PERSONALITY AND COPING AS MODERATORS OF WORK STRESS PROCESSES - MODELS, METHODS AND MEASURES

This article reviews the role of individual differences in work stress processes, with particular reference to personality and coping as mod erator variables. Vulnerability/resilience and person-environment fit (congruence) models of moderator effects are contrasted and relevant i ssues of methodology and analysis are outlined. Personality traits (lo cus of control, hardiness, Type A, optimism, and neuroticism) that act as moderators of stress/strain relations are reviewed; the characteri stics and limitations of available measures are described. Association s between personality and coping, inventories for the assessment of co ping, and the dimensions of coping behaviour, are then considered. The implications of structural and transactional models of stress for cop ing assessment are discussed with reference to dispositional versus si tuational approaches and other psychometric issues. The need for resea rch into coping flexibility and consistency is emphasized. No attempt is made to provide a comprehensive account of empirical research into individual difference moderator effects, but relevant review articles are cited, together with some recent studies. Finally, several areas w hich would merit further attention (including specificity of moderator effects, conjunctive and disjunctive patterns, and moderation of rela tions between objective and perceived stressors) are identified.