THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, … · People with high levels of emotional...

THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, GENDER, COPING STRATEGIES, AND WELL-BEING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF STRESS

IN CLOSE INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THE WORKPLACE

by

Limor Zomer, M.A., M.Ed.

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Graduate Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

University of Toronto

© Copyright by Limor Zomer (2012)

ii

The Relationships Among Emotional Intelligence, Gender, Coping Strategies, and Well-Being in

the Management of Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships and the Workplace

Doctor of Philosophy (2012)

Limor Zomer

Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology

University of Toronto

Abstract

People with high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) seem to possess emotional skills that allow them to

cope effectively with the challenges they face and promote well-being. Considering the role of EI in

coping research may yield significant benefits for individuals because EI has consistently been linked

with positive outcome measures, including life and work satisfaction, interpersonal functioning, healthy

relationships, job performance, psychological well-being, physical health, and psychophysiological

measures of adaptive coping (Martins, Ramalho, & Morin, 2010). Although the theoretical significance of

EI to coping has been recognized (e.g., Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Snyder, 1999), relatively few studies

explore the relationships among these constructs. The current research explores and compares how

emotional intelligence (EI) facilitates adaptive coping across both interpersonal and occupational contexts

– two central areas of our lives. It provides evidence in support of an extended adaptational model

contextualizing EI within the transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).

In general, results from an online survey (N = 300) showed that most participants (approximately

66%) did not cope adaptively with stress. Results are consistent with a model which suggests that EI and

the coping strategies people use when dealing with interpersonal and occupational stressors have

significant effects on psychological well-being. The findings linked EI with adaptive coping behaviour,

exposing both similarities and differences in the types of coping strategies people implement across

interpersonal and occupational contexts, as well as their relationships to well-being. In addition, the

iii

results demonstrated that certain coping strategies (i.e., social support, venting/self-blame, and

alcohol/drug use) partially mediated the relationship between emotion skills and well-being in these two

contexts. Finally, gender differences in both EI and coping strategies emerged, with the differences being

mostly attributed to the socialization of gender role (i.e., the degree of agentic and communal traits) rather

than sex (i.e., being male or female). Moderation models suggested that gender did not interact with EI to

influence coping strategy choice (i.e., social support, venting/self-blame, alcohol/drug use) or well-being.

These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the therapeutic context, organizational

policy, theoretical considerations, as well as future research directions.

iv

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank my mom, Ilana, who as a single parent, opened up so

many possibilities for me and my sister; I want to acknowledge how important a person you have been in

my life. Thank you for your encouragement and support throughout the years, and for inspiring my

interest in the topic of emotional intelligence by sharing your own interest in the topic many, many

years ago! A special thank you goes to my sister, Arielle, as well, for being someone with whom

to share life’s experiences and for showing me the beautiful resilience of a close interpersonal

relationship. I would also like to thank my close friends who have been there for me along the way to

encourage me, keep me in the social loop, and help me bring this project to completion; special thanks to

my girls, Gaby and Julia. A special thank you also goes to Kevin for all your support and technical help.

Thank you to Linda, as well, for your guidance along this journey. I would also like to recognize my

colleagues and supervisors at the school board where I currently work for their support; special thanks to

Dr. Giuliana Malvestuto-Filice and Dr. Schrine Persad.

I am extremely grateful for the continuous support of my research supervisor, Dr. Jeanne Watson,

throughout the years. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work under your supervision. Thank

you for helping me in developing my ideas and research, encouraging persistence, as well as bringing it

all to such a positive feeling of closure. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Margaret Schneider

and Dr. Corey Mackenzie, for your helpful feedback, advice, and suggestions. Dr. Mackenzie, thank you

for going above and beyond by agreeing to continue in the role of committee member even after your

move, and for your continuous support over the years. I would also like to express my appreciation to my

external examiner, Dr. Michael Leiter; thank you for your valuable comments, keen interest, and approval

of my research. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Olesya Falenchuk and Heather Krause for their help

with statistical consulting. Thank you also to the members of Dr. Watson’s research group for your

valuable comments and support throughout the years; special thanks to Touraj and Evelyn for your

contributions. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Brian Little, whose influence as a mentor may be

seen in my research; I will always cherish the lessons learned in your seminars and classes, and the

inspiration you have been to my academic/professional life.

Finally, thank you to all the participants who completed this study for sharing your personal

experiences in close relationships and the workplace, from which we may all benefit.

v

Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….……….....ii

Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................... iv

Contents ........................................................................................................................................................v

List of Tables.................................................................................................................................................x

List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... xiii

List of Appendices .................................................................................................................................... xiv

Chapter One: Introduction and Literature Review ........................................................................................1

Emotional Intelligence ........................................................................................................4

Trait EI versus ability EI.. ......................................................................................6

The validity of trait EI.. ........................................................................................ 10

Theoretical Overview of the Applicability of Emotional Intelligence to Stress and

Coping ............................................................................................................................... 14

Stress and Coping .............................................................................................................. 16

Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping: The Place for Emotional Intelligence ......... 18

Coping: Classification of coping strategies and contextual considerations. ........ 22

Research on emotional intelligence and coping behaviour .................................. 25

Why examine EI and stress in close interpersonal relationships? ........................ 30

Research on EI and coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships. ....... 32

Why examine EI and occupational stress? ........................................................... 35

Research on emotional intelligence and occupational stress.. ............................. 40

Gender Differences ........................................................................................................... 43

Gender differences and coping behaviour. ........................................................... 45

Gender differences in emotional intelligence.. .................................................... 46

Evidence supporting the investigation of sex role differences in emotional

intelligence.. ......................................................................................................... 47

vi

Gender differences in emotional intelligence and coping with stress in close

interpersonal relationships. .................................................................................. 50

Gender differences in emotional intelligence and coping with occupational

stress ..................................................................................................................... 51

Summary of Literature Review ......................................................................................... 53

Purpose of the Present Investigation ................................................................................. 59

Research Questions and Hypotheses ................................................................................. 60

Chapter Two: Method ................................................................................................................................. 64

Participants ........................................................................................................................ 64

Measures ........................................................................................................................... 65

Background information/demographics. .............................................................. 65

Trait meta-mood scale (TMMS short form; Salovey et al., 1995) ....................... 65

Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) .................................................................................. 65

Emotional approach coping (EAC) scales (Stanton et al., 2000). ........................ 66

Biological gender. ................................................................................................ 66

Personal attributes questionnaire (short form; Spence, Helmreich & Stapp,

1973; Spence & Helmreich, 1978). ...................................................................... 66

Depression anxiety stress scales (DASS-21, short form; Lovibond &

Lovibond, 1995). .................................................................................................. 67

Satisfaction with life scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985). .................................... 67

Positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, and Tellegen,

1988). ................................................................................................................... 67

Procedure .......................................................................................................................... 68

Chapter Three: Results ................................................................................................................................ 70

Preliminary Analysis ......................................................................................................... 70

Data screening: statistical assumptions. ............................................................................ 74

Data Reduction ............................................................................................................................... 78

vii

Coping strategies factors for stress in close interpersonal relationships and the

workplace. ......................................................................................................................... 78

Close interpersonal relationship coping strategies factors. ............................................... 79

Coping strategies factors for workplace stress. ................................................................. 82

Gender ............................................................................................................................... 85

Subjective well-being composite ...................................................................................... 86

Diagnostics/Missing Values ........................................................................................................... 87

The imputation model.. ..................................................................................................... 91

Statistical Analyses ........................................................................................................................ 93

Hypothesis one: EI will be related to distinct coping strategies for stress in close

interpersonal relationships and the workplace. ................................................................. 93

Hypothesis two: Differences will emerge in coping behaviours across contexts

as well as their relationships to EI and well-being. ........................................................... 97

Examining differences in coping strategies used across interpersonal

and occupational stressors .................................................................................... 97

The relationships between coping strategies and well-being ............................... 99

Investigating coping types across close interpersonal relationship and

occupational contexts ......................................................................................... 102

EI and close interpersonal relationship coping style groups .............................. 103

EI and workplace coping style groups ............................................................... 105

Coping style groups and subjective well-being across contexts ........................ 106

Summary of Hypothesis Two Results ............................................................................. 109

Hypothesis three: Coping behaviour is expected to mediate the relationship between EI

and well-being for both stress in close interpersonal relationships and the workplace. .. 110

Multiple mediation analysis.. ............................................................................. 110

Investigating coping style group as a potential mediator. .................................. 116

viii

Hypothesis Four: Gender will be differentially related to EI and the coping strategies

used in each context. Gender will moderate the relationship between EI and SWB and

between EI and coping strategies. ................................................................................... 117

Initial analysis: Assessing potential confounding of sex and gender and

relationships to well-being. ................................................................................ 117

Gender differences and emotional intelligence.. ................................................ 117

Gender differences and coping strategies .......................................................... 119

Gender and coping style groups.. ....................................................................... 122

Moderation analysis. .......................................................................................... 128

Summary of Hypothesis Four Results ............................................................................. 133

Chapter Four: Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 135

Hypothesis One: EI will be related to distinct coping strategies for interpersonal and

occupational stress .......................................................................................................... 135

Hypothesis Two: Differences will emerge in coping behaviours across contexts as

well as their relationships to EI and well-being .............................................................. 141

Hypothesis Three: Coping behaviour will mediate the relationship between EI and

well-being for both interpersonal and occupational stress .............................................. 144

Investigating coping style group as a potential mediator. .................................. 149

Hypothesis Four: Gender will be differentially related to EI and the coping strategies

used in each context. Gender will moderate the relationship between EI and SWB

and between EI and coping strategies. ............................................................................ 149

Investigating gender differences and coping style groups ................................. 153

Overview of Research Contributions .............................................................................. 155

Therapeutic Implications ................................................................................................. 157

Organizational Implications ............................................................................................ 161

Theoretical Considerations and Future Directions .......................................................... 162

Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 164

ix

Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 167

Footnotes...……………………………...…………………………………………………………………….169

References………………………………...…………………………………………………………………..177

x

List of Tables

Table 1 Examples of Coping Strategy Classifications and Descriptions (Carver, 1997) ........................ 23

Table 2 Common Categories of Work Stress and Examples (see Cartwright & Cooper, 1996; Rosch,

1984; Zeidner, 2005) .................................................................................................................. 37

Table 3 Summary of Variable Relationships .......................................................................................... 56

Table 4 Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships Examples Provided By Participants ...................... 71

Table 5 Occupational Stressor Examples Provided By Participants....................................................... 72

Table 6 Descriptive Statistics for Emotional Intelligence and Gender Variables ................................... 75

Table 7 Descriptive Statistics for Relationship Coping Strategies ......................................................... 75

Table 8 Descriptive Statistics for Work Coping Strategies .................................................................... 76

Table 9 Descriptive Statistics for Well-Being Scales ............................................................................. 77

Table 10 Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation of Coping Strategies in

Relationships .............................................................................................................................. 80

Table 11 Total Variance Explained and Cronbach’s Alpha for the Relationship Coping Factors ........... 81

Table 12 Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation of Coping Strategies at Work ........... 83

Table 13 Total Variance Explained and Cronbach’s Alpha for the Work Coping Factors....................... 84

Table 14 Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation of Gender .......................................... 86

Table 15 Intercorrelations Using Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficients for Scales Comprising Well-

Being .......................................................................................................................................... 87

Table 16 Subjective Well-Being Component ........................................................................................... 87

Table 17 Percentage of Missing Data ....................................................................................................... 88

Table 18 Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between Trait Emotional Intelligence, EI

Subscales, Coping Strategies Within the Context of Stress in Close Interpersonal

Relationships, and Well-Being ................................................................................................... 94

Table 19 Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between EI, EI Subscales, and Coping

Strategies Within the Context of Work Stress ............................................................................ 95

xi

Table 20 A Comparison of Overall Emotional Intelligence and EI Subscales with Coping Strategies

Used Across Relationship and Work Contexts for the Overall Sample ..................................... 97

Table 21 Pooled Comparisons of Coping Strategies Used Across Relationship and Work Contexts ...... 98

Table 22 Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between Subjective Well-Being and Coping

Strategies Within the Context of Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships for the Overall

Sample ...................................................................................................................................... 100

Table 23 Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between Subjective Well-Being and Coping

Strategies Within the Context of Work Stress for the Overall Sample .................................... 100

Table 24 A Comparison of Well-Being and Coping Strategies Used Across Relationship and Work

Contexts for the Overall Sample .............................................................................................. 101

Table 25 Relationship Coping Clusters .................................................................................................. 102

Table 26 Work Coping Clusters ............................................................................................................. 103

Table 27 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Emotional

Intelligence for Relationship Coping Clusters ......................................................................... 104

Table 28 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Emotional

Intelligence for Work Coping Clusters .................................................................................... 106

Table 29 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Well-Being for

Relationship Coping Clusters ................................................................................................... 107

Table 30 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Well-Being for

Work Coping Clusters .............................................................................................................. 108

Table 31 Assessing Multicollinearity for Mediation Models ................................................................. 111

Table 32 Mediation of the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Subjective Well-Being Through Proposed

Coping Strategies for Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationship ............................................ 113

Table 33 Pooled Results of the Mediated Hierarchical Regression for Stress in Close Interpersonal

Relationships ............................................................................................................................ 114

Table 34 Mediation of the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Subjective Well-Being Through Proposed

Coping Strategies for Occupational Stress (n = 237) ............................................................... 115

xii

Table 35 Results of the Pooled Mediated Hierarchical Regression for Occupational Stress .................. 116

Table 36 Pooled Descriptives for Coping Clusters with Emotional Intelligence as Covariant in Well-

Being ........................................................................................................................................ 117

Table 37 Pooled Male and Female Comparisons Across Emotional Intelligence, Attention, Clarity, and

Repair ....................................................................................................................................... 118

Table 38 Pooled Pearson’s Product Moment Correlations for EI and EI Subscales With Agency and

Communion .............................................................................................................................. 118

Table 39 Pooled t-tests for Sex Differences in Coping Strategies Used With Stress in Close

Interpersonal Relationships ...................................................................................................... 120

Table 40 Pooled t-tests for Sex Differences in Coping Strategies Used With Work Stress ................... 121

Table 41 Pooled Comparisons of the Relationships Between Agency and Communion With Coping

Strategies Across Interpersonal and Occupational Contexts Using Pearson Product Moment

Coefficients .............................................................................................................................. 122

Table 42 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Agency for

Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships ............................................................................. 123

Table 43 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Communion for

Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships ............................................................................ 124

Table 44 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Agency for

Occupational Stress .................................................................................................................. 126

Table 45 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Communion for

Occupational Stress .................................................................................................................. 127

Table 46 Pooled Hierarchical Regression Analyses Predicting Coping Strategies and Well-Being from

EI By Sex Interactions.............................................................................................................. 129


EI By Agency Interactions ....................................................................................................... 130


EI By Communion Interactions ................................................................................................ 132

xiii

List of Figures

Figure 1 EI Ability Model. .........................................................................................................................8

Figure 2 Transactional Model of Stress and Coping ................................................................................ 19

Figure 3 Adaptational Model Contextualizing Emotional Intelligence within the Coping Process. ....... 60

Figure 4 Example of Multiple Mediation Model Depicting Coping Strategies as Potential Mediators

Between EI and Well-Being. ..................................................................................................... 62

Figure 5 Overall Summary of Missing Values. ........................................................................................ 88

Figure 6 Mean Comparisons of Coping Strategies Used Across Interpersonal and Work Contexts ....... 99

Figure 7 Boxplots Comparing Emotional Intelligence Means Across Coping Clusters for Stress in

Close Interpersonal Relationships. .......................................................................................... 105

Figure 8 Boxplots Comparing Emotional Intelligence Means Across Coping Clusters for Workplace Stress. ...................................................................................................................................... 106

Figure 9 Boxplots for Close Interpersonal Relationships Coping Clusters and Subjective

Well-Being. ............................................................................................................................. 107

Figure 10 Boxplots for Work Coping Clusters and Subjective Well-Being. ........................................... 109

Figure 11 Mean Differences in Agency Across Coping Style Groups for Stress in Close Interpersonal

Relationships……………………………………………..…………………….………………...123

Figure 12 Mean Differences in Communion Across Coping Style Groups for Stress in Close

Interpersonal Relationships. .................................................................................................... 125

Figure 13 Mean Differences in Agency Across Coping Style Groups for Occupational Stress .............. 126

Figure 14 Mean Differences in Communion Across Coping Style Groups for Occupational Stress. ..... 127

xiv

List of Appendices

Appendix A: Consents and Recruitment ………………………………………………………………..204

Recruitment and Consents………………….………………………...…………….……..…….205

University of Toronto Recruitment Email……………………………………………………....206

Facebook Recruitment Email……………………………………………………………….......207

Information and Consent………………………………………………………………………..208

Examples of Motivational Phrases and Final Page………………………………………...…...209

Appendix B: Multiple Mediation…………………………………………………...……….…….....….210

Table B-1: Mediation on Relationship Data Across Five Imputations (m = 6 to 10)………......211

Table B-2: Mediation on Occupational Data Across Five Imputations (m = 6 to 10)………….219

Appendix C: Copyright Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………...228

1

Chapter One: Introduction and Literature Review

Janice, a 48-year-old mother of two teenage children, is happily married and excelling in her

marketing business. She has a loving and supportive family and a network of friends whom she can count

on; others are able to count on her as well. Her colleagues describe her as friendly, energetic, and caring.

Not too long ago, Janice received the tragic news that her father passed away suddenly as a result of a

heart attack. Janice had a close, loving relationship with her father. Losing him caused her much pain.

Janice took some time off work to reflect and heal. Together with the support of her family and friends,

she has been able to cope effectively with the loss of her father and has found comfort in the meaning of

his life. She has gradually returned to her regular routines at work and at home, and Janice is now calmed

by the cherished memory of her father.

Darren is a 62-year-old man who has been struggling with depression at different points

throughout his life. He has been taking antidepressants, but has not found medication helpful. Darren is

often worried, has high levels of anxiety and finds he has little desire to do anything. He feels he has

nothing to look forward to other than meeting the milestone of turning 65. In general, Darren is highly

self-critical, self-conscious and extremely fearful of being judged by others. In his personal relationships,

Darren feels his depression stands in the way and that people do not want to be around him because he

can bring them down; he says the last friend he had, terminated their friendship recently as she thought

his depression was something she could “catch.” Darren had two failed marriages earlier in his life.

