Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between coping, optimism, psychological and physical well-being. The effectiveness of the different coping strategies and the role of optimism were investigated by analyzing how they predicted psychological and physical well-being. Altogether 136 municipal employees participated in a questionnaire study. The results showed that the most adaptive or effective coping strategy concerning psychological and physical well-being was acceptance, which can be classified as engagement coping. Ineffective strategies regarding psychological well-being included disengagement coping strategies such as sub- stance use, behavioral disengagement and self-blame. An ineffective strategy regarding physiological well-being was denial, which can be classified as a disengagement strategy. Optimism correlated significantly with both psychological and physical well-being. However, when all the variables in the model were included in the regression analysis, optimism explained additional variance in physical well-being but not in psychological well-being.
Highlights
Coping is considered as one of the most central concepts in stress research (Semmer & Meier, 2009) and there is a growing body of studies investigating how people cope with stressful situations at work
Higher optimism was significantly related to active coping, emotional support, instrumental support, positive reframing and planning, whereas denial, behavioral disengagement and selfblame were related to lower optimism
In this study relationships between coping, optimism, psychological and physical well-being were investigated among a group of municipal employees
Summary
Coping is considered as one of the most central concepts in stress research (Semmer & Meier, 2009) and there is a growing body of studies investigating how people cope with stressful situations at work (cf. Carver, 1997; Tamres, Janicki & Helgeson, 2002). Coping can be defined as cognitive and behaveioral efforts to manage different demands that tax or exceed a person’s resources (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). There are several ways to categorize different coping strategies that people employ when facing stress (cf Skinner, Edge, Altman & Sherwood, 2003). One of the most common categorizations is to classify coping strategies as problem-focused or emotion-focused coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). The problem-focused coping strategies aim to modify or eliminate the source of stress, whereas emotion-focused strategies focus on adjusting emotional responses elicited by the stressful situation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
