Coping and personality: Third time's the charm?

In this special issue, a third generation of research is represented which recognizes and demonstrates that individual differences in personality play an important role in the coping process. Although progress is apparent, there are several unresolved issues, including the best way to measure coping and whether ''type of coping'' matters in naturalistic settings. Three potentially important parameters of coping - range, patterning, and competence - are described, but only the first has received systematic empirical attention. The study of coping might also be advanced by researchers giving more attention to the differences between problem situations in which traits are more easily expressed (''weak'' situations) versus those where normative criteria and constraints are explicit (''strong'' situations).