Gender differences in coping: A comparison of trait and momentary assessments

Gender differences in coping were examined using trait and and momentary si tuation-specific forms of the Daily Coping Inventory (DCI) and the Ways of Coping (WOC) questionnaire. The momentary measure also included assessment of problem content and appraisal. Participants were 47 men and 48 women (me an age = 42; 97% Caucasian) with high levels of work or marital stress. Par ticipants completed trait versions of the DCI and WOC at the start of the s tudy. Over the next two days, they carried an electronic diary which random ly prompted them every 40 minutes to report on their stressors, stress appr aisals, and coping efforts. Analysis of the trait data indicated gender dif ferences in coping consistent with what would be predicted by the socializa tion hypothesis: Women reported greater use of social support and catharsis on the DCI than men. However, no gender differences in coping were observe d on the momentary assessments. Overall, the pattern of results suggest tha t previous findings of gender differences in coping may be attributable to heuristic recall strategies based on conventional gender role stereotypes, rather than to actual differences in behavior.