PREDICTORS OF COPING BEHAVIOR AFTER A LAYOFF

In a longitudinal study of laid-off industrial workers, we examined th e effects of individual differences and situational characteristics on individuals' use of six job loss coping strategies. In each case the predictors explained a significant portion of the variance (30-47 perc ent) although different predictors were significantly associated with each of the six coping strategies. The results also suggest that the u se of problem-focused and symptom-focused coping strategies are comple mentary rather than mutually exclusive. The study's implications and d irections for future research are discussed as well. (C) 1998 John Wil ey & Sons, Ltd.