Running head: TALKING AND COPING LEVEL ON STRESS

The Effect of Talking and Coping Level on Stress during Final Exams

Amy Gefell

St. Bonaventure University

Abstract

Past research indicates that coping through emotional approach enhances adjustment (Bishop, Cameron, Collins, Danoff-Burg, Kirk, Stanton, Sworowski, and Twillman, 2000). Emotional approach involves actively processing and expressing emotions. This study will focus on coping and emotional approach during stressful situations. I predict that those who emotionally express themselves will be less stressed than those that do not. Now, those who talk about their emotions will be less stressed than those who do not. Stress levels will be influenced by both level of talking and coping such that the least stressed will be talking high copers. These finding are in basic agreement with Bishop et al, 2000).

The effect of talking and coping level on stress during final exams

It is suggested that coping through emotional approach may enhance adjustment (Bishop et. al. 2000). Emotional approach involves actively processing and expressing emotions. Coping is generally considered to be a process by which an individual attempts to minimize the negative emotions that arise from the experience of negative events (Bennett and Lowe, 2003).

When individuals do not or cannot express thoughts and feelings concerning a traumatic event (i.e. behavioral inhibition), there is an increased probability of obsessing about the event as well as long-term illness consequences (Beall and Pennebaker, 1986). Evidence has accumulated indicating that not disclosing extremely personal and traumatic experiences to others over a long period of time may be related to disease processes (Beall and Pennebaker, 1986). To actively inhibit one's behavior is stressful and disease-related.

Coping is a response to specific situations that the individual experiences as posing challenges that cause stress or anxiety (Hass and Phinney, 2003). Here I am looking to find how coping can inhibit a person to becoming stressed in stressful situations. The way this can be done is through emotionally expressing oneself.

Assuming all of this, I predict that not actively coping and coping well will cause less stress in stressful situations.

Method

Subjects

In this investigation 16 randomly selected undergraduates were used from St. Bonaventure University. Half were selected to talk and the other half to not talk the day before exams started, Reading Day. After the subjects talked or did not talk the COPE and stress inventories were given.

Measures

Coping Processes. Coping processes were assessed with the COPE (Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub, 1989), a 60-item inventory tapping 15 coping strategies.

Stress Measures. A 30-item inventory (Holmes and Rahe, 1967) that concludes no significant stress to major stress was used to indicate level of stress.

Procedure

On Reading Day each participant was given the COPE. The subjects who talked prior to the exam discussed the exam itself. Things like whether or not they studied and if they studied with someone else were questions asked. Then the stress inventory was given.

Results

The results are consistent with past research and my hypothesis. The mean for high copers who talk is 11.813; mean for high copers who do not talk is 32.125; mean for low copers who talk is 35.375; mean for low copers who do not talk is 80.563, see Figure 1. There is a main effect for coping, F (1) = 451.234, p<0.0. The better coper you are, the least stress you will be. There is a main effect for talking, F (1) = 545.236, p<0.0. The more you talk, emotionally express yourself, the least stress you will be. There is an interaction for coping and talking, F (1) =65.080, p<0.0. The interaction states that the better coper you are and the more you talk the least stressed you will be, see Figure 2.

Discussion

The goal of this investigation was to better understand the role of coping on stress in a person’s life. Stress plays an important role in people’s lives. Those who can deal well with stress can adjust better to life situations in the future opposed to those who do not deal with stress well.

In breast-cancer patients studies were done where coping through emotional approach was tested (Bishop et. al. 2000). It was hypothesized that actively processing and expressing emotions enhances adjustment and health status. Women who coped through expressing emotions surrounding cancer had fewer medical appointments for cancer-related morbidities, enhanced physical health, and vigor and decreased distress over the following 3 months after the study was conducted, compared to those who were low in emotional expression.

It has been revealed that experimentally inducing individuals to write or talk about stressful experiences over several sessions can enhance physical and psychological health as well as important behavioral outcomes. Those who were under the least amount of stress, were not greatly affected in discussing matters which may have been stressful at one point in their lives. Going along with the presumption that those who cope well have always discussed stress-inducing instances as they arose, it can be assumed that when my subjects talked about a trivial or stressful event during finals week they were continuing their good coping skills. it was believed to be correct that those who cope well have always coped well throughout their lives.

Some of the ways in which people cope include active coping, doing something to try to solve the problem, acceptance, seeing the problem as something one must live with, behavioral disengagement, and denial (Bennet and Lowe, 2003). Those who chose the more positive coping strategies were more positive. They had fewer complications with things like their health by coping positively.

On a greater level, this research can be used to focus on how one copes in a positive way. Stress exists on many levels and in many professions. To show people how coping well influences how stress is factored into their lives can improve their lives.

Something that may have influenced the amount of stress of the subjects is how they viewed the discussion. When talking about the loss of a relative may clearly be stressful, talking about the events of the previous night may not be so trivial. Someone could have gone out with friends where something went wrong, stressful, and some could have stayed in and watched a movie, trivial.

This research can give insight into those people’s lives that do not have families or friends. When these people are diagnosed with a disease and have no one to share their emotions with they will be more likely to have stress. Doctors can offer counselors in these situations.

References

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traumatic event: toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95 (3), 274-281.

Bennett, P. and Lowe, R. (2003). Exploring coping reactions

to work-stress: application of an appraisal theory. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 393-400.

Bishop, M., Cameron, C. L., Collins, C. A., Danoff-Burg,

S., Kirk, S. B., Stanton, A. L., Sworowski, L. A., and

Twillman, R. (2000). Emotionally expressive coping predicts psychological and physical adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68 (5), 875-882.

Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K.  (1989). 

Assessing coping strategies:  A theoretically based approach.   Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.

Dewe, P. (2003). A closer examination of the patterns when

coping with work-related stress: implications for measurement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 517-524.

Haas, K. and Phinney, J. S. (2003). The process of coping

among ethnic minority first-generation college freshmen: a narrative approach. Journal of Social Psychology, 143 (6), 707-727.

Holmes, T. and Rahe,. (1967).Social Readjustment Rating

Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2, 214.

Figure Caption

Figure 1. Means of high and low copers and talking and not talking.

	High Coper	Low Coper
Talk	11.813	35.375
No Talk	32.125	80.563

Figure 2. Mean Stress levels