Gender roles and coping with work stress

The influence of gender roles on coping with workplace stressors was examined among 176 adult undergraduate students (130 females, 46 males) who were concurrently employed while attending college. The majority of participants (91.5%) were White and from working-class backgrounds. As expected, androgynous persons were significantly more likely to report using help-seeking, direct action, and positive-thinking coping mechanisms than were individuals with undifferentiated gender roles. Both feminine and masculine persons reported significantly greater use of positive-thinking coping styles than did undifferentiated persons, and feminine persons were also significantly more likely than undifferentiated persons to rise direct action. No gender-role differences were found among individuals' reported rise of escape-related coping mechanisms. Regression analyses revealed that femininity and masculinity scores were significant predictors of control-related coping styles, whereas biological gender was a significant predictor of direct action coping. These findings are discussed within the context of future research and application.