This study investigated the extent to which momentary reports of coping are
a traitlike phenomenon and the validity of a questionnaire assessment of c
oping style. Participants (N = 96) completed the questionnaire, then monito
red stressful events and coping activities for 2 days using a hand-held com
puter that administered a brief assessment every 40 min. Momentary reports
exhibited a sizable traitlike component: individual differences accounted f
or 42% of the variance for 2 coping items and 15-30% of the variance for 15
items. The questionnaire assessment of coping style was a poor predictor o
f average momentary coping; the coping style measure and the aggregated mom
entary measure of trait coping shared 23% of their variance for religion an
d 0-12% for the 16 other coping measures. Self-report assessments of trait
coping are poor measures of the trait component of momentary coping and ver
y poor predictors of coping in specific situations.