavioral rather than cognitive and affective coping styles. In enduring stress situations, the less depressive people did take approach to avoidance coping styles and cognitive coping was preferred more by the less depressive than the more depressive. The results supported the hypothesis that the adaptively-effective coping is a style varying depending on situational factors rather than a trait consistent across situations. Furthermore, the present findings suggested the importance of coping flexibility in successful social adaptation.