About seven years ago, he left his job after working 25 years because he was no longer able to cope with

the stressful demands of his work. Currently, Darren is unable to work due to his depression and anxiety.

His only “lifeline” now is the community centre where he volunteers once a week. However, he is often

anxious that he will “screw up,” so he does not speak to others much while he is there.

Both scenarios above illustrate the link between coping with stress and well-being. On the one

hand, Janice, who is a high-functioning woman, is able to apply her personal resources and characteristics

in gaining the support she needs from her environment to cope effectively with the daily stressors of a

1

2

demanding career, parenthood, and a stressful life event. On the other hand, Darren has had continuous

difficulty in coping with everyday stressors throughout his life which has interfered with his personal

relationships, work-life, and daily functioning. We all know people like Janice, who are skilled in

managing multiple stressors. We also know some individuals who have difficulty managing stress, like

Darren, whose stressors take a tremendous toll on various facets of life, including their relationships,

work, and physical as well as psychological health.

While relationships and work life provide avenues that can foster self-esteem, self-efficacy,

success, and life satisfaction for most people, they could also be major sources of personal distress and

unhappiness. Indeed, there has been increasing attention to the nature and implications of stress on our

lives, with major newspaper headlines raising our awareness on these issues and citing, for example,

research revealing: “On-job stress increases heart risk: Spouse, co-workers can ease danger”; “Deadly

stress; It’s not that there’s more stress in our lives, but we’re not coping well. It’s making us sick”; “Men

flee, women call their friends when under stress”; “Working women over 40 more likely to report high

stress”; “Stress and depression in the employed population: Stress common among workers … Stress

related to depression”; “Health costs linked to overwork, stress: Canadians struggling to cope”; and,

“Marital angst can be harder on heart than a marathon.”

The present investigation, exploratory in nature, contributes to a literature examining the

distinguishing features of individuals who are able to cope well with stress and those who experience

difficulty in managing life’s daily challenges. If we are able to determine differences among individuals

in the ways they cope, then this information could be applied through psychoeducational programs (e.g.,

stress management), psychological assessment, therapeutic practice, and self-help guides to promote

well-being. While some differences in the relationships between coping and personality traits (e.g.,

hardiness, optimism, neuroticism, extraversion, etc.) have been investigated (see Snyder, 1999; Zeidner &

Endler, 1996), the current study focuses on individual differences in emotional processes because

emotions are understood as central to the process of coping and adaptation (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988).

One approach to the study of emotions that has become quite prominent involves a cognitive

orientation based on the principle that emotion and cognition work jointly in people’s appraisals of events

3

as promoting or hindering their well-being. Contrary to the rationalist tradition which devalues the

“passions,” the current approach recognizes that one’s ability to use information provided by emotions

can be adaptive and increase well-being (see Darwin, 1873; Davidson et al., 2000; Frijda, 1994;

Goleman, 1995; Lazarus, 1993; Martin, Berry, Dobranski and Horne, 1996; Pennebaker, 1995, 1997;

Taylor, Parker & Bagby, 1999). Emotions can strive to warn individuals, protect them from danger, and

help guide people towards achieving their tasks and goals (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988; Kennedy-Moore &

Watson, 1999; Lazarus, 1984; Slaski & Cartwright, 2003). In examining how individuals use their

abilities to apply the information conveyed by emotions adaptively, differences have emerged in the level

of skill with which individuals can identify their feelings and the feelings of others, regulate these

feelings, and use the information provided by their feelings to motivate adaptive behaviour. These

emotional skills are conceptualized as comprising the construct of emotional intelligence (EI) (Mayer,

Caruso & Salovey, 2000).

Individuals possessing high levels of EI appear to have emotional skills which allow them to cope

effectively with the challenges they face and promote well-being. Considering the role of EI in coping

research may yield significant benefits for individuals because EI has consistently been linked with

positive outcome measures, such as life and work satisfaction, interpersonal functioning, healthy

relationships, job performance, psychological well-being, physical health, and psychophysiological

measures of adaptive coping (i.e., cortisol levels, blood pressure) (e.g., Ciarrochi, Forgas, & Mayer, 2001;

Martins, Ramalho, & Morin, 2010; Salovey et al., 1999; Salovey et al., 2002; Wong & Law, 2002;

Zomer, 2001). Although the theoretical significance of EI to coping and adaptation has been recognized

(e.g., Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Snyder, 1999), relatively few studies investigate the relationships among

these constructs. The primary objective of the current research is to explore how emotional intelligence

(EI) facilitates adaptive coping across both interpersonal and occupational contexts – two central areas of

our lives. It attempts to provide evidence in support of an extended adaptational model contextualizing EI

within the coping process.

A review of the current literature on EI, coping, and well-being will make it apparent that while

the role of EI in adaptation appears promising, there are some research gaps which need to be addressed.

4

The current investigation will present an adapted theoretical model and address some of the research gaps

by exploring: (1) EI and the coping strategies people use in responding to two particular types of stressors

(i.e., stress in close interpersonal relationships and work stress); (2) subjective well-being relative to

coping response; (3) a comparison of EI and coping strategies across the contexts of relationships and

work life; and, (4) the role of gender (in terms of biological and sociological differences) in the

relationship between EI and coping with stress across contexts.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a recent concept in psychology, the term having been cited in few

sources in the academic literature from the mid-1960s, and emerging as a construct in psychology only as

early as 1990 (see Mayer & Cobb, 2000; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). At the root of this late development is

what has traditionally been considered unreasonable: the integration of the emotional and intellectual

worlds. The struggle between passion and reason is exemplified in the rationalist arguments of Stoicism,

and philosophers including Descartes and Kant who considered the intellect as the true essence of the

being, while the adversarial views of the Romantic Movement, and the philosophies of Rousseau, Hume,

and William James indicated the emotional system to be of greater value (see Ben-Ze’ev, 2000; Solomon,

1976). Interestingly, in an early integrative approach articulated in The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's

challenge was to manage our emotional life with intelligence, to use our passions with reason – this, he

considered a virtue. While Aristotle taught that the essential nature of humans is reason, he recognized

that the passions have their place in the human organism. Aristotle, for example, believed that anger, by

emboldening men, actually helped nations to win wars (see Russo, 2000).

While the term “emotional intelligence” was not coined until 1990 in psychology, I was able to

trace what seems to have been its development back to O. Hobart Mowrer, in 1960, who maintained,

“The emotions are of quite extraordinary importance in the total economy of living organisms and do not

deserve being put into opposition with ‘intelligence.’ The emotions are, it seems, themselves a high order

of intelligence” (p. 308). Similarly, Robert C. Solomon, in 1976, wrote, “…emotions are rational ….

They are, as I have been arguing, judgments, and they are intentional and intelligent” (p. 239). Solomon’s

objective was to eliminate unnecessary conflicts between reason and passions, and instead, to encourage

5

appreciation of the passions without requiring the rejection of “reason” (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2004;

Salovey, Mayer & Caruso, 2002).

It appears Payne (1986) first formally introduced and defined the concept of EI in an unpublished

doctoral dissertation in philosophy entitled, A Study of Emotion: Developing Emotional Intelligence; Self-

Integration; Relating to Fear, Pain and Desire. According to Payne, EI involved relating effectively to

fear, pain, and desire, and he maintained that individuals could learn the necessary skills through

educational programming in schools. Payne believed that mass emotional suppression throughout history

has stifled our emotional growth, and he viewed many of the problems of modern society as being caused

by emotional ignorance, culminating in wars, depression, illness, addiction, religious conflict, and

violence (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2004; Salovey, Mayer & Caruso, 2002).

In the field of psychology, the construct of emotional intelligence (EI) was first formally defined

by Salovey and Mayer (1990) as a set of skills relating to “the ability to monitor one’s own and others’

feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking

and actions (p. 189).” They justified the label of “emotional intelligence” on the grounds that it demands

processing of specific emotional information from within the organism, and because some level of

competence at these skills is required for adequate social functioning. They originally outlined three

mental processes involving emotional information: (1) the appraisal and expression of emotions in self

and other; (2) the regulation of emotions in self and other; and (3) the use of emotions adaptively to

achieve one’s goals.

Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) definition of EI is, in part, derived from Gardner’s earlier concept of

personal intelligence. In Gardner's (1983) theory of multiple intelligences, he proposed that the

awareness of one’s own and others’ emotional states are interconnected components of what he termed,

the “personal intelligences.” This definition is comprised of two subtypes – intrapersonal intelligence (the

ability to access one’s own feelings) and interpersonal intelligence (the ability to read the moods,

intentions, and desires of others). Gardner (1983) claimed that these abilities are biologically based

information-processing capacities that all individuals have to some extent. These two subtypes of

6

personal intelligence are embedded in the construct of EI, which requires emotional knowledge on both

the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels.

Indeed, Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2004) affirm that EI is part of a class of intelligences

comprising the social, practical, and personal intelligences. They have referred to these types of multiple

intelligences as “hot intelligences” (Mayer & Mitchell, 1998; Mayer & Salovey, 1993) to signify that

these intelligences function on hot cognitions, or cognitions concerned with issues of personal and

emotional relevance to the person (see Abelson, 1963; Zajonc, 1980). Among these intelligences, EI has

arguably been most controversial, largely attributable to Goleman’s (1995) popularization of the concept.

Media reports have spread the news on the potential value of EI for ameliorating one’s professional and

personal life. The attraction of the public to this concept is partially due to the nature of EI and the

proposal that emotional skills can be learned. The education of EI is now a part of the curricula of many

school boards and adopted by a number of organizations, particularly in the Unites States (Goleman,

1995; O’Connor & Little, 2003). The tenet that all individuals are capable of learning emotional skills has

increased the construct’s popularity, and challenges theories such as that set out in the Bell Curve

(Herrnstein and Murray, 1994). That the construct itself is controversial is no surprise as it is in a sense

revolutionary; some criticisms will be addressed in the sections that follow.

Trait EI versus ability EI. One of the criticisms made about the EI construct is that it is nothing

more than a combination of personality traits (e.g., the Big Five – neuroticism, extraversion, openness to

experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) (Davies, Stankov, & Roberts, 1998). In addressing this

criticism and others surrounding the theoretical components of EI, a distinction between trait EI and

ability EI has been made in recent years (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 2000; Petrides & Furnham, 2000a,

2003).

Trait EI models encompass a range of emotion-related, self-perception, and dispositional

variables. They are considered to be the most stable indicators of EI. Goleman’s trait model (1995)

conceptualizes EI in terms of self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy, and handling

relationships. Bar-On’s (1997) model examines other postulated dimensions of EI, including

interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, adaptability, stress management, and general mood. These trait EI

7

models are “mixed” as they assess not only emotional skill, but overlap with clearly distinct constructs in

psychology, uniting them under an overarching “EI” construct. Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2004) claim,

“These conceptualizations and associated measures often have little or nothing specifically to do with

emotion or intelligence and, consequently, fail to map onto the term emotional intelligence (p. 197).”

These mixed conceptualizations of EI and their related measures have led to such formidable popular

claims by some that EI is essential for success and provides the platform for competencies valuable to

most jobs (e.g., Goleman, 1995).

In comparison with these mixed models, other models of trait EI are theoretically based on ability

EI models which are designed to assess specific emotional information-processing skills or abilities, such

as emotional perception and regulation (e.g., see Schutte et al., 1998). Ability EI models represent EI as a

cognitive ability. According to Mayer and colleagues’ (2000) ability definition, emotional intelligence is

the capacity to process emotional information accurately and efficiently. They argue for a four-branch

model of emotional capacities which are hierarchically arranged from lower, more molecular skills to

higher, more molar skills: (1) emotional perception; (2) integration of emotion in thought; (3)

understanding emotion; and (4) managing emotion (see Figure 1). In each of these branches, skills range

from those more basic to the more complex depending on the stage of development.

The first branch, which encompasses the most basic level skills, is the perception of emotions.

Emotion perception involves the ability to recognize emotion in body language and facial expressions. It

involves the ability to perceive emotions verbally and nonverbally through facial expression, voice

intonation and postural expression.

The second branch of the EI model is emotional integration and facilitation of thought. This

branch involves the ability to use emotional information in guiding cognitive activities, for example, by

using emotions to direct attention, reason, plan, and problem-solve.

The third branch is the ability to understand emotions which involves the capacity to reason about

emotions and where they stem from. It includes the capacity to understand how emotions evolve. For

instance, some people realize that fear often turns into relief, sadness segregates us from others, and anger

arises from perceived injustice. Branch three also involves a developmental aspect as it corresponds to

8

language development and propositional thought. Thus, an adolescent would be able to label and

discriminate feelings better than a 5-year-old, and a 30-year-old would perform even better.

The fourth ability and highest level of emotional skills requires the regulation and management of

emotions in both self and others. This ability would include knowing how to relax after feeling angry or

being able to alleviate the anxiety of another person (Mayer et al., 2000; Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Mayer,

Salovey & Caruso, 2004).

Figure 1. EI Ability Model. Note. A four-branch model of the skills involved in EI adapted from "EI Meets Traditional Standards for an Intelligence" by J. D. Mayer, D. R. Caruso, & P. Salovey (2000). Intelligence, 27, 267-298. ISSN: 0160-2896. Reprinted with permission (see Appendix C).

The ways in which the construct of emotional intelligence is assessed is what essentially

distinguishes trait EI from ability EI (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 2000; Petrides & Furnham, 2000a,

2003). While self-report measures, such as the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS; Salovey, Mayer,

Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995), can be used to assess trait EI, ability EI is assessed using maximum

performance measures, such as the Mayer and Salovey and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test

(MSCEIT; Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 1999). In one of the tasks on the MSCEIT, for example,

participants are asked questions such as the following:

Contempt most closely combines which two emotions?

1. Anger and fear


Reflectively Regulating Emotions

Understanding Emotions

Assimilating Emotion in Thought

Perceiving Emotions

9

2. Fear and surprise

3. Disgust and anger

4. Surprise and disgust (see Mayer and Cobb, 2000, p. 173)

While much criticism has been directed at mixed trait EI models, as highlighted above, ability EI

models have in no respect been free of criticism. Petrides and Furnham (2003) have argued that some

domains of the construct, for example its intrapersonal component, are difficult to operationalize and

assess in terms of maximal performance measures which require objective scoring. The reason for this is

because the information needed to endorse a response, such as “I am aware of my emotions as I

experience them,” as correct or incorrect is only available to the person providing the answer. Certainly, it

has been recognized that people’s perceptions of themselves may not be accurate. Nevertheless, self-

perceptions do not need to be accurate in order to influence behaviour or well-being (Petrides &

Furnham, 2003; Taylor & Brown, 1998). Additionally, the “right” answer to the task demands of

maximum performance measures may be difficult to ascertain, although efforts have been made to

determine the correct answer though consensus or expert scoring (see Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2004).

Ability EI measures have also been questionable in terms of their ecological validity in the sense

that participants are asked to provide their emotional reactions to hypothetical as opposed to real-life

events. Whether the measures are applicable to their experiences in their everyday lives is uncertain.

Zomer (2001) maintains that,

Although this format [i.e., maximal performance] may be appealing in a sense because it parallels some of the existing measures of general intelligence (“g”) (Petrides & Furnham, 2000b), it seems to lack personal relevance and ecological validity which is particularly important when looking at emotions and how individuals are able to manage them within themselves, as well as use this information in their relationships with others in their immediate contexts (p. 18).

While individuals may have the knowledge required to solve questions based on hypothetical scenarios,

the real test of EI is whether they are able to apply the knowledge in their daily lives. In reverting to the

original definition of EI, it stated that one of its components is that individuals should be able to use

emotional information “to guide [their] thinking and actions” (Salovey & Mayer, 1990, p. 189). In

addressing the limited ecological validity of maximal performance EI measures, Zomer (2001) introduced

a contextually more sensitive self-report measure designed to assess EI by adapting Personal Projects

10

Analysis (PPA) to access the ways people apply emotional information in what they are doing. This

instrument was theoretically based on Mayer et al.’s (2000) ability EI model. Nevertheless, this

instrument is still susceptible to the criticisms of other self-report EI measures.

Given the limitations of all measures of EI and the lack of an integrated self-report and maximal

performance instrument for assessing EI, which is apparently needed, EI in the present investigation will

be assessed by its trait distinction through a widely used self-report measure (the Trait Meta-Mood Scale)

which has established its theoretical basis in Mayer et al.’s (2000) ability EI model.

The validity of trait EI. Much controversy surrounds the construct of EI, as recognized above.

In general, criticisms have been directed at the construct’s theoretical structure, psychometrics,

questionable claims of its potency, its identification as an ‘intelligence,’ and its overlap with other

personality measures, such as the Big Five (e.g., Brody, 2004; Davies, Stankov, & Roberts, 1998;

Petrides & Furnham, 2003; Roberts, Zeidner & Matthews, 2001). The process of addressing these

criticisms has helped to develop the construct both theoretically and empirically, although it is clear that

further development is needed. The following section provides some validity for the construct of EI, with

the focus being on trait EI.

While trait EI has been questioned as overlapping significantly with personality traits, recent

evidence has provided some support for the validation of trait EI measures as assessing a distinct

construct. One study has examined whether high trait EI participants perform significantly better on a

facial emotion recognition task in comparison with those low in trait EI. Participants were administered

the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i; Bar-On, 1997) and an added ‘emotion mastery’ scale. Then, a

subgroup took part in the emotional expression task which required participants to identify the emotional

expressions of male and female faces presented on a computer screen. Participants were first-year

university students selected based on trait EI cutoffs marking the 85th and 15th percentiles, with ten

participants in each group. Findings showed that global EI scores on the EI measure differentiated the two

groups with regard to response latencies and the number of frames it took the participants to identify each

emotional expression (Petrides & Furnham, 2003).

