Interpersonal Stress

Abstract

The present article reports a study verifying the validity of an Interpersonal Stress Model based on Lazarus's stress theory. The proposed model assumes that the effects of personality on mental health are fully mediated by cognitive appraisals and the behavior of coping with interpersonal stressful events, and that the effects of appraisals on mental health are fully mediated by coping behavior. The results of a longitudinal study of 227 college students, using path analyses, supported the Interpersonal Stress Model. The relationship between personality and coping behavior was fully mediated by cognitive appraisals. In part, a significant direct relationship was observed between personality and coping behavior. Coping that was oriented more toward positive relationships and postponed-solution coping were predictive of a report of a higher feeling of satisfaction with interpersonal relationships whereas coping that was oriented more toward negative relationships was predictive of a report of a lower feeling of satisfaction with interpersonal relationships. Greater postponed-solution coping was associated with reports of reduced distress, and coping that was oriented more toward negative relationships, with increased distress.