Graduation Year

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Chu-Hsiang (Daisy) Chang, PhD

Co-Major Professor

Paul Spector, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Kristen Salomon, Ph.D.

Keywords

Occupational stress, Job stress, Problem-focused coping, Emotion-focused coping, Health

Abstract

Stressors resulting from one's work life including work conditions, job characteristics, and relationships with others at work have been shown to impact employee health outcomes at both psychological and physical levels (Le Blanc, Jonge, & Schaufeli, 2008; Spector, Dwyer, & Jex, 1988). Interpersonal conflict is one prevalent workplace stressor that has been associated with poor work-related outcomes and psychological states. A cross-sectional design with multi-source data collection methods was used to measure conflict, perceptions of control, coping strategies, and both psychological and physical well-being. Overall, findings suggested that the success of coping efforts hinges on the combination of the nature of the stressor (conflict with supervisors vs. with a co-worker), perceptions of control over that stressor (high or low control), and coping strategy used (problem-focused or emotion-focused coping). This may explain at least to a certain extent why previous efforts to document the moderating effects of coping have been inconsistent, especially pertaining to emotion-focused coping.

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