In a similar investigation, Bates (1999) assessed the speed of emotional information processing

11

using the inspection time (IT) paradigm with the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS). The TMMS is a self-

report measure which assesses people’s appraisal of their emotional skill in three areas: (1) Attention to

emotion, or how much attention individuals give to their feelings; (2) Emotional clarity, or how well

individuals can discriminate among their experiences of feelings; and (3) Mood repair, or how well

people are able to prolong positive mood states or terminate negative ones. Performance on visual IT

tasks has been found to consistently relate to psychometric intelligence (i.e., traditional IQ tests). In an IT

task, a stimulus is presented for a brief interval and then masked. A person's IT is the shortest stimulus

duration for which they can reliably discriminate between two (or more) possible stimuli; higher levels of

intelligence tend to correlate with shorter ITs which, in turn, has been linked to the idea that higher

intelligence is related to faster information processing. Bates (1999) found that scores on the TMMS were

positively related to performance on a facial emotion recognition task.

More recently, Austin (2004) examined trait EI, general ability processing speed, and

performance on two facial expression recognition tasks using the IT paradigm. The study used Schutte et

al.’s (1998) self-report measure which was based on Salovey and Mayer’s definition of ability EI. Results

showed that general processing speed did not fully account for task performance. However, general

emotion-processing ability significantly contributed to performance on these tasks after controlling for

general processing speed. Performance on the emotional IT tasks was significantly related to an EI

subscale assessing “appraisal of emotions”. This research indicates that self-reports of people’s abilities

in perceiving and understanding emotions do relate to performance measures. In other words, these

studies suggest that people are able to reliably self-report on their emotional skills without actually

demonstrating them, much like they can self-report on their personality traits.

There has been much debate about conceptual overlaps of EI with other personality traits, such as

the Big Five. In an experimental investigation to address the issue, Petrides and Furnham (2003) explored

whether people with high trait EI were more sensitive to emotion-laden stimuli than those low in trait EI,

and fully controlled for overlapping variance with the Big Five using the NEO Personality Inventory -

Revised. If individuals with high trait EI are in actuality more sensitive to emotion-laden stimuli, it is

likely they would also be more responsive to mood induction procedures. Participants were 30 first year

12

psychology students. Of the participants, 15 had high trait EI scores and 15 had low trait EI scores based

on a comprehensive self-report measure (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue; Petrides &

Furnham, 2003). They were asked to complete an inventory of mood states at three times: 1) upon arrival

(baseline); 2) after exposure to a disturbing video clip taken from a World War II documentary showing

conditions in a concentration camp; and, 3) after watching a cheerful clip taken from a TV show of

comical home videos. Participants were called in on two separate occasions over a three week period.

Results showed differential reactivity to the stimuli between the two groups, in addition to significant

differences for each individual group. In general, the low trait EI group was less sensitive to the mood

induction procedures than the high EI group. The high EI group showed statistically significant mood

deterioration or mood improvement on five occasions whereas the low EI group did not show these

effects to be significant or as strong. Specifically, in comparison with the low EI group, the high EI group

showed decreased confusion and vigour after watching the cheerful video, while experiencing increased

vigour, tension, depression, anger, and overall deterioration in mood after watching the disturbing video.

However, the high EI group also reported less mood disturbance at baseline and after watching the

cheerful video in comparison with the low EI group despite their more intense reactions to the disturbing

video. These effects were significant after controlling for the Big Five, providing some construct and

incremental validity for the assessment of trait EI.

Moreover, a recent meta-analysis reported that EI revealed incremental validity over the Big Five

on various performance measures, but that the Big Five did not reveal incremental validity over EI (see

Van Rooy & Viswesvaran, 2004; see also Gohm & Clore, 2002; Zeidner, Roberts & Matthews, 2004). In

Gohm and Clore’s (2002) study examining EI and well-being, they accounted for variance associated

with the Big Five personality traits in reporting their findings. The researchers found that emotional

clarity was positively associated with happiness, life satisfaction, positive affect, and self-esteem. Clarity

was negatively associated with anxiety, negative affect, unhappiness, and repressive defensiveness.

Positive psychological well-being was related to the expression of emotion and to the intense experience

of positive emotions. The intense experience of negative emotions was related to increased anxiety,

negative affect, unhappiness and repressive defensiveness.

13

A number of other studies have found that select trait EI measures and in particular, ability

measures, have high discriminant validity from related personality measures, such as the Big Five (e.g.,

Day & Carroll, 2004; O’Connor & Little, 2003; Saklofske, Austin & Minski, 2003; Zomer, 2001). In

addition, further research controlling for the effects of related personality traits has revealed that EI

predicts a number of important outcome measures, including interpersonal satisfaction, academic success,

physical health, and psychological well-being (e.g., Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Saklofske, Austin & Minski,

2003). Many of these studies have also shown common variance with theoretically related traits, such as

empathy (e.g., Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Saklofske, Austin & Minski, 2003). While these concepts appear

to be similar, when put to scientific scrutiny, the discriminant validity and reliability of EI has been

supported, signifying the distinctiveness of EI and its unique identity (Mayer et al., 2003; Mayer, Caruso

& Salovey, 2000; Parker et al., 2001; Saklofske et al., 2003; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). In a different area

of research, neuropsychological correlates of EI processes have also been found (e.g., Bar-On et al., 2003;

Salovey et al., 2002).

Research conducted by Engelberg and Sjoberg (2005) has examined the belief that performance

measures of EI are more valid than self-report EI measures in terms of respondents’ desires to fake good,

or embellish their actual social-emotional qualities and abilities. They used two groups of participants,

one consisting of 41 participants recruited among students at the Stockholm School of Economics, the

second a group consisting of 191 participants who were applicants to the school. Intellectually these

groups were comparable based on high school grades or a test of intellectual ability similar to the SAT,

and admission to the school is highly competitive and desirable. Instructions to group one (n = 41)

stressed that testing was anonymous, while instructions to group two (n = 191) stressed that they should

give honest answers. Participants completed both the MSCEIT and self-report EI measure developed by

Schutte et al. (1998). To evaluate response bias, they used the scale of social desirability by Crowne and

Marlowe (1960) and the Paulhus scales of impression management and self-deception (Paulhus, 1984,

1991, 1998; Paulhus & Reid, 1991). As expected, there was no indication that the EI performance

measures could be successfully faked. However, with respect to the EI self-report measure, results

suggested that respondents in the high-stakes situation (group two) faked a positive image of themselves

14

because respondents in group one who took the test under conditions of anonymity provided a

significantly less favourable picture of themselves. The researchers also administered other self-report

measures to each group (e.g., TAS, Big 5 Personality), which revealed similar results. Interestingly,

statistically controlling for impression management and faking removed the mean difference in EI

between the two groups. Thus, statistical control was powerful enough to remove the motivational effects

of the high-stakes testing situation. Moreover, it should be noted that faking has been acknowledged as

being prevalent to some extent in self-report measures of personality, yet extensive empirical research

reveals that the validity of these types of personality scales is not compromised by faking (Ones &

Viswesvaran, 1998; Viswesvaran & Ones, 1999).

Altogether, studies such as those described above arguably provide support for the validity of

both trait EI and ability EI constructs, as well as their measures. For the purposes of the present

investigation, the use of a self-report instrument to evaluate EI would appear to be sufficient considering

the efficiency of self-report measures and the condition of anonymity which will be applied. Given the

condition of anonymity, participants would appear to not have much at stake in their responses, which

may reduce the probability of faking.

Theoretical Overview of the Applicability of Emotional Intelligence to Stress and Coping

To date, relatively few empirical studies have been conducted on the impact of EI on coping

(Salovey et al., 1999). One of the reasons for this may have to do with the relatively recent development

of the construct of emotional intelligence. Nonetheless, the utility of EI in accounting for the coping

strategies individuals choose to implement has been theoretically recognized, although research in this

area is sparse. Salovey, Bedell, Detweiler and Mayer (2000) maintain, “A person’s ability to adapt and

cope in life depends on the integrated functioning of emotional and rational capacities (p. 506).” The

researchers state explicitly, “Emotionally intelligent individuals should be able to recognize and pursue

the most effective means of coping” (Salovey et al., 2000, p. 512). Identifying what individuals high in EI

do differently in relation to coping in particular contexts could be beneficial for those who have difficulty

coping. Learning about how to most effectively apply coping strategies relative to a context could help to

increase well-being (see Salovey, Stroud, Woolery and Epel, 2002).

15

The hierarchy of emotional skills outlined by Salovey et al. (2000) may contribute greater

understanding to the coping choices people make. Major deficits in basic perceptual and expressive skills,

emotional knowledge and regulation of emotion are considered to interfere with the development and

application of more complex coping processes. Subsequently, a person who struggles to identify or

express her emotions may also have a hard time with finding social support or venting feelings. In

another example, Salovey et al. (1999) explain that individuals who ruminate exhibit excessive focus on

the perception and appraisal of their mood states; the excessive attention may be motivated partly by

difficulty in making sense of one’s emotional experience and the need for some kind of meaning-making

activity (i.e., poor basic emotional skills). They maintain that while high levels of attention to one’s mood

may actually be counterproductive in coping, a moderate amount of attention may be most adaptive and

advantageous. Thus, emotionally intelligent people should be able to identify when regulating emotion

using distraction is adaptive (e.g., as a way to disengage from a ruminative coping cycle), and when they

need to experience their emotional states so as not to avoid them. Those who are emotionally intelligent

should be able to attain a healthy balance between delightful distractions and being at peace with their

feelings (Barrett & Gross, 2001; Salovey, et al., 2000).

Before exploring existing research on the relationships between EI and coping, it is important to

consider why examining EI with respect to coping is at all important. One of the most important reasons

to consider EI in coping research is because EI has consistently been related to and predictive of positive

outcome measures, such as life satisfaction, work performance, healthy relationships, physical health, and

psychological well-being (e.g., Ciarrochi, Forgas, Mayer, 2001; Salovey et al., 1999; Zomer, 2001).

People high in EI seem to possess skills that allow them to cope effectively with the challenges they face

which in the long-run contribute to such positive outcomes, with reversals among these relationships

suggested for those low in EI. For example, Schutte and Riley (2003) found that low EI is a predictor of

alcohol and drug use (N = 141). Ciarrochi et al. (2002) found that emotion perception, a component of EI,

moderated the relationship between daily hassles and psychological health (e.g., depression,

hopelessness, suicidal ideation). The ability to manage others’ emotions, another EI component,

moderated the relationship between hassles and suicidal ideation in the opposite direction, such that the

16

relationship was stronger for people low in managing emotions than for people high in managing

emotions.

The need for additional work examining how the components of EI are related to coping

behaviour has been recognized (e.g., Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Gohm, 2004; Matthews, Roberts &

Zeidner, 2004; Oatley, 2004; Snyder, 1999). However, the quantity of emerging evidence has yet to catch

up to its theoretical suppositions (BarOn & Parker, 2000; Petrides & Furnham, 2000). To gain further

appreciation of the applicability of EI to the coping process, I will first review some of the literature on

stress and coping research.

Stress and Coping

Although the concept of stress has been around for over 60 years, a consensus on its definition

has yet to be established. The origin of the concept is rooted in a physiological definition of stress

attributable to Canadian researcher, Hans Selye, who made us aware of the role of the mind in the

function of the body. Selye elaborated on his physiological concept of stress by explaining it in terms of a

process, “the general adaptation syndrome.” This syndrome consists of three stages: 1) alarm reaction

(when the body reacts to a stimulus by releasing stress hormones, such as adrenaline or cortisol); 2)

resistance (the body’s adaptation to a continued stressor); and, 3) exhaustion (under prolonged exposure

to a stressor the body's resistance may gradually be reduced, resulting in a lack of energy or reduced

immune function) (Ice & James, 2007; Selye, 1991). According to Selye, then, stress involves not only

the physical responses but also the wear and tear that is produced by these responses in individuals

(Humphrey, 2005).

Selye’s work was in part inspired by Walter Cannon’s early research on the physiological

processes involved in the “fight or flight syndrome.” Cannon also coined the term ‘‘homeostasis’’ to

describe the process of preserving internal stability when confronted by environmental change (Cannon,

1932; Rosche, 1984; Selye, 1991). At the same time Selye and other researchers were focussing on the

physical aspects of stress, others began to focus on the psychosocial aspects of stress and examined

traumatic or major life events. Credit has been attributed to Adolf Meyer and Harold Wolff for the

development of research on stressful life events and illness in the 1930s and 1940s (see Ice & James,

17

2007). Throughout the 1960s, stress research concentrated on life events (still working within the Selyean

model), and the development of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes and Rahe, 1967) became

the foundation for assessing stress.

It was not until the late 1960s that a cognitive perspective of stress emerged, as Lazarus and other

researchers came to recognize individual differences in responses to stressful life events. Lazarus and his

colleagues developed a transactional theory of stress emphasizing appraisal and coping as key

components to the stress process, and suggested that researchers shift focus from major life events to

daily hassles (Lazarus, 1984, 1999; Monat & Lazarus, 1991; Ice & James, 2007). Although there is no

universal definition for “stress,” a highly accepted definition proposed by Monat and Lazarus (1991)

examines stress as “any event in which environmental demands, internal demands, or both tax or exceed

the adaptive resources of an individual, social system, or tissue system” (p.3). Common to the stress

process are the following components: 1) the input or stimuli; 2) physiological and psychological

processing systems; and, 3) the output or stress response. Monat and Lazarus (1991) identified three types

of stress: physiological stress, psychological stress (with cognitive factors leading to the evaluation of

threat, e.g., Lazarus, 1966), and social stress (with the disruption of a social unit or system, e.g., Smelser,

1963). Humphrey (2005) clarifies stress as a state which is distinct from any object or agent producing

this state; stress-producing objects or agents are referred to as stressors.

While there is no consensus on a proper definition of stress, there is agreement that stress is a

natural and expected part of life which requires individuals to cope or adapt. If coping is ineffective, the

effects of stress may be detrimental for physical and psychological health and functioning in all areas of

life. If coping is effective, stress is likely to remain under control and the challenge may lead to a sense of

gratification and increased self-efficacy. By effectively coping with stress, we can achieve more than we

may have thought we could accomplish. Effective coping may also lead to a positive reorganization of

our lives resulting in increased productivity and life satisfaction (Lazarus, 2006). The fundamental

objective in stress research is to discern the relationships between stress and health, or stress and

adaptation.

18

Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping: The Place for Emotional Intelligence

By far, the transactional theory of stress (Lazarus, 1966) has received the greatest acceptance in

psychology and has been prominent in the field for the past four decades. Integral to the transactional

theory of stress is the conceptualization of coping as a process in which evaluative cognitive transactions

occur between the individual and the environment within a specific context in response to stressful

demands (see Lazarus, 1966, 1984). While extreme environmental conditions would lead to stress for

anyone, there are variations in human responses to these stressors which differentially affect adaptation.

These responses represent coping, which Lazarus (1984) defines as “constantly changing cognitive,

behavioural [and emotional] efforts to manage particular external and/or internal demands that are

appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person (p. 141).” Coping is a process characterized

by the attempts to manage the shifting demands of the person-environment relationship and the emotions

they generate through continuous appraisals and reappraisals of these relationships (Lazarus, 1984;

Seraganian, 1993). Stress is the result of a judgment (or appraisal) that a disruption has occurred in the

person-environment relationship. The individual perceives challenge/threat/harm, judges that his or her

resources may not be sufficient to manage the disruption, and considers the outcome relevant to his or her

well-being (Roskies, 1991; Slaski & Cartwright, 2003; see Figure 2).

Investigations into the transactional theory of stress and coping have examined individual

differences in understanding why certain individuals cope better than others when confronted with similar

situations, or why they may perceive and respond differently to similar situations. Many studies have

looked at personality and demographic factors (i.e., coping resources) which act to moderate the

relationship between stress and its impact on various outcome measures (Slaski & Cartwright, 2003; see

Figure 2). Some of the dispositional variables which have been examined include positive and negative

affectivity (Parkes, 1990), Type A behaviour (Friedman & Rosenman, 1974), Locus of Control (Spector

& O’Connell, 1994), and hardiness (Kobasa, 1979).

19

Figure 2. Transactional Model of Stress and Coping.

Seraganian, P. (Ed.). (1993), Exercise Psychology: The Influence of Physical Exercises on Psychological Processes. (p. 342). New York: John Wiley and Sons. Reprinted with permission (see Appendix C).

Assuming a constructivist approach, Lazarus (1984) maintains that the transactional theory of

stress depicts people as meaning-building creatures who constantly evaluate everything that happens and

who use emotional cues (which often occur early on in a stress encounter) in the process of appraisal.

There are two types of cognitive appraisals: primary and secondary. In primary appraisal, individuals

question what they have at stake in a particular threatening situation. The answer to the question

influences the quality and intensity of their emotion. In secondary appraisal, individuals question what

they can do in response to the perceived threat, that is, their options for coping. The answer to this

question contributes to the types of coping strategies they will implement to manage the demands of the

situation. According to Lazarus, appraisals of person-environment transactions are influenced by pre-

existing person attributes, such as locus of control, pattern of motivation (e.g., values, commitments,

Stressors Internal or

external demands

Appraisals

Coping Responses Emotion- or problem-

focused coping

Coping Resources Person attributes Stable environment

attributes

Short-term Outcomes Relaxation Mood

Long-term Outcomes Physical health Mental health Life

Satisfaction

Mediators Moderators

(Primary) (Secondary)

20

goals), beliefs about oneself and the world, recognition of personal resources for coping (e.g., financial),

social and problem-solving skills, health, and energy. Likewise, appraisal processes are affected by

environmental variables such as the nature of the danger, its imminence, ambiguity and duration, and the

availability and quality of social support.

Lazarus (1999) conceptualizes stress, emotion, and coping as forming one unit, with emotion as

the superordinate concept because it takes into account both coping and stress. In Lazarus’ (1991)

perspective on stress and coping, emotion is defined as, “a complex organized system consisting of

thoughts, beliefs, motives, meanings, subjective bodily experiences, and physiological states, all of which

arise from our struggles to survive and flourish by understanding the world in which we live” (p. 100).

Lazarus (1999) has identified 15 emotions (anger, envy, jealousy, anxiety, fright, guilt, shame, relief,

hope, sadness, happiness, pride, love, gratitude, and compassion) and explains that every emotion

communicates something distinct about how individuals have appraised what is happening in an

adaptational transaction and how they are coping with what is happening. The emotion of anger, for

instance, may involve an appraisal of a harmful or threatening situation, while happiness may involve an

appraisal that a person-environment condition is advantageous. Cognitive appraisals are integral to the

emotion state1,2,3.

Emotion is viewed as having the ability of both enabling and hindering coping. For example,

emotion may redirect attention from one task to another which is more pressing, thereby having a

motivational role. Emotion may also interrupt with coping, as in the case where anxiety-related thoughts

interfere with functioning because they are counterproductive to performance. In the latter case, emotion

has a cognitive role. Lazarus’ perspective draws from evolutionary theory in the sense that it depicts

emotions as having evolved for the purposes of coping and adapting to the threats and possibilities

presented by the ancestral environment; that is, for the purpose of playing a role in survival (Damasio,

2004; Manstead, Frijda & Fischer, 2004). For instance, if individuals are confronted with situations for

which they lack the support it could result in fear which, in turn, may result in withdrawal from the

threatening situation and pursuing a potentially more fruitful option instead.

21

While emotions alert individuals to situational demands that need their attention, the ways in

which people appraise situations and interpret their initial emotional reactions to them can strongly

influence the coping process and how people will continue to react emotionally. When individuals

appraise information as being significant for their well-being, that information becomes “hot

information,” loaded with emotion and meaning. Lazarus (1984) states, “It is not only possible, but in the

context of most stressful events highly probable, that emotion and information (and therefore cognition)

are conjoined for large portions of the evaluative appraisal process” (p. 277). He maintains that it is a

mistake to claim that cognition precedes emotion or that feelings precede cognition. Rather, Lazarus

(1984) sees the causality as bidirectional: emotion and cognition are intertwined rather than separate

entities.

There has been a fair bit of controversy around whether affect or cognition is primary in emotion.

Clearly, affect precedes purposeful, conscious thought. However, whether affect precedes preconscious

thought is less clear. Emotion theorists generally view that prior to the elicitation of most, if not all affect,

at least some minimal cognitive processing, involving very basic sensory information processing, is

required (Davidson and Ekman, 1994). Whether cognitive appraisals precede affect is more debatable.

Appraisals can be conscious or preconscious. As indicated above, Lazarus, a traditional cognitive theorist,

views appraisals as a prerequisite to the elicitation of emotions. Kennedy-Moore and Watson (1999)

maintain that in terms of their contribution to well-being, understanding how affect and cognition interact

is far more important than resolving which component is primary.

The levels of skills that individuals have in integrating their emotional and rational functioning

can be ascertained through the measurement of EI. Thus, the construct’s applicability to the coping

process is readily discernable. Given the important role of emotion and cognition in influencing how

individuals appraise and respond to stressors, the construct of EI has gained some attention as a critical

personality variable influencing the coping process (e.g., Slaski & Cartwright, 2003). Matthews and

Zeidner (2000) have described a model for the place of EI within the transactional model of stress and

coping. They consider EI as an attribute of the person which might predict adaptive outcomes. Matthews

and Zeidner (2000) depict EI as consisting of a set of competencies or skills for managing affectively

22

loaded information. They assume EI is represented in long-term memory, although they maintain that

people may strengthen their skills through learning experiences. When presented with demanding

encounters, individuals’ EI skills influence their choices of coping strategies to deal with the situations

they face. The coping process functions jointly with self-referent cognitions of the personal significance

of stress-related events. The end result of coping is a change in adaptive outcome which may influence

goal attainment, subjective well-being, learning, and health problems.

Coping: Classification of coping strategies and contextual considerations. Research reveals

that the coping strategies individuals use influence outcomes related to health, work, marital, financial,

occupational, and parental role stressors (Felton et al., 1980; Folkman & Lazarus, 1980; Goldberger &

Breznitz, 1993; Pearlin & Schooler, 1978; Zeidner & Endler, 1996). The effectiveness of these strategies

appears, in part, to depend on which strategies people choose when confronted by different stressful

situations. Two predominant approaches have been used to classify coping strategies: problem-focused

and emotion-focused. Problem-focused coping includes all strategies aimed at altering the objective

situation by changing either how the individual interacts with the environment or changing the

environment itself. For example, active coping is a strategy where individuals are taking active steps to

remove, circumvent or ameliorate the stressor and its effects. Restraint coping, also a problem-focused

strategy, involves waiting for an appropriate opportunity to act. Emotion-focused coping consists of

strategies focused on managing the emotional effects of stress, such as seeking social support for

emotional reasons, focusing on and venting emotions, and reinterpreting stressful situations in positive

ways (Bishop, 1994; Zeidner & Endler, 1996).

Coping strategies can be further categorized into avoidant and approach (or active) coping.

Avoidant coping involves either behavioural or psychological responses aimed at directing attention away

from the stressor or one’s reaction to it (e.g., withdrawal, alcohol use). Approach coping strategies are

behavioural or psychological responses which lead to changing the nature of the stressor itself or how one

thinks about it (Bishop, 1994; Zeidner & Endler, 1996). Generally, approach coping is thought to be more

effective than avoidant coping strategies which appear to be risk factors for adverse responses to stressful

life events. Although avoidant strategies may be helpful for dealing with the initial shock of a situation in

23

the short term, other strategies would likely be more beneficial for the long-term resolution of distress in

response to a significant stressor (Holahan & Moos, 1987). Broad distinctions like problem-focused and

emotion-focused, or avoidant and approach coping have only limited utility in helping us understand

coping effectiveness. Identifying the ways individuals implement specific coping strategies within these

classifications is ultimately of greater benefit in understanding how individuals cope with stress.

Table 1 classifies and describes some of the common coping strategies which people use.

Table 1 Examples of Coping Strategy Classifications and Descriptions (Carver, 1997) Coping Strategy Description

Self-distraction Taking one’s mind off things

Active coping Concentrating efforts on doing something

Denial Refusal to believe the reality of the situation

Substance use Including prescriptive medications for mood disorders

Use of emotional support Getting comfort and understanding from someone

Use of instrumental support Getting advice from others

Behavioral disengagement Giving up

Planning Coming up with a strategy

Venting Expressing negative feelings

Positive reframing Looking for the positive in the situation

Humour Making fun of the situation

Acceptance Accepting the reality and learning to live with the situation

Religion Finding comfort in prayers, meditation

Self-blame Criticizing and blaming oneself for the situation

Vitaliano et al. (1995) provided evidence that similar stressful problem categories had similar

coping profiles, whereas individuals in different problem categories generally had different profiles. For

24

instance, psychiatric patients made more use of avoidance and less use of social supports than individuals

in other stressor categories (e.g., physical health problems, stress in close interpersonal relationships,

work stressors). Samples with physical health problems were among the most frequent users of social

supports. Individuals with a family problem were among the most frequent users of problem-focused

coping and the least frequent users of self-blame. Groups dealing with work stress were the most frequent

users of self-blame.

Generally, the characteristics of the stressful situation are, in part, considered to dictate the

effectiveness of coping strategies across different contexts. More recent research (Endler et al., 2000) has

highlighted the importance of matching coping facets to situational demands and contexts. For example,

the literature suggests that in controllable situations, problem-focused coping is more effective whereas in

situations which afford little control, emotion-focused coping may be most adaptive since the ineffective

use of active coping strategies could increase frustration and distress (Zeidner, 2005; Zeidner &

Saklofske, 1996). Certain emotion-focused coping strategies (e.g., mindfulness meditation, expressive

writing) have been found particularly helpful for dealing with some health-related problems, such as

cancer and chronic conditions (Bishop, 1994; Giese-Davis et al., 2002; Goldberger & Breznitz, 1993;

Matthews & Zeidner, 2000; Snyder, 1999). Other studies have shown emotion-focused approaches (e.g.,

expressive writing) to be ineffective, for example, for caregivers of older adults (Mackenzie, Wiprzycka,

Hasher, & Goldstein, 2007), with a more recent study demonstrating that it is the content of the written

expression (i.e., using optimistic, future-focused language) which makes it effective for chronically-

stressed caregivers (Mackenzie, Wiprzycka, Hasher, & Goldstein, 2008).

Given these examples, the effectiveness of using either emotion- or problem-focused coping

strategies is not so clear. Folkman and Lazarus (1988) assert,

It is important to recognize that the quality of problem-focused coping, and hence its impact on the emotional response, also depends in part on the successful regulation of negative emotions, in effect, on emotion-focused coping. Too much emotional intensity could interfere with the cognitive functioning that is necessary for effective problem-focused coping (p. 314). Thus, EI would appear to have an important role in moderating the effectiveness of the coping

strategies people use. Research examining EI and coping behaviour will be reviewed in the next section.

25

Research on emotional intelligence and coping behaviour

Studies investigating the relationship between EI and coping have commonly used the Trait

Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS; Salovey et al., 1995), which measures some of the emotional skills

comprising EI including: (1) attention to emotion; (2) emotional clarity; and (3) mood repair. One of the

reasons this measure has been commonly used is because many of our coping strategies entail the

emotion-regulation aspect of EI, which is arguably considered to be measured well by such self-report

instruments (Salovey et al., 2002). Using the TMMS, Gohm and Clore (2002) examined whether EI is

related to dispositional coping to address the question of whether trusting the wisdom of one’s emotions

helps one cope with general life stress. Dispositional coping consists of the coping styles people typically

use in dealing with general life stress. The researchers administered questionnaires to two samples of

university students (N = 116 and N = 141) to cross-validate their results. Their findings showed that EI

was differentially related to coping styles even after overlapping variance related to the Big Five

personality traits was accounted for. The researchers found that, indeed, trusting in one’s own

understanding of and ability to deal with one’s emotions and valuing emotional experience were related

to adaptive coping styles. In particular, emotional clarity was related to the increased use of positive

reinterpretation and growth, active coping, and planning strategies, while both emotional clarity and

expression were significantly related to a reduction of behavioural withdrawal. Emotional attention,

intensity, and expression were all related to an increase in focusing on emotions, seeking social support,

and venting. Although those high in EI tended to focus on and vent their emotions, which is normally

associated with maladaptive coping, this did not result in their withdrawal from the stressful situations

behaviourally or mentally (Schutte and Malouff, 1999).

While the study by Gohm and Clore (2002) is an important foundation to research on EI and

coping, it is limited in its investigation of which types of coping approaches are, in actuality, adaptive for

individuals. Matthews and Zeidner (2000) speak to this point, “It is often difficult to distinguish adaptive

and maladaptive coping, in that what constitutes adaptiveness is highly dependent on the criterion

adopted and the situation of interest” (p. 482). That is, the study did not relate well-being measures to the

26

coping strategies in order to give an indication of the adaptiveness of the coping strategies which

participants endorsed. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) claim,

In order to determine the effectiveness of coping and defence processes, one must be open-minded to the possibility that both can work well or badly in particular persons, contexts, or occasions.... This means that no one strategy is considered inherently better than any other. The goodness… of a strategy is determined only by its effects in a given encounter and its effects in the long term (pp. 133-134). A second limitation of the study is found in its evaluation of coping as a style (i.e., by asking

people how they generally cope with stress), referred to as dispositional coping (Carver & Scheier, 1994).

Intrinsic to the study of dispositional coping is a lack of contextual referents. This limitation has its roots

in the long-standing debate on the contribution of traits versus situations in the prediction of behaviour.

Taking on a situationist perspective in his book, Personality and Assessment (1968), Walter Mischel

argued that cross-situational consistency in behaviour is rare and thus traits do not account for much

variance in behaviour. Lazarus and Folkman (1991) explain that the unidimensional quality of most trait

measures and trait conceptualizations of coping fails to sufficiently reflect the complexity of coping

processes in real-life situations and their multidimensional quality. Rather than looking at coping as a

universal way of managing all stressors, Lazarus and Folkman (1991) view coping as being context-

bound, or a response to manage a particular stressor. For example, Josh may deal with a work conflict

regarding division of responsibility through problem-solving, but when faced with a similar household

conflict regarding division of responsibility, he may react with anger and denial (Roskies, 1991).

According to the transactional model of stress, it is imperative that coping be evaluated within the

context of the stressful situation since coping comprises a process which unfolds in reaction to situational

demands (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Moskowitz (2001) points out, “it is more informative to ask what

someone did to cope with a particular stressful event than it is to ask what he/she did to cope in general

because both the responses used and the effectiveness of those responses depend on characteristics of the

situation (p. 312; see also Krahe, 1992).” Whereas the trait approach to coping implicitly asks people to

summarize or aggregate their coping behaviours across situations, other research on coping asks people to

recall a specific stressful situation and how they dealt with it in terms of specific actions, and cognitive

and emotional processes (Schwartz et al., 1999).

27

Indeed, research has shown that the coping strategies people use and their effectiveness differ

depending on the context (Carver et al., 1989; Zeidner & Endler, 1996). Carver et al. (1989) examined the

relationship between the dispositional version of the COPE and a situational version of the questionnaire.

Instead of assessing a generalized response to stress, the situational version of the questionnaire asked

how individuals coped with a particular recent real-life stressor (Carver et al., 1989). Both questionnaires

were administered to 128 students. Findings revealed only low to moderate correlations between the two

versions. Nevertheless, Lazarus and Folkman (1991) recognize that there are stabilities in coping and that

individuals may have preferred ways of coping with the same or similar sources of stress. Indeed,

research has shown evidence for consistencies in coping with similar stressors and inconsistencies in

coping with different categories of stressors (see Frydenberg & Lewis, 1994; Kobasa, 1979).

In a study examining EI and coping with laboratory stressors (i.e., as a context), Salovey et al.

(1995) applied the TMMS to examine the relationship between EI and the regulation of ruminative

thoughts that followed a distressing stimulus. In their study, 78 student volunteers were presented a film

clip on drinking and driving which contained graphic footage of serious automobile accidents, incidents

in the emergency room, and victims’ descriptions of their traumas. The participants were asked to

complete a battery of self-report measures, and participants’ moods were assessed at three intervals:

initial mood before viewing the film (Time 1), decline in mood directly following the video (Time 2), and

mood recovery (Time 3). The researchers found that after accounting for effects of depression,

neuroticism and socio-emotional adjustment, the clarity scale on the TMMS best predicted the recovery

of a positive mood following the stressful event induced in the laboratory. Moreover, those who scored

highest on emotional clarity showed a significant reduction in ruminative thoughts over time in

comparison with those lower in clarity. It appears that clarity in discriminating feelings is significant in

mood repair after a stressful event. The researchers suggest that the lack of an effect for the attention

scale is attributable to the methodology of their study. Individuals were asked explicitly to attend to their

thoughts, and perhaps implicitly to attend to their moods. As a result, individual differences in attending

to emotions may not have emerged. Finally, repair was related to the intensity of negative feelings at

28

Time 2. Those who indicated they were good at repairing negative moods indicated less negative affect

immediately after viewing the film.

In another study examining perceived stress in response to laboratory stressors, significant

relationships were found with EI (using the TMMS), coping strategies, and psychophysiological

measures of adaptive coping (Salovey et al., 2002). First, significant positive relationships were revealed

between EI and psychological and interpersonal functioning. Second, the level of skill at mood repair was

related with active coping, lower levels of rumination, and perceptions of repeated laboratory stressors as

less threatening. Clarity was associated with increases in negative mood, but also with lower cortisol

release during repeated stress. Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex under conditions of

stress that in the short term, increases arousal and defends against the body’s own stress reaction.

However, chronic over-exposure to cortisol can damage many regulatory systems. Third, the researchers

found that attention was related to lowered cortisol and blood pressure responses to acute laboratory

stress. Findings suggest that individuals who clearly perceive their emotions and feel they can repair

negative mood states can also turn their attentional resources toward coping, thereby minimizing the

impact of the stress. In contrast, those low in attention, clarity, and repair may become involved in

extended rumination in order to understand how they feel. In the absence of successful attempts to attend

to, clarify, and repair mood, rumination may lead to prolonged physiological arousal and negative health

outcomes. Salovey et al. (2002) conclude that these findings indicate that psychophysiological responses

to stressful events may be one possible mechanism underlying the relationship between emotional

functioning and health. It is important to point out that while the Salovey et al. (2002) study was context-

specific, the context was contrived. While this study provides interesting insight into the relationship

between the mind and body and provides initial evidence for psychophysiological connections to EI, it

remains unclear whether the participants would have actually been able to apply their emotional

capacities to their real-life experiences.

Although such laboratory studies provide contextual referents and hint at important links between

EI and coping responses, they tend to be limited in their ecological validity and assessment of the

diversity of coping strategies. Laboratory stressors do not carry the same meaning, complexity, or

29

severity as do real-life stressors. Participants are aware that laboratory stressors are finite in nature and

have control over exposure to the stressors which may influence the results (see Lazarus & Folkman,

1984). Moreover, existing studies have also primarily used university students as a sample, limiting the

generalizability of the results.

In addressing these limitations, the current research will examine coping within two major areas

of people’s lives: (1) stress in close interpersonal relationships (i.e., conflict), and (2) occupational stress.

The units of measurement for specific contexts will be elicited by each participant in the study, thereby

making the contexts personally salient or meaningful (Little, 2001). One reason for focusing on stress in

close interpersonal relationships in particular is because EI is derived, in part, from Gardner’s (1983)

earlier concept of the personal intelligences which comprises intrapersonal intelligence (the ability to

access one’s own feelings), as well as interpersonal intelligence (the ability to read the moods, intentions,

and desires of others) (see Goleman, 1995). Thus, the significance of EI to amending interpersonal

conflict would seem intuitive. One of the reasons for investigating occupational stress is to evaluate the

credibility of some formidable and unsubstantiated claims in popular books, such as Goleman’s, that

emotional intelligence is essential for professional success, as well as examine mechanisms for why

emotionally intelligent individuals may make highly effective leaders and workers.

Overall, the research reviewed clearly highlights the relevance of EI to the coping process. EI

may work through a multitude of variables to result in favourable outcomes, such as coping resources

(e.g., social network), the ability to avoid or circumvent stressful events, flexibility in using coping

strategies, using effective coping strategies, constructive appraisals (i.e., identifying and correcting

maladaptive perceptions and appraisals), social skills, and emotional regulation. Nonetheless, research

testing the strength of these relationships is scarce and more research is needed to specify the nature of

the relationships. The proposed investigation will attempt to more clearly establish the links between EI

and the coping process by: (1) Assessing well-being in relation to coping; (2) Investigating stress

responses across two different contexts (i.e., interpersonal and occupational); (3) Investigating how

individuals cope with stress in personally salient contexts; and, (4) Using a community sample to increase

the generalizability of the findings.

30

Why examine EI and stress in close interpersonal relationships?

“Each person must find a way to relieve his pent-up energy without creating conflicts with his fellow men. Such an approach not only ensures peace of mind but also earns the goodwill, respect, and even love of our neighbors, the highest degree of security and the most noble status symbol to which the human being can aspire.” – Hans Selye, 1991, p. 34

Relationships have been shown as key ingredients in stress management, general health, and

psychological well-being (Myers & Diener, 1995; Ryff & Singer, 2000). Ryff and Singer (2000) argue

that “interpersonal flourishing is a core feature of quality living across cultures and across time (p. 30).”

Snyder (2001) asserts, “The building and managing of interpersonal relationships is crucial for coping

with a variety of life stressors (p. 295).” While social networks can provide us with coping through social

support which has positive outcomes, social networks can also have negative impacts on individuals.

Research suggests, for instance, that when network members are disrespectful or disapproving, betray

confidences, or fail to meet help expectations it is related to increased distress (Belle, 1982; Fiore,

Becker, & Coppel, 1983; Wahler, 1980). Lack of social support, connectedness to others, and isolation

have long been recognized as predictors of morbidity and mortality (Durkheim, 1951). Relationship

dissolution has been linked with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (see Chung et al., 2003).

The value of social relationships to people’s lives has been supported consistently throughout the

literature in this area. Being a part of a social network is a significant determinant of longevity and

psychophysiological correlates of social support have been found (House, Landis & Umberson, 1988;

Rowe & Kahn, 1997). In a review of 81 studies, findings showed that social support was reliably

associated with positive effects in cardiovascular, immune, and endocrine systems (Uchino et al., 1996).

Seeman and colleagues (1994) examined differences in health outcomes between the use of social-

emotional support (which serves emotional needs) and social-instrumental support (which serves direct

assistance needs, such as seeking advice, doing chores, and giving money). They found that these two

types of support resources differentially predicted physical performance and neuroendocrine function.

While social-emotional support showed beneficial effects on health, instrumental support had few

significant neuroendocrine relations and was associated with reduced physical performance (Seeman,

Berkman, Blazer & Rowe, 1994). Rowe and Kahn (1997) maintain that the effectiveness of the type of

31

social support depends on the requirements of the person and the situation. For instance, research has

shown that instrumental support can be more beneficial than socio-emotional support in prompting older

people who had cancer-related symptoms to seek medical attention (Antonucci, Kahn & Akiyama, 1989).

Because relationships hold such significance to a person’s life, it is important to investigate how people

cope with stress in close interpersonal relationships in order to maintain or restore their well-being.

Coping strategies have been found to differentially relate to the effectiveness of dealing with

stress in close interpersonal relationships (Coyne, Thompson & Palmer, 2002; Quayhagen & Quayhagen,

1982). For example, in one study examining how mid-life adults cope with interpersonal conflict, it was

found that those who felt a greater impact of the stress were more likely to use problem-solving and help-

seeking strategies than those who were less affected by it. Those who expressed more negative emotion

(venting) and used self-actualization coping strategies perceived less of an impact (Quayhagen &

Quayhagen, 1982). These findings appear to contradict other studies showing problem-solving strategies

to be linked with adaptive coping and venting to be linked with maladaptive coping in different contexts

(e.g., Goldberger & Breznitz, 1993; Zeidner & Endler, 1996). Thus, looking at stress in close

interpersonal relationships in particular may help in differentiating the adaptiveness of the coping

strategies people use relative to other contexts.

Furthermore, examining individual differences in emotional skills may help to differentiate

among the coping strategies in terms of their adaptiveness in dealing with stress in close interpersonal

relationships. When we communicate our feelings to others, for example, by yelling, crying, or looking at

them admiringly, we also communicate how we would like others to respond. Thus, our emotional

behaviours can help in building a support network; they can also push others away (Kennedy-Moore &

Watson, 1999). It is expected that people who are emotionally skilled, or high in EI, would know how to

best communicate their emotions when coping with conflict in relationships. For instance, Salovey et al.

(1999) claim that emotionally intelligent individuals should be able to seek out their family (if not too

toxic) and maintain friendships (if not too toxic) as a means of coping rather than avoid them because

they understand how important emotional sharing and support is in the coping process. Whether the

hypothesis is accurate and applies to coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships has yet to be

32

determined. Still, research has found significant relationships between emotional skills and social

relationships, supporting the further investigation of these variables.

Research on EI and coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships. Accumulating

research suggests important links between emotional skills and the management of stress in relationships.

In one study, the emotional clarity subscale of the TMMS was positively related with both the likelihood

and the ease of forgiving a spouse’s transgression and overall relationship happiness (Planalp & Fitness,

1999). In research using the MSCEIT with a university student sample, the managing emotions facet of

EI was found to relate to perceived positive relationships with others, perceived parental support, and

fewer reports of negative interactions. The results were validated by observer ratings through the reports

of two friends of each of the participants in the studies. Findings remained statistically significant after

controlling for the Big Five personality traits (Lopes, Brackett, Nezlek, Schutz, Sellin, and Salovey, 2004;

Lopes, Salovey and Straus, 2003).

In another study, insecurely attached participants were less able to differentiate between shame

and guilt than securely attached participants suggesting weaker emotional skills. Insecurely attached

participants also had more difficulty resolving conflict (Lopez et al., 1997). This finding led the

researchers to believe that insecurely attached partners might have more difficulty than securely attached

partners to attribute causation and blame for relationship conflicts in appropriate ways. According to

research on relational transgressions, guilt plays an important role in the “forgiveness script”: typically,

P’s offence elicits O’s anger, which elicits P’s guilt and remorse, which elicits O’s forgiveness. If

individuals have difficulty distinguishing between shame and guilt, then they would be considered as less

skilled in emotional clarity and understanding – a component of EI. Thus, conflict resolution and

relationship repair would be harder to achieve and may result in prolonged negative feelings (Lopez et al.,

1997; Planalp & Fitness, 1999).

Engelberg and Sjoberg (2005) provide support for the view that the emotional competencies

comprising EI present advantages for social adaptation. They conceptualize EI as a social-adaptive

ability, explaining that its social skills component consists of the capacity to interpret emotional

expressions and use emotional knowledge that allows individuals to smoothly merge into different social

33

contexts. Interpersonal skills also consist of the ability to grasp the meaning of social cues in others’

behaviour and to regulate one’s own emotional behaviour, thereby entering into a bi-directional exchange

of emotion information. Based on a study of 191 business school applicants using the MSCEIT and a

measure of mood perception (the ability to evaluate others’ moods), the researchers found that sensitivity

to others’ moods is related to EI.

Relevant to research on EI and coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships is research

on a construct related to EI, alexythymia. Alexithymia is a cognitive-affective style marked by difficulty

in identifying and differentiating between feelings, problems in communicating feelings, and concrete,

externally-oriented thinking which lacks in imagination (Taylor, Ryan & Bagby, 1985). The limited

ability that alexithymics have for processing emotion causes them difficulty in understanding the

emotions of others, for example, through facial expression. Emotional deficits make communication a

struggle for people with alexithymia. Alexithymia, a construct which is strongly inversely correlated with

EI, has expectedly been linked with poor interpersonal functioning (see Kennedy-Moore & Watson,

1999; Parker et al., 2001).

The research findings above provide some support for positive social adaptation among those

who are skilled at understanding and managing their emotions. When people are less skilled in emotional

processing, they may not be able to express themselves effectively which may result in less successful

interpersonal relationships. The process of expressing emotion is explained in a model by Kennedy-

Moore and Watson (1999). The model proposes that emotional behaviour (expression or nonexpression)

occurs as a culmination of various emotional information processing steps. When and how people express

emotion depends on their preconscious perceptions of the stimuli (step one), awareness (step two),

interpretation (step three) and evaluation of their experiences and the context (steps four and five). These

emotional information processing skills correspond to the EI skills presented in the ability EI model.

According to the expression model, people who are unaware that they are distressed (e.g. by not

perceiving their increased heart rate) would be unable to express their distress. Those unable to label and

interpret their affective responses would have difficulty expressing why they react strongly to particular

stimuli. People who are unable to determine whether their responses are valid and acceptable might

34

hesitate in expressing their emotions. Those unable to evaluate whether the social context is one in which

it is appropriate to express may also doubt in whether or not to express their feelings. When people are

less skilled in emotional processing, emotional leakage may occur. When emotional leakage occurs,

people may simply burst out with an extreme emotional expression without having fully processed their

experiences. This type of expression may have detrimental consequences in personal and work

relationships which people often later regret (Goleman, 1995; Kennedy-Moore & Watson, 1999). A

person with low EI would more frequently display emotional leakage and “emotional hijacking” than

someone high in EI (see Goleman, 1995).

While the literature described in this section has established some connections between EI and

social adaptation, it is limited in explaining how individuals who are emotionally skilled cope when faced

with stress in close interpersonal relationships, thereby presenting a gap in research. The present

investigation builds upon my graduate-level pilot research project which was designed to examine this

gap by exploring EI and the coping strategies university students (N = 40) used to deal with stress in close

interpersonal relationships. Findings indicated that emotional skills were differentially related to coping

behaviours when dealing with conflict. The ability to regulate one’s mood (repair) was positively related

to the use of positive reframing, while it was negatively related to the use of self-distraction, denial, and

venting. No significant relationships emerged between attention to emotions and any of the coping

strategies used. Emotional clarity was negatively related to self-distraction and denial. The repair and

clarity subscales were also positively related to social and home life satisfaction, respectively, with both

subscales being related to satisfaction with coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships. Gender

differences (discussed below) emerged and appeared to be more related to culturally prescribed roles than

biological sex. Having established these significant relationships with a small sample provided support

for a larger-scale investigation (Zomer, 2003).

Findings from another study examining EI and coping with conflict in relationships (Fitness &

Curtis, 2005; N = 170) revealed that functional coping and EI were positively related. Specifically, task-

oriented coping was positively correlated with mood repair, emotion-oriented coping was negatively

related to clarity and repair, and avoidance-oriented coping was negatively related with clarity.

35

Destructive responses to conflict were negatively associated with clarity and repair, while constructive

responses were not related to any of the emotional intelligence subscales (Fitness & Curtis, 2005). Gender

differences emerged here as well, with functional responses to recalled interpersonal conflict being more

strongly associated with being female than male. Since gender role differences (i.e., masculinity and

femininity) were not investigated, they may have confounded the differences in coping responses found

between men and women. These two studies warrant further investigation, as they suggest important

relationships between EI, gender, and how individuals cope with stress in close interpersonal

relationships in adaptive ways. The proposed research will attempt to replicate the findings using a

broader, larger sample. Moreover, it will extend the investigation of context to the occupational

environment and more closely examine the influence of gender in terms of male-female differences as

well as gender role.

Why examine EI and occupational stress? Given popular claims made (e.g., Goleman) about

the benefits of EI in terms of occupational and social success, as well as research findings linking EI to

psychological and physical health, it would seem beneficial to understand how emotionally intelligent

individuals cope uniquely when faced with stressors in both their social and occupational lives. In terms

of the transactional model of stress, Beehr and Newman (1978) defined “job stress” as a condition

wherein job-related factors (e.g., job demands, role expectations, organizational characteristics and

conditions) interact with workers’ personal resources (e.g., personality traits and behavioural

characteristics, demographics) to change (positively or negatively) their psychological or physical

condition (i.e., their health). This process requires them to diverge from their normal functioning.

Adaptive responses to job stress include responses intended to eliminate, mitigate, or ameliorate the job-

related factors, and/or to alter the workers’ reactions to the stressful job situation. An underlying

assumption of Beehr and Newman’s definition is that job stress necessitates that there be considerable

incentives and losses for meeting versus not meeting organizational demands. Common stress factors on

the job include: High demands, low control at work, little input in decisions, lack of job security, little

recognition, lack of training or poor job skills, mismatch with the culture of the organization, lack of

communication with senior management or within the workplace (CBC News, October 17, 2006). Some

36

of the major categories of work stress are presented in Table 2, based on Zeidner’s (2005) adapted

taxonomy which was originally outlined by Cartwright and Cooper (1996), with additional examples

from Rosch (1984).

The effects of job stress (and poor social resources, as discussed in the previous sections) have

been investigated and appear severe for many individuals. Statistics Canada (2006) examined the

relationship between stress and depression among working adults ages 18 to 75 using data from the 2002

Canadian Community Health Survey and the 2002/2003 National Population Health Survey. High stress

on and off the job was related to depression and men’s mental health was reportedly more susceptible to

stress arising from the workplace. Differences in levels of stress and depression were found between

industries. For instance, job stress among male workers in processing, manufacturing and utilities was 30

per cent in comparison with only 13 percent for management workers. For women, low supervisor

support was related to depression, while low support from co-workers was related to depression for both

sexes (CBC News, October 17, 2006).

Statistics Canada (2006) revealed that approximately one in 12 working Canadians, the

equivalent of more than one million people, reported that they were unhappy on the job, with depression

being a major occupational health issue. In 2000, the World Health Organization ranked depression as the

leading cause of disability worldwide (CBC News, October 17, 2006). Disability represents anywhere

from 4 to 12 percent of payroll costs in Canada. Mental health claims, particularly depression, have

overtaken cardiovascular disease as the fastest growing category of disability costs in Canada (Wilson,

Joffe, & Wilkerson, 2002).

Research linking stress in the workplace and close interpersonal relationships to physical health

has shown that cardiac patients with poor economic and social resources are at least three times more

likely to suffer another heart attack and die within five years than those married and financially secure.

Specifically, patients who made less than $10,000 US per year were ten times more likely to die within

five years than those with higher incomes, while those without a live-in partner were three times more

likely to die within five years than those with a live-in partner. Those who had both risk factors were

37

Table 2 Common Categories of Work Stress and Examples (see Cartwright & Cooper, 1996; Rosch, 1984; Zeidner, 2005) Types of Work Stress Examples

1. Factors intrinsic to the job, task or workplace

Poor physical conditions: Noise, inadequate lighting, crowded space, lack of privacy, pathogenic agents, physical danger. Task-related stressors: work overload or

underload, long hours, shift work, extensive travel, high risk, difficulty, pace, lack of autonomy, changes in work patterns

2. Role in the organization Key dimensions of role-related stress: Ambiguity (having inadequate information

about the work role or work objectives); Role Conflict (having conflicting job

demands, conflicting expectations from others, doing things that are not really what one wants to do);

Powerlessness (the perception that a worker is unable to control outcomes or make decisions)

A school administrator may perceive incompatible work demands from parents, teaching staff, students, and the board of education; a supervisor who has many job responsibilities but limited authority in decision-making; incompatibility between organizational goals and personal values.

3. Problematic relationships with others at work – data suggest this area is one of the most frequently reported areas of work stress

Examples: Unsatisfactory relationships with superiors and co-workers, customers and clients, including poor trust, lack of support, poor communication, lack of interest in addressing individual complaints This type of stressor is associated with an

individual’s needs for acceptance and interpersonal recognition.

4. Career development

Career transitions, job loss, early retirement, demotion, underpromotion, reaching a career ceiling, lack of opportunity to advance, lack of opportunity to apply personal talents or abilities to full potential

5. Organizational structure, climate and culture – stressors related to the particular organizational milieu and culture

Lack of person-role fit, insufficient training and skills, lack of feedback on performance, lack of effective consultation, poor communication, ugly office politics, inappropriate management style, prejudice, harassment, inability or lack of opportunity to voice complaints, possibility of organizational takeover or merger resulting in job insecurity.

6. Home/work interface Stress related to managing the interface between work and home may be especially challenging for couples where both have careers or families in financial crises.

38

considered to be at higher risk because the two factors were unrelated, and the results were irrespective of

the level of heart disease. Moreover, the quality of marriages did not seem to provide increased health

benefits, perhaps because simply having someone to talk to, complain to, or nag to may prove beneficial

in terms of coping. Also, having someone present may itself produce a calming effect for patients who

often fear having another heart attack (Rincover, 1995).

Interestingly, other gender and age effects have been documented with respect to work stress.

According to a report by WarrenShepell, a large Employee Assistance Provider (EAP), working women

over 40 are more likely than younger women and working men of any age to report higher levels of

stress. The EAP data included almost 230, 000 employees at 2500 companies across Canada during 2002-

2004. When examining women of all age groups, it was found that women in general are four percent

more likely than men of all age groups to report high stress. However, women under 40 reported

depression slightly more often than older women and men. While prevalence rates in the general

population consistently show a significantly higher depression rate among women, the data found that

men reported depression slightly more often than women over 40. The EAP report proposed some ways

to address high stress among working women, including training employees to use positive coping

strategies (e.g., proactive coping – setting long-term goals and planning to deal with daily stressors as

they surface) (Mental Health Works News, 2005). However, it is possible that emotional skills may limit

the implementation of the coping strategies deemed to be positive in nature.

Another Canadian report revealed that men in high-strain jobs were 2.5 times more likely to have

experienced depression than men in low-strain jobs, whereas women were 1.6 times more likely. Job

stress and job satisfaction were clearly related. One in four workers who found most days extremely

stressful were dissatisfied with their jobs, while only one in 15 workers who did not find their jobs

stressful were dissatisfied. People who were unhappy at work took more disability days, averaging almost

three times that of workers who were very satisfied with their jobs (CBC News, October 17, 2006). The

cost of work time lost to stress in Canada is approximately $12 billion. From 1992 to 1998, the proportion

of Canadian women who felt “severe stress” rose 23%, while for men it claimed 25%. Stress as a reason

for absence has increased over 316 percent since 1995 (Statistics Canada) (Bay, 2003).

39

The American Institute of Stress (2007) estimates that job stress costs the American Industry

$300 billion a year as a result of absenteeism, accidents, employee turnover, diminished productivity,

direct medical, legal, and insurance costs, and workers' compensation awards. This amount is more than

the net profits of all the Fortune 500 companies combined and ten times the costs for all strikes. Other

statistics indicate that 40% of job turnover is due to job stress, 60% to 80% of on-the-job accidents are

stress-related, and health care expenditures are nearly 50 percent greater for workers who reported high

levels of stress (Bay, 2003).

The problem is not limited only to Canada and the United States. A 1992 United Nations Report

labelled job stress "The 20th Century Disease", and a few years later the World Health Organization

reported that it had become a "World Wide Epidemic." A 1998 study reported that rapid changes in the

workforce had resulted in a staggering unemployment rate of 10% in the European Union and higher

rates of job stress complaints. Japan had a similar problem as a result of a major and prolonged recession.

A European Commission survey found that: (1) more than half of the 147 million workers in the

European Union complained of having to work at a very high speed and under tight deadlines; and (2)

approximately half reported having monotonous or short, repetitive tasks and no opportunity to rotate

tasks. While Beehr and Newman (1978) indicated that the impact of occupational stress on employees has

been relatively neglected by psychologists, the research highlighted above reveals significant negative

effects of occupational stress on both employees and organizations. Although psychologists have directed

more attention to this area in recent years, today we see that the effects of work stress on employee health

is still inadequately investigated with relation to both EI and coping behaviour.

Nonetheless, several studies have found links between EI and job performance, suggesting that it

may play a key role in coping with stress in the workplace. Anger-Elfenbein and Ambady (2002) found

that the ability to recognize nonverbal expression of emotions (i.e., emotion perception) is associated with

job performance in 69 employees of a non-profit public service organization. Wong and Law’s (2002)

research using 149 supervisor-subordinate dyads showed that a 16-item self-report measure of EI

correlated with supervisor ratings of government workers’ performance (r = .21), and job satisfaction (r =

.40), but not with organizational commitment. Interestingly, Abraham (2000) found that EI contributed to

40

organizational commitment but not job satisfaction in customer service representatives. The apparently

contradictory results with respect to EI and organizational commitment may be due to the different

aspects of EI assessed and measures used.

Dulewicz and Higgs (2002) reported that a personality-based measure of EI was related to

managerial advancement. Carmeli and Josman (2006) provided empirical evidence showing positive

relationships between EI and two aspects of employee work outcomes – task performance and two forms

of organizational citizenship behaviours, altruism and compliance. Emotional intelligence was assessed

by Schutte et al.'s (1998) self-report measure of EI, whereas work outcomes were assessed by the

employees' supervisors. Day and Carroll (2004) found that students who were better able to perceive

emotions in others when working in teams (using the MSCEIT) performed better on a management

decision-making task. However, there were no significant relationships between task performance and the

other three areas of EI (emotional facilitation, understanding, and management).

In a study that controlled for personality traits, Fox et al. (2003) found that EI contributed

uniquely to predicting job performance beyond personality (using seven measures), as well as math and

verbal ability. The components in Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) EI model revealed the strongest relations.

Their study consisted of 116 employees from a publishing company and a manufacturing company, and

used the Workplace Survey of Emotional Intelligence, a self-report measure. Their results suggest that EI

represents a unique set of characteristics which can help us understand and predict behaviour at work. In

a similar study controlling for personality variables (i.e., the Big Five) with food service employees’ (N =

187), Sy et al. (2006) found thatEI was positively related with job satisfaction and performance.

Moreover, managers’ EI revealed a stronger positive correlation with job satisfaction for low EI than high

EI employees. Thus, studies investigating both trait and ability EI suggest advantageous effects of EI on

various aspects of work performance and satisfaction. The following section reviews research linking EI

to coping with occupational stress.

Research on emotional intelligence and occupational stress. Proponents of EI claim it has

significant implications for adaptive outcomes and success in a variety of areas, including interpersonal

relationships, clinical intervention (see Matthews et al., 2002), education (see Zeidner et al., 2002), and

41

the workplace (see Zeidner et al., 2005). The multitude of claims that have been made about EI, including

the emotionally intelligent person’s ability for workplace success, have heightened organizations’

awareness and interest in EI. Unfortunately, a number of these claims have been misrepresented,

unsubstantiated, implausible, or based on misinterpreted data (see Cooper, 1997; Day & Kelloway, 2004;

Mayer et al., 2000). Therefore, we need to be cautious of citing unpublished data or unfounded claims

since practitioners can incorporate these “findings” into organizational decisions, such as the selection of

employees based on EI (particularly in the United States), and the implementation of psycho-educational

programs that aim to foster EI (Day & Kelloway, 2004). In actuality, research exploring the relationships

between EI and coping with occupational stress is lacking.

In one of the few studies in this area, Slaski and Cartwright (2004) investigated the relationships

among EI, subjective stress, quality of management performance, and various well-being outcomes.

Participants were 224 managers who worked at a large retail organization. EI was assessed through the

EQ-i (Bar-On, 1997); subjective stress through a single scale ranging from 1 to 10 asking participants to

rate how stressful they perceived their life to be at present; and, management performance through rating

of the subjects by their immediate line managers based on a 16-point criteria of success factors. Well-

being was evaluated through the General Health Questionnaire, quality of work life, individual morale,

and psychological distress. The researchers found that EI was associated with less stress, better

management performance, and higher subjective well-being. These findings suggest that EI may play a

moderating role in the stress process.

In another study, Nikolaou and Tsaousis (2002) explored the relationship between EI, sources of

occupational stress, and outcomes in a sample of mental health professionals (N = 212). Self-report data

revealed EI to be negatively correlated with work stress in all areas (i.e., work relationships, overload,

control, resources and communication, pay and benefits, job security, physical work conditions, type of

task, amount of job satisfaction), and positively correlated with organizational commitment (considered

to be a consequence of stress). According to their framework, organizational commitment decreased with

stress, suggesting the consideration of EI in employee loyalty to organizations.

42

While the research that exists on EI and coping with occupational stress is limited, it is important

to keep in mind that individuals cope differently in different contexts, and that this, in turn, may affect

their well-being. In considering related research findings, Pearlin and Schooler (1978), and Folkman and

Lazarus (1980) reported differences in the ways individuals cope with work stress as opposed to family

and interpersonal stress. They examined coping effectiveness in four areas: marriage, parenting,

household economics, and work. While coping responses helped to mitigate stress in the first three areas,

they were not particularly effective in the area of work. In addition, in all areas but occupational stress,

the use of more coping responses and having more coping resources available reduced the likelihood of

emotional distress, whereas having limited coping resources increases the risk of emotional distress.

These results suggest that work stress may be less dependent on individuals’ coping abilities and more

susceptible to organizational change. Their research received some support with reports that occupational

problems may not be easily resolved by individual efforts alone, and that individual responses have little

effect on work problems (Menaghan and Merves, 1984; Shinn et al. 1984). Furthermore, Pearlin and

Schooler (1978) found that individuals used more emotion-focused coping versus problem-focused

coping when faced with work stress. In contrast, Lazarus and Folkman (1984) found the reverse pattern

of results, with individuals reporting more problem-focused coping than emotion-focused coping when

managing occupational stress. These seemingly contradictory findings may be due to measurement

issues, differences in the nature of emotion- and problem-focused strategies used, as well as work stress

category.

With regards to work stress, then, there is the question of whether coping actually helps at all

(Dewe, Cox & Ferguson, 1993). In general, the findings on the effectiveness of coping with work

stressors are mixed, with some researchers suggesting that the effects of coping may be neutral. To lower

stress within the work environment, it has been suggested that individuals should simply avoid

maladaptive coping behaviours (Parasuraman and Cleek, 1984). In situations such as job loss or

employment uncertainty, research has shown that while individuals were unwilling to use problem-

focused coping strategies because they might have been considered to add to the stress, problem-focused

coping was associated with lower levels of perceived stress. Higher levels of perceived stress were

43

associated with emotion-focused and avoidant strategies, with research conducted using participants from

the United States and Canada in different studies (Leana & Feldman, 1990; Mantler et al., 2005).

A study (Rivera-Cruz, 2004) examining EI across interpersonal and occupational contexts in a

Puerto Rican population revealed significant differences in the way EI competencies were applied, with

effects being strongly defined by gender. Women showed a higher level of EI competencies at home,

while men demonstrated a higher level of EI competencies at work. Given the benefits of EI documented

above with respect to interpersonal relationships and job performance, it would be helpful to further

examine whether individuals manage stress differently across these contexts and if these differences

contribute to well-being.

Despite the links made between EI and well-being (job satisfaction, performance) within the

work environment, and Employee Assistance Programs, particularly in the United States, offering a

multitude of programs geared to improve EI at work, there is limited research to date on EI and coping

within the workplace. Zeidner (2005) alerts us to the relative lack of research on how emotionally

intelligent individuals cope with work stress, “Although one can hardly imagine a model of occupational

stress that does not include coping responses, this particular facet of the stress process remains the least

developed and least understood” (p. 224-225). The current investigation will be among the first to

examine EI and the coping behaviours individuals use for dealing with occupational stress.

Gender Differences

Gender differences often emerge in research, as highlighted in some of the studies above, and

require more careful consideration. For example, coping behaviours that are effective for women may not

be for men, and their effectiveness may also depend on the context. When investigating gender

differences, researchers commonly make a distinction between biological sex and gender, which may be

defined as “the cultural expectations for femininity and masculinity” (Lips, 1997, p. 4). Haas (1995)

defined gender as a “system of socially constructed boundaries that define what is considered to be

appropriate masculine and feminine behaviours, attitudes, values, personalities, roles and occupations (p.

115).” Bornstein (1994, 1998) expands this rather black-and-white distinction and describes several other

aspects to gender, including: (1) gender assignment; (2) gender role; (3) gender identity; and, (4) gender

44

attribution. Gender assignment answers the question “What do the authorities say I am?” In most cultures

it refers to the biological M or F designation. Gender role or sex role (see Bem, 1974) answers the

question, “What does the culture think I should do with my life to belong or not belong to a specific

gender?” Bornstein (1998) views it as “the sum total of qualities, mannerisms, duties, and cultural

expectations accorded a specific gender” (p. 28). Gender identity answers the question, “Who am I? Am I

a man or a woman or something else entirely?” Gender attribution concerns our perceptions of

individuals as “men” or “women”. In our culture, this depends on biological, physical, behavioural, and

textual cues, as well as power dynamics, sexual orientation, and myths supporting membership in a given

gender (such as, “weaker sex” or “dumb blonde”).

Given the lack of gender measures designed to fully assess the four components of Bornstein’s

gender theory, the current investigation will examine only the first two aspects, (1) gender assignment, or

biological sex; and (2) gender role, or sociological gender. These two aspects have commonly been

investigated in psychology. In examining gender role, Bem (1974) differentiates between “femininity”

and “masculinity”, which are considered to reflect stereotypical, socially desirable male and female

gender-role characteristics. Bem (1974) also explains the undifferentiated gender role, which is low on

both masculine and feminine traits, and further describes the construct of “androgyny”,

Whereas a narrowly masculine self-concept might inhibit behaviors that are stereotyped as feminine, and a narrowly feminine self-concept might inhibit behaviors that are stereotyped as masculine, a mixed, or androgynous, self-concept might allow an individual to freely engage in both “masculine” and “feminine” behaviors (p. 155).

Such a view of gender defies the traditional notion of the existence of only two genders, and of a

unidimensional gender construct wherein everyone falls along a single continuum. Bem (1974) developed

the Bem Sex Role Inventory, which includes separate scales for all four constructs, and found that men

and women could be high or low in either masculine or feminine traits. Masculinity and femininity have

also been termed agency (and/or instrumentality), and communion (and/or expressiveness), respectively

(e.g., Spence, Helmreich & Stapp, 1973), and will be used interchangeably. These socialized gender traits

underlie many aspects of social behavior, motives, and goals (Ghaed & Gallo, 2006).

Several studies have revealed gender differences in EI and coping behaviour and these gender

differences will be explored in the following sections. An important point which needs to be made here,

45

before reviewing these studies, is in that biological sex (i.e., being male or female) may not be

independent of gender role (masculinity and femininity), and vice versa. However, given mixed claims of

gender differences with respect to EI, coping, and SWB in the literature, it would be interesting to

determine whether these relationships are more strongly explained by biological sex or gender role. In

other words, it may be that males in certain samples are higher in communion (e.g., sociology majors)

than in other samples (e.g., engineering students), and so claims made regarding sex differences without

more fully examining gender role (and vice versa) may have confounded these two distinct variables.

Gender differences and coping behaviour. In the coping literature, gender, both biological and

sociological, has been shown to have significant influence over the use of coping strategies and their

adaptiveness. In a study examining biological sex differences, increased rumination, which has been

identified as maladaptive, was found to be a coping strategy more commonly used by women than men

(Nolen-Hoeksema, Parker & Larson, 1994). This finding was supported and extended in a meta-analysis

examining sex differences among 17 specific coping strategies in 50 studies between 1990 and 2000

which found women to more likely engage in most coping strategies overall (Tamres et al., 2002). The

strongest effects revealed that women have an increased likelihood of using coping techniques that

include verbal expressions to others or the self, ruminating about problems, seeking emotional support,

and using positive self-talk in comparison with men.

The researchers differentiated between two hypotheses in their study: the dispositional hypothesis

and situational hypothesis. The former reflects characteristic differences between the sexes which may be

innate; the latter states that situations determine the use of coping strategies. Specifically, the

dispositional hypothesis would predict that if men and women had to cope with identical stressors, they

would behave in different ways. The situational hypothesis, also referred to as role constraint theory,

maintains that gender differences in coping behaviours are largely a result of the different roles that men

and women assume in society and the different stressors they face as opposed to underlying personality

differences between the sexes. According to role constraint theory, if men and women were to cope with

similar stressors and have similar threat appraisals, they would cope in similar ways.

46

The results of Tamres et al.’s (2002) research supported, in part, both hypotheses as some sex

differences in coping were consistent across studies and other sex differences depended on the nature of

the stressor. For example, one finding showed that men used more withdrawal and avoidant coping

strategies for relationship and others’ health stressors than women. One of the limitations to this study,

however, is that it did not have data on gender role socialization. Therefore, it is conceivable that some

men may have predominantly feminine characteristics and some women may have predominantly

masculine characteristics. If this were the case, it may have confounded the results.

In another study which examined gender roles and coping with work stress (N = 176 adult

undergraduate students), Gianakos (2000) found that androgynous individuals had a significantly higher

likelihood of reporting direct action, help-seeking, and positive-thinking coping techniques than those

with undifferentiated gender roles. Increased use of positive-thinking coping styles were reported by

feminine and masculine individuals in comparison with undifferentiated persons. Individuals higher in

femininity also had a higher probability of using direct action coping than those who were

undifferentiated. Gender-role differences were not revealed among individuals’ reported use of escape-

related coping strategies. Using regression analyses, it was found that masculinity and femininity scores

were significant predictors of control-related coping styles, whereas female biological gender was a

significant predictor of direct action coping (i.e., a type of control-related coping). Gianakos (2000)

suspects that active coping has differential effects for men and women since this coping strategy is

adaptive mostly to those with increased autonomy in their work. As women tend to have careers offering

little autonomy, direct action coping by women may be ineffective and contribute to their perceived lack

of personal power which is most highly associated with female workers’ stress symptoms. One limitation

to Gianakos’ (2000) research is that no well-being measures were used which means that we do not know

if the coping strategies used by men and women have differential effects. The current research will

attempt to address this limitation by implementing some measures of well-being.

Gender differences in emotional intelligence. Research in the area of gender role socialization

and EI appears to be inconsistent. Some research on biological sex differences and EI exists, but the

results of these studies are mixed. Schutte et al. (1998), for example, found a significant sex difference in

47

total measured trait EI with females scoring higher than males on average. In another study, Petrides and

Furnham (2000b) used a self-report measure of trait EI and had participants estimate their scores on EI to

study sex differences. In contrast with Schutte et al. (1998), they found that females had higher scores

only on the “social skills” factor of trait EI. However, when they evaluated self-estimated EI, they found

that males believed they had higher EI than females, suggesting a self-derogatory bias in women and a

self-enhancing bias in men.

Using a different assessment instrument for EI, Mayer et al. (2000) also explored gender

differences. The instrument used in the study evaluated “ability EI” as opposed to “trait EI”, the

distinction being that trait EI measures assess enduring individual differences using self-report

questionnaires whereas ability EI measures EI objectively using maximum performance tests, such as the

Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS; Mayer et al., 2000). According to their findings, women

performed somewhat higher than men on all 12 tasks comprising the MEIS.

Zomer (2001) found mixed results regarding gender differences in EI. While no gender

differences were found with respect to trait EI measures, a gender difference did emerge using a new

measure of EI with women scoring higher than men on such skills as perceiving/expressing emotion and

assimilating emotion in thought. While the findings on sex differences in EI are mixed, they show a trend

of women having somewhat more developed emotional skills than men in some areas. The

inconsistencies may be a result of the different testing instruments used, or they may signify underlying

gender role differences. The present research will build upon a pilot study (Zomer, 2003; reviewed

below), which was among the first to investigate sex role differences in EI and coping with stress in close

interpersonal relationships.

Evidence supporting the investigation of sex role differences in emotional intelligence. Wester

et al. (2002) believe that there are few or no sex-based differences in emotional experience, and that one

reason for the acceptance of large sex-based emotional differences is that factors associated with

biological sex are being mistaken for biological sex. This understanding may seem fitting, as the majority

of counselling psychologists in North America are socialized within a dominant culture that depicts the

sexes as coming from different emotional “planets” (e.g., Gray, 1992; Tannen, 1990). Research in the

48

areas of male gender role suggests that the socialized male role, together with situational factors may

influence how some men express their emotion; it should be highlighted that emotional expression is a

skill comprising EI (Wester et al., 2002).

In support of this view, much research on socialized gender roles and emotion has shown that

with the exception of anger and contempt, boys are discouraged from expressing emotions whereas girls

are encouraged to express emotions with the exception of the same emotions. Moreover, parents in Euro-

American cultures seem to talk about and express more diversity in emotions with their daughters in

comparison with their sons. Therefore, research indicates that boys are socialized to be achievement-

oriented, unemotional, aggressive, and self-reliant, whereas girls are socialized to be obedient, nurturing,

emotional and nonaggressive (Cloninger, 1996; Jordan, 1997). As children mature, peers continue this

process (see Wester et al., 2002). This socialization process may lead women to further develop their

emotional capacities. Nonetheless, one of the negative effects of this socialization process on male gender

roles is difficulty with and fears concerning emotional expression; this has been termed “restrictive

emotionality”. Blazina and Watkins (1996) have found that restrictive emotionality is related to decreased

psychological well-being in men, as well as a lesser probability of men’s willingness to seek

psychological help as a coping strategy.

In addition, interpersonal styles vary between the sexes as a result of societal expectations. In our

society, for example, men are expected to be independent and achievement focused whereas women are

expected to be attachment and relationship focused. Men are encouraged by our society to be rational,

and women are encouraged to be emotional (Gilligan, 1993; Jordan, 1997; Miller, 1976). As we live in a

patriarchal society which has traditionally been governed by reason, the value of emotion is generally not

as appreciated.

Gender roles are also strongly influenced by culture. Euro-American men, for instance,

stereotypically associated with their traditional gender roles of leadership, control, and strength, are

consistently thought to express more anger, contempt and pride than women. In contrast, women who are

stereotypically associated with their traditional gender roles of social bonding and childcare are

consistently thought to express more emotions such as warmth, fear, shame, guilt, and nervousness in

49

comparison with men (Lips, 1997). Thus, it seems that women are encouraged to express emotions that

show their vulnerability and repress those suggesting power, whereas men are encouraged to adopt the

opposite pattern (Jordan, 1997; Rider, 2000).

Despite this view, Twenge (1997) argues that the historical trend is that men and women are

becoming more alike in their degree of masculinity. Women, in fact, are gaining more masculine traits

faster than men are, and so, are becoming increasingly similar to men. Although this shift can be seen as

advantageous in many respects, there may be some disadvantages as well. In one study, for example,

Conway (2000) investigated sex roles and representations of emotional experience using the Bem Sex

Role Inventory (Bem, 1974) and the Level of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS; Lane, Quinlan,

Schwartz, Walker, & Zeitlin, 1990). The LEAS is comprised of various scenes requiring the associated

emotional reactions another and oneself may experience in an open-ended format. Participants’ reactions

are scored for degree of complexity. Findings indicated no relation between complexity of emotional

representation and femininity. This appears incongruent with Lane, Sechrest, and Riedel (1998) who

found that women had higher scores on the LEAS than men. However, higher masculinity was associated

with lower complexity in representations of one’s own and others’ emotions. This finding confirms Lane

et al.’s (1998) research indicating that higher masculinity is associated with less emotional awareness. It

is an important finding because emotions often reflect important psychological variables such as values

and goals, and incongruence within is related to decreased well-being (Frijda, 1986; Little, 1983).

Conway maintains, “The ability to represent people’s emotional experience in a more complex manner

seems an asset for effective social interaction, particularly in situations that involve a wide range of

competing needs, desires, and goals” (p. 696). If, indeed, women are increasingly adopting the masculine

gender role, this may have significant implications for their well-being which is largely based on

connection and social interaction (Jordan, 1997; Krahe, 1992).

An interesting study on the influences of sex and gender-role identity on moral cognition

provides more insight into the variables in question. Participants were presented with moral dilemmas and

asked to respond to these. It was found that women and men higher in femininity showed more empathic

concern for others. It should be noted that empathy has been postulated as highly related to EI, suggesting

50

significant relationships between EI and gender role. The results also revealed that androgynous persons

reported more helpful behaviours than did all others (Skoe, Cumberland, Eisenberg, Hansen and Perry,

2002). Therefore, the study suggests that gender role identity may interact with emotional skills.

In further examining research on gender and emotion, again results appear to be mixed. Shields

(1995) concludes that few differences exist in emotional competencies between women and men. She

found that when sex differences occurred in emotional expression they were likely influenced by sex-

based emotional stereotypes and the context of a situation rather than by innate differences in emotional

capacity. Moreover, in examining measures of the private experiencing of emotion, LaFrance and Banaji

(1992) found there were no consistent gender differences. The researchers, however, did recognize

studies that have revealed gender differences in self-report questionnaires, but point out that these were

only under very limited conditions. Such conditions entail the use of direct rather than indirect measures,

the observability of self-reported emotion by others, whether the context is interpersonal or impersonal,

and when global as opposed to discrete emotions are examined.

In Slaski and Cartwright (2002), gender differences were not found in overall EI, but there were

significant differences on some of the subscales. These may be attributed to differences in socialization

experiences between the genders. For instance, on the self-regard subscale, males scored significantly

higher than females. This subscale contains some items relating to physical appearance which may elicit

greater societal pressures and/or expectations for women than men.

Taken together, research suggests that it is important to investigate both biological and

sociological components of gender differences to understand the nature of the differences, and because of

the possibility of confounding.

Gender differences in emotional intelligence and coping with stress in close interpersonal

relationships. Research investigating gender differences in EI and coping with stress in close

interpersonal relationships is limited. One of the two studies in this area which I am aware of is a pilot

study in which university students (N = 40) described a conflict situation and indicated their responses to

it using the Brief COPE (Zomer, 2003). Findings indicated that emotional skills were differentially

related to coping style when dealing with conflict (as discussed above). Gender was assessed in terms of

51

biological sex and sex role (using the Bem Sex Role Inventory). With respect to EI skills, no biological

sex differences were found on the TMMS repair or clarity scales; however, significant differences were

found on the TMMS attention scale, with females having higher scores than men. Correlational analyses

revealed masculinity to be positively related with repair and clarity, but inversely related to attention. No

significant relationships were found along the femininity dimension. Androgyny was negatively

correlated with attention.

In examining gender differences with respect to coping with stress in close interpersonal

relationships, no differences were found along biological sex; however, there were some differences

along the sociological dimension of gender. Masculinity was negatively related to the use of instrumental

support, self-distraction, denial, venting and self-blame; no relations were significant with femininity; and

androgyny was inversely correlated with self-distraction. Masculinity was also most strongly related with

well-being. Limitations to this study included sample size which limited data analysis. However, it

provided preliminary evidence for the effects of gender role on coping with stress in close interpersonal

relationships.

Fitness and Curtis (2005) investigated EI and relationships with empathy, attributional

complexity, self-control, and responses to interpersonal conflict. Data (N = 110 students; N = 60 students’

friends/relatives) revealed gender differences, with females obtaining higher scores than males on task-

oriented coping, emotion-oriented coping, and avoidant coping. Moreover, being female predicted

constructive responses to interpersonal conflict even after accounting for EI. A limitation to this study

was that it did not investigated gender role.

The results of these studies suggest a need to further investigate gender differences, as they may

be an important variable influencing how EI skills affect coping behaviour. In addressing the limitations

of existing research, the current investigation will evaluate both biological and sociological components

of gender and use a sufficient sample size from the general population.

Gender differences in emotional intelligence and coping with occupational stress. Research

investigating gender differences in EI and coping with occupational stress is lacking as well. However,

gender differences in coping with occupational stress have been observed. Gonzales-Morales et al. (2006)

52

explored gender differences in coping with work stress in male-dominated financial companies in Spain

(N = 461). Interactive effects were found, with social support coping being beneficial in terms of reduced

psychological distress and psychosomatic complaints for women but not for men. On the contrary, social

support coping was found to indicate increased psychological distress and psychosomatic complaints in

men. Direct action coping was found to be more beneficial for men than women. However, the role of EI

was not examined in this research and it was a cross-cultural study, limiting its generalizability to North

American society.

Petrides and Furnham (2003) investigated the relationships between trait EI and four job-related

variables (perceived job control, job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment). Gender-

specific data (N = 167) revealed that high trait EI was related to higher levels of perceived control,

satisfaction, and commitment, and lower levels of job stress for men but not women. In a close

examination of the data, it was found that mostly all the facets of trait EI were negatively related to stress

for men. However, the trait EI facets that related to stress for women were specific, and strong for

emotional control. The authors conclude that males and females may be exposed to different types of

stressors at work, and that it would be important to establish if there are differential effects for the types

of job stress. However, effects were not so strong as to lend empirical support to claims that EI is of

crucial importance in the workplace (e.g., Goleman, 1998). Among the results, perceived job control had

a negative effect on stress while it had a positive effect on satisfaction. Stress had a negative effect on

satisfaction, which, in turn, had the strongest positive effect on commitment. A number of gender

differences emerged, revealing that older women reported less control in their jobs and less commitment

to their organizations than younger women; no effects emerged for men. Based on their findings, the

authors concluded that it is unwise to assume that the interrelationships of workplace variables are

gender-invariant. They suggested that future investigation of gender roles may help explain the gender

differences, and may account for incremental variance over and above biological sex in work-related

criteria.

In her doctoral dissertation research, Gardner (2005) found significant differences for males and

females in understanding emotions, role insufficiency and internal job satisfaction in a group of teachers.

53

Women were more able to understand the emotions of others in their work environment and felt more

satisfied with the internal aspects of their job (e.g., level of responsibility and variety) than men. In

comparison with women, men showed significantly higher scores on role insufficiency, one of the facets

of occupational stress which indicated that they felt their training and skills were not always appropriate

for work tasks. They suggest that the higher scores on role insufficiency may be due to the increasing

demand of teachers to assume counsellor-like roles which require the ability to understand the emotions

of their students. The effect of gender role was not considered. Given the sparse research examining the

relationships among these variables, the current study will provide a unique contribution to the field in

terms of understanding the relationships between gender, EI, coping with occupational stress, and well-

being within the general population.

Summary of Literature Review

Research has demonstrated that certain traits that individuals possess (e.g., hardiness, optimism,

EI) enable some people to cope better than others when it comes to everyday challenges and life stressors,

leading to increased health and well-being (e.g., Ciarrochi, Forgas & Mayer, 2001; Salovey et al., 1999,

2002; Wong & Law, 2002; Zomer, 2001). Given the relatively recent development of the construct of EI,

there are many areas which need to be further explored involving this construct’s apparent significance to

coping and well-being. Some of the research which examines EI and coping has linked EI with

dispositional coping, or adaptive coping styles people typically use in dealing with general life stress

(e.g., Schutte & Malouff, 1999). Existing researchers in this area have made assumptions regarding the

inherent adaptiveness or maladaptiveness of certain coping styles and have generally not assessed well-

being in relation to coping, yet some research points to differences in the effectiveness of coping

strategies used depending on the context (e.g., Folkman & Lazarus, 1989; Perlin & Schooler, 1978).

There is an abundance of research showing coping to be context-bound, with coping strategies used being

variable depending on the type of stressors assessed (e.g., Carver et al., 1989; Frydenberg & Lewis, 1994;

Kobasa, 1979). While a few studies have found significant relationships between EI and coping strategies

within specific contexts, these contexts have generally involved laboratory-induced stressors which have

the benefit of reducing “noise” (e.g., Salovey et al., 1995, 2002). However, these contexts have been

54

limited in both scope (e.g., using video clips) and their ecological validity as they are contrived. Further

research investigating the role of EI in this area is needed to establish variability in contextual coping as a

function of emotional skills, so that we may know how to most effectively guide people in coping with

different stressors they may face in their lives.

Two central areas of life which have proven to be vital in their contributions to well-being

include interpersonal relationships (e.g., Belle, 1982; Chung et al., 2003; Durkheim, 1951; Fiore, Becker

& Coppel, 1983; Myers & Diener, 1995; Ryff & Singer, 2000; Uchino et al., 1996; Wahler, 1980) and the

occupational realm (e.g., CBC News, October 17, 2006; Statistics Canada, 2006). Certain coping

strategies have been shown to be related to the effectiveness of dealing with stressors in close

interpersonal relationships (e.g., Goldberger & Breznitz, 1993; Quayhagen & Quayhagen, 1982; Zeidner

& Endler, 1996) and work stressors (e.g., Folkman & Lazarus, 1989; Leana & Feldman, 1990; Mantler et

al., 2005; Parasuraman and Cleek, 1984; Perlin & Schooler, 1978). Relatively little research exists in

terms of emotional competencies and their relationships to coping with interpersonal and occupational

stressors. Although existing research does provide some evidence linking emotional skills to coping

strategies used with stress in close interpersonal relationships and relationship satisfaction (e.g., Fitness &

Curtis, 2005; Zomer, 2003), more support is needed to more firmly establish these relationships as well as

their effects on overall well-being. With respect to occupational stress, EI has been found to relate to job

performance and well-being (e.g., Fox et al., 2003; Salovey and Mayer, 1990), with other studies showing

mixed findings in the relationships between the types of coping strategies used in dealing with work

stress (e.g., Folkman & Lazarus, 1989; Perlin & Schooler, 1978). Therefore, the emotional skills people

possess as well as the types of coping strategies they use within interpersonal and occupational contexts

may present as ways to mitigate the effects of dealing with these types of stressors. I did not find studies

which integrated a simultaneous investigation of the relationships between EI and the coping strategies

used to cope with workplace stress within the general population at the time of the current study, and

given the importance of emotions in guiding (coping) behaviour, doing so would seem to be important in

predicting well-being.

55

Finally, gender differences in EI have been found (e.g., Mayer et al., 2000; Petrides & Furnham,

2000b; Schutte et al., 1998; Skoe et al., 2002), with a study suggesting that gender differences in EI may

exist across interpersonal and occupational contexts (Rivera-Cruz, 2004), and other research revealing

gender differences in EI and coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships (Fitness & Curtis,

2005; Zomer, 2003). Gender differences in coping behaviour at work have also been found (Gianakos,

2000; Tamres et al., 2002). Little, if any, research exists investigating the influence of gender on these

constructs jointly, particularly with respect to occupational stress. Most of the research examining gender

differences have evaluated the construct in terms of sex differences (i.e., being male or female); however,

it may be that research has confounded the biological and sociological aspects of gender since most

studies have not simultaneously assessed sex and gender role (i.e., degree of masculinity and femininity).

For example, claims that women are higher in some aspects of EI may not hold true for women who are

higher in masculinity or men who are higher in femininity. Overall, in terms of research samples, existing

studies have largely been drawn from undergraduate university or specific populations, which may limit

the generalizability of the research findings to the general population. A summary of some of the specific

examples of the variable relationships highlighted in this section and described in the literature review is

presented below in Table 3.

56

Table 3 Summary of Variable Relationships

General findings Examples of Variable Relationships Source EI is related to positive outcome measures.

EI is related to life and work satisfaction, interpersonal functioning, healthy relationships, job performance, psychological well-being, physical health, psychophysiological measures of adaptive coping (cortisol levels, blood pressure).

E.g., Ciarrochi, Forgas & Mayer, 2001; Salovey et al., 1999, 2002; Wong & Law, 2002; Zomer, 2001

EI is related to dispositional coping.

Emotional clarity was related to increased active coping, positive reinterpretation and growth, and planning. Clarity and expression were negatively related to behavioural withdrawal. Attention, intensity, and expression were positively related to focusing on emotions, seeking social support, and venting.

Schutte & Malouff, 1999

Coping differences exist when examined as a trait and contextually.

Coping strategies and their effectiveness differ depending on the context. Only low to moderate correlations between the dispositional and situational versions of the COPE questionnaires were found.

Carver et al., 1989

Consistencies in coping with similar categories of stressors and inconsistencies in coping with different stressors have been found.

Frydenberg & Lewis, 1994; Kobasa, 1979

Coping responses were found to help mitigate stress in three areas (marriage, parenting, household economics), but were not particularly effective in the area of work. In all areas but occupational stress, the use of more coping responses and having more coping resources available reduced the likelihood of emotional distress, whereas having limited coping resources increased the risk of emotional distress. Thus, work stress may be less dependent on individuals’ coping abilities and more susceptible to organizational structure.

Folkman & Lazarus, 1989; Perlin & Schooler, 1978

Relationships between EI and coping have been found with laboratory-induced stressors.

Clarity best predicted the recovery of a positive mood following a laboratory induced stressful event (i.e., video clip) after controlling for the effects of depression, neuroticism, and socio-emotional adjustment. High levels of clarity revealed a reduction in ruminative thoughts. Lack for an effect for the attention scale is perhaps attributable to the study methodology as individuals were asked to attend to their thoughts, and perhaps implicitly to mood. Repair was related to decreased negative affect immediately following laboratory stressor.

Salovey et al., 1995

EI was related to psychological and interpersonal functioning. Clarity was related with increased negative mood but also with lower cortical release during repeated stress. Attention was related to lowered cortisol and blood pressure responses. Repair was positively related with active coping and perceptions of repeated laboratory stressors as less threatening; it was negatively related with rumination.

Salovey et al., 2002

Interpersonal relationships are related with well-being.

Relationships are beneficial for stress management, general health, and psychological well-being. A meta-analysis (81 studies) revealed social support was related with positive effects in cardiovascular, immune, and endocrine systems.

Myers & Diener, 1995; Ryff & Singer, 2000; Uchino et al., 1996

Social networks may increase distress when network members are disrespectful, disapproving, fail to meet help expectations, etc.

Belle, 1982, Fiore et al., 1983, Wahler, 1980.

Lack of social support, connectedness to others, and isolation have long been recognized as predictors of morbidity and mortality.

Durkheim, 1951

Relationship dissolution has been linked with symptoms of PTSD. Chung et al., 2003

57

Coping strategies are related to the perceived impact of interpersonal conflict.

Problem-solving and help-seeking strategies were positively related to a greater perceived impact of interpersonal conflict among mid-life adults. Those who expressed more negative emotion (venting) and used self-actualization coping strategies perceived less of an impact.

Quayhagen & Quayhagen, 1982

Emotional skills are related to coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships and relationship satisfaction.

Emotional clarity was positively related with the ease of forgiving a spouse’s transgressions and overall relationship happiness.

Planalp & Fitness, 1999

Insecurely attached partners had more difficulty resolving conflict. Lopez et al., 1997

Alexithymia has been linked with poor interpersonal functioning. Parker et al., 2001

Mood repair was positively correlated with task-oriented coping when dealing with conflict in relationships (N = 170). Clarity and repair was negatively related with emotion-oriented coping. Clarity was negatively related with avoidance-oriented coping. Functional responses to recalled interpersonal conflict were more strongly associated with being female than male. Gender role differences (e.g., masculinity/femininity) were not examined.

Fitness & Curtis, 2005

A pilot study (N = 40) revealed clarity to be negatively related to self-distraction and denial, repair to be positively related to positive reframing and negatively to self-distraction, denial, and venting, with Clarity also being negatively related to self-distraction and denial. Gender differences emerged and appeared to be linked more so to gender role than biological sex.

Zomer, 2003

Job stress is related to well-being, with differential gender effects.

Workplace stress was positively related to depression. Men’s mental health was more susceptible to workplace stress. For women, low supervisor support was related to depression, while low support from co-workers was related to depression for both sexes. One in 12 working Canadians reported they were unhappy on the job, with depression being a major occupational health issue. Men in high-strain jobs were 2.5 times more likely to have experienced depression than men in low strain jobs; women were 1.6 times more likely.

Statistics Canada (2006); CBC News, October 17, 2006

EI is related to the effects of workplace stress on job performance and well-being.

The ability to recognize nonverbal emotional expression was associated with job performance (N =69).

Anger-Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002

EI was correlated with supervisor ratings of government workers’ performance (N = 149).

Wong & Law, 2002

Trait EI was related to managerial advancement.

Dulewicz & Higgs, 2002

EI made unique contributions to predicting job performance and job satisfaction after controlling for personality variables, as well as math and verbal ability.

Fox et al., 2003; Salovey and Mayer, 1990

EI was associated with lower stress levels, better management performance, and higher subjective well-being.

Slaski & Cartwright, 2004

EI was negatively correlated with work stress in all areas (N = 212) (e.g., work relationships, overload, control, resources and communication, pay and benefits, job security, physical work conditions, type of task, job satisfaction).

Nikolaou & Tsaousis, 2002

Coping strategies may be related with workplace stress.

Mixed findings have been reported, with some research suggesting individuals used more emotion-focused coping versus problem-focused coping when dealing with work stress while other researchers have found the reverse pattern.

Folkman & Lazarus, 1989; Perlin & Schooler, 1978

Other researchers have suggested the effects of coping in the workplace may be neutral.

Parasuraman and Cleek, 1984

58

In situations such as job loss or employment uncertainty, problem-focused coping was related with lower levels of perceived stress. Higher levels of perceived stress were related with emotion-focused and avoidant strategies.

Leana & Feldman, 1990; Mantler et al., 2005

Gender differences in EI may exist across contexts.

Women showed a higher level of EI competencies at home, while men demonstrated a higher level at work in a Puerto Rican population.

Rivera-Cruz, 2004

Gender differences in coping behaviour have been found.

Women have an increased likelihood of using coping techniques that include verbal expression, rumination, seeking emotional support, and using positive self-talk in comparison with men. Men used more withdrawal and avoidant coping strategies for relationship and others’ health stressors than women.

Tamres et al., 2002

Positive-thinking coping styles were positively related with feminine and masculine roles in comparison with undifferentiated roles. Those higher in femininity also used more direct action coping than those with undifferentiated roles. Masculinity and femininity were significant predictors of control-related coping styles whereas female biological gender was a significant predictor or direct action coping.

Gianakos (2000)

Gender differences in EI have been found.

Females had higher total measured trait EI than males. Schutte et al., 1998 Females had higher scores only on the “social skills” factor of trait EI. Petrides &

Furnham, 2000b Women performed higher on all tasks of the MEIS than men. Mayer et al., 2000

Women and men higher in femininity showed more empathic concern for others when addressing moral dilemmas.

Skoe et al., 2002

Gender differences in EI and coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships have been shown.

No sex differences were found with repair or clarity; however, females had higher scores than men on attention when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships. Masculinity was positively related with repair and clarity but negatively related to attention. No significant gender role differences were found along the femininity dimension. With respect to coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships, no differences were found between men and women. However, masculinity was negatively related to the use of instrumental support, self-distraction, denial, venting, and self-blame; no relationships emerged with femininity. Masculinity was also more strongly related to well-being than femininity.

Zomer, 2003

Females obtained higher scores than males on task-oriented coping, emotion-oriented coping, and avoidant coping. Being female predicted constructive responses to interpersonal conflict even after accounting for EI. Gender role was not investigated.

Fitness and Curtis, 2005

Gender differences in EI and occupational well-being measures have been shown.

High trait EI was related to higher levels of perceived control, satisfaction, and commitment, as well as lower levels of job stress for men but not women.

Petrides & Furnham, 2003

Women were more able to understand the emotions of others than men in a group of teachers. Men showed higher scores on role insufficiency than women.

Gardner, 2005

Gender differences in coping with work stress have been shown.

Social support coping was more helpful in reducing psychological distress and psychosomatic complaints for women but not for men when coping with work stress in male-dominated financial companies in Spain (N = 461). On the other hand, social support coping indicated increased psychological distress and psychosomatic complaints in men. Direct action coping was more beneficial for men than women.

Gonzales-Morales et al., 2006

59

Purpose of the Present Investigation

The present investigation concentrates on individual differences in emotional processes, with the

understanding that emotions are central to the process of coping and adaptation (Folkman & Lazarus,

1988). Individual differences in emotional processes, or skill levels, are considered to be represented by

the construct of emotional intelligence. The primary objective of the current research is to explore the

ways in which emotional intelligence (EI) facilitates adaptive coping when dealing with stress in personal

relationships and work stress, with interpersonal and occupational contexts being two domains in life

which are vital in fostering well-being. It aims at providing evidence in support of an extended

adaptational model contextualizing EI within the coping process (see Figure 3).

The study will address some of the limitations of existing research summarized above and

provide unique contributions to this area of research by: (1) Evaluating an adaptational model

contextualizing emotional intelligence within the coping process; (2) Assessing well-being in relation to

coping behaviour; (3) Investigating and comparing stress responses across two different contexts (i.e.,

interpersonal and occupational); (4) Investigating how individuals cope with stress in personally salient

contexts; (5) Using a community sample to help increase the generalizability of the findings; and, (6)

Exploring gender differences in terms of both biological sex and sociological gender role in (a) EI,

coping, and well-being, as well as (b) the adaptational model contextualizing emotional intelligence

within the coping process.

60

Figure 3. Adaptational Model Contextualizing Emotional Intelligence within the Coping Process.

Research Questions and Hypotheses

The guiding questions of the current investigation are:

(1) How do emotionally intelligent individuals cope with stress in close relationships and the workplace?

Hypothesis One: EI will be related to distinct coping strategies for interpersonal and occupational stress.

Specifically, with respect to stress in close interpersonal relationships, EI (assessed using the TMMS)

will be positively related to emotional expression, support from others, emotional processing, active

coping, acceptance, religion, humour, and denial and negatively related to venting, self-blame,

alcohol/drug use, and denial (assessed using the COPE, Brief COPE and emotional approach coping

scales). With respect to occupational stress, it is expected that EI will reveal patterns of adaptive

Stressors: Interpersonal and Occupational

Coping Responses Emotion-focused, problem-

focused, avoidant, etc.

Appraisals

• Emotional Intelligence • Gender (sociological

and biological)

Subjective Well-Being Global Life and domain-specific

and Satisfaction, Affect, Depression, Anxiety, Stress

(Primary) (Secondary)

Person Attributes Mediators/Mechanisms

Outcome

61

coping and will be related to support from others, emotional processing, active coping, and

acceptance, and negatively related to venting, self-blame, alcohol/drug use, and denial. The TMMS

subscales comprising EI (i.e., attention, clarity, and repair) will be differentially linked to the coping

strategies, with clarity and repair accounting for most of the relationships between overall EI and the

coping strategies.

(2) Are there differences in the coping strategies used across contexts and their relationships to EI and

well-being?

Hypothesis Two: Differences will emerge in coping behaviours across contexts as well as their

relationships to EI and well-being.

Based on research revealing coping differences across contexts, it is believed that there will be

differences in coping strategies used between interpersonal and occupational contexts, as well as their

relationships to subjective well-being (SWB; composite assessed using the DASS-21, PANAS, and

life satisfaction scales). Although research is sparse in this area and has revealed some contradictory

findings, theoretical models and existing studies would suggest the benefit of emotion-focused

strategies (e.g., emotional expression, emotional processing, humour, social support, and venting)

when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships. In comparison to stress in close

interpersonal relationships, work stress is suggested to be linked with problem-focused strategies

(e.g., active coping), and less self-blame (Vitaliano et al., 1995). It is believed that certain coping

strategies (e.g., emotional expression, religion) which may be adaptive (i.e., related to SWB) in

dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships would not be adaptive with work stress. In

addition, there will be similar patterns of coping types (e.g., maladaptive types and adaptive types, or

approach/avoidant types) which emerge between contexts, and EI (assessed by the TMMS) will be

able to differentiate between these coping types. These coping types will also be differentiated in

terms of SWB.

(3) Does coping behaviour mediate the relationship between EI and well-being for both interpersonal and

occupational stress?

62

Hypothesis Three: Coping behaviour will mediate the relationship between EI and well-being for both

interpersonal and occupational stress.

Coping behaviour (both strategies and coping types) will mediate the relationship between EI and

well-being for both interpersonal and occupational stress. In other words, EI will predict the use of

certain coping strategies (and coping type; i.e., adaptive types), which in turn, predict well-being (see

Figure 4). Coping strategies which will most likely emerge as mediators include emotional

expression, emotional processing, social support, active coping, venting/self-blame, denial, and

acceptance.

Figure 4. Example of Multiple Mediation Model Depicting Coping Strategies as Potential Mediators

Between EI and Well-Being.

(4) What is the role of gender in EI and coping with interpersonal and occupational stress? Is coping

associated with differential outcomes for men and women? Does gender moderate the relationship

between EI and well-being, and between EI and coping behaviour?

Hypothesis Four: Gender will be differentially related to EI and the coping strategies used in each

context. Gender will moderate the relationship between EI and SWB and between EI and coping

strategies.

Gender (sex assessed by male/female; gender role assessed by PAQ agency/masculinity and

communion/femininity scales) will be differentially related to EI (e.g., males will be lower in EI than

females; both communion and agency will be related to EI). Gender will be differentially related to

certain coping strategies. More specifically, being female will be linked with emotion-focused coping

Social Support


Subjective Well-Being

Venting/Self-Blame

a1

c

c'

b1

b2 a2

63

using emotion expression, emotion processing, venting/self-blame, denial, acceptance, and being

male with problem-focused coping and alcohol/drug use; in addition, communion will be positively

related to emotion-focused coping and agency to active coping. The interactional relationships

(between gender and EI) will help explain differences in the types of coping strategies used and

SWB. However, differences will be attributed more so to sociological gender roles (i.e.,

agency/communion) rather than biological sex (male/female).

64

Chapter Two: Method

Participants

The sample consisted of 300 participants from a general population of internet users, of

which approximately 66.7% were women (n = 200), and 33.3% were men (n = 100). A donation of $5.00

was made to each participant’s choice of charity. Ages ranged from 18 to 62 (M = 31.91, SD = 10.97).

Three participants did not indicate age; however, all participants consented to being over 18 years old. A

requirement for inclusion in the study was that all participants had to be employed at some point over the

past twelve months, with the majority (79.7%; n = 239) being currently employed at the time of the

survey while the remaining participants (20.3%; n = 61) were unemployed at the time of the survey.

When employed, 19.3% (n = 58) revealed they worked over 45 hours per week; 50.0% (n = 150) worked

between 30 to 45 hours per week; 18.7% (n = 56) worked 15 to 30 hours per week; and 11.0% (n = 33)

less than 15 hours per week; three participants did not indicate hours worked per week. With respect to

native language, 74.7% (n = 224) were native English-speaking, 22.3% (n = 67) indicated another native

language, and 3.0% (n = 9) did not provide a response. Most participants (98.7%; n = 296) indicated they

were completely fluent in English and only four participants (1.3%) indicated they were somewhat fluent.

Marital status revealed that 41.3% (n = 124) of the participants were single; 17.7% (n = 53) were in a

relationship but not cohabitating; 34.3% (n = 103) were married or common-law; 5.3% (n = 16) were

separated or divorced, and; 1.3 % (n = 4) were widowed. The majority of the sample lived in Canada

(85.7%; n = 257), with 11.3% (n = 34) living in the United States and two participants (less than 1%)

from Europe; the remaining participants (1.7%; n = 5) indicated other countries, including Israel,

Pakistan, Germany, England, Indonesia, and Argentina; two participants did not indicate country. Level

of education revealed that 55.7% (n = 167) of the sample graduated from a university, 15.0 % (n = 45)

graduated from a community college, 3.3 % (n = 10) completed a trade or technical training program;

22.3% (n = 67) graduated from high school; 2.7% (n = 8) did not complete high school; three participants

did not indicate level of education.

64

65

Measures

Background information/demographics. Data were collected on participants’ gender, age,

location (country/city/town), level of education, income, native language, fluency in English, marital

status, occupation/job title, and hours at work per week.

Trait meta-mood scale (TMMS short form; Salovey et al., 1995). The TMMS was designed to

evaluate three skills comprising emotional intelligence based on a three-factor solution: (1) Attention to

Feelings (the degree of attention individuals devote to their feelings); (2) Clarity of Feelings (the ability

to discriminate among emotions); and (3) Mood repair (the ability to regulate and repair mood so that

negative mood states are reduced and positive emotions are enhanced). Each of these scales consists of 10

items which are evaluated on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Research indicates that the TMMS has predictive and concurrent validity, as well as internal consistency

(Cronbach’s alpha coefficients reported as Attention: .86; Clarity: .88; Repair: .82). Predictive validity

and criterion validity have also been established through discriminant analysis and the attainment of

strong correlations with several related questionnaires, including the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the

Mood Awareness Scale (Swinkles & Giuliano, 1995). Overall, the TMMS subscales have good

psychometric properties (see Lee & Lee, 1997; Salovey et al., 2002).

Brief COPE (Carver, 1997). The 28-item Brief COPE contains 14 subscales, nine measuring

“adaptive” coping (i.e., active coping, planning, instrumental support, emotional support, humour,

reframing, self-distraction, acceptance, and religion), and five measuring “maladaptive” coping (i.e.,

venting, substance abuse, self-blame, behavioural disengagement, and denial). Participants were asked to

indicate how they have responded to a specific stressor in close interpersonal relationships and

occupational stressor they have experienced in the past year. Validity of the measure has been established

(see Carver et al., 1989; Schutte & Malouff, 1999). Carver (1977) found internal consistency of the Brief

COPE subscales to be as follows: Planning, .73; active coping, .68; acceptance, .57; positive reframing,

.64; religion, .82; humour, .73; instrumental support, .64; emotional support, .71; denial, .54; self-

distraction, .71; substance use, .90; venting, .50; self-blame, .69; behavioural disengagement, .65.

Because of the lower internal reliabilities of three of the subscales (i.e., acceptance, denial, and venting),

66

these three subscales were supplemented with five additional items in total (i.e., two additional items for

acceptance and venting; one additional item for denial) from the full version of the COPE questionnaire

(Carver, Scheier & Weintraub, 1989). The internal reliabilities on the full version of the COPE for

acceptance, venting, and denial are: .65, .77, and .71, respectively. Subsequent factor analysis of this

instrument indicated that these methods of coping can also be broadly categorized as active coping

(intention to act to reduce the stressor), emotion-focused coping (attempts to ameliorate one’s feelings of

stress), and avoidance coping (including denial and giving up) (Lyne & Rogers, 2000).

Emotional approach coping (EAC) scales (Stanton et al., 2000). These two scales (i.e.,

emotional expression and emotional processing, or active attempts to acknowledge and understand

emotions) were developed to demonstrate that items assessing emotion-focused coping in existing coping

questionnaires are confounded with distress and self-deprecation. The scales may be embedded in both

dispositional and situational versions of coping questionnaires, and in both versions, the scales

demonstrate high internal consistency (Cronbach’s ά = .72 to .94) and four-week test-retest reliability (r =

.72 to .78). While the two scales are moderately to substantially intercorrelated (r = .45 to .75), they

revealed convergent and discriminant validity with other variables (e.g., avoidance-oriented coping, self-

esteem, hope, depressive symptoms and trait anxiety) (see Park, Edmondson, Fenster & Blank, 2008).

Biological gender. Indicated by the endorsement of male or female in the demographic measure.

Personal attributes questionnaire (short form; Spence, Helmreich & Stapp, 1973; Spence &

Helmreich, 1978). The Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) is commonly used for assessing sex role

orientation. The short form is most widely used and consists of 24 items, eight of which represent

characteristics that are associated with more masculine behaviour (i.e., “instrumentality” or “agency”),

and eight of which represent characteristics that are associated with more feminine behaviour (i.e.,

“expressiveness”, or “communion”). The other eight items were originally designed to measure

“androgyny”, or behaviour that is seen as gender neutral. The agency items reflect a positive orientation

towards the self, including adjectives such as independent, self-confident and makes decisions easily. The

communion items reflect a positive orientation towards others, including adjectives such as helpful, kind

and understanding of others. Internal consistencies for the PAQ are reportedly strong, particularly with

67

the masculinity/instrumentality/agency and feminity/expressiveness/communion scales (alpha

coefficients in the .70 and .80 range), even in recent explorations of the measure’s reliability (Choi, 2004;

Hill et al., 2000; Spence & Helmreich, 1978).

Depression anxiety stress scales (DASS-21, short form; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). The

DASS-21 is designed to measure depression, hyperarousal, and tension in clinical and non-clinical

groups, with each scale consisting of seven items. The depression scale includes items that assess

dysphoric mood, low self-esteem, and anhedonia. The anxiety scale is composed of items that measure

physiological arousal and fear. Finally, the stress scale consists of items relating to a tendency to

overreact to stressful events, tension, and irritability (Antony et al., 1998). The three DASS scores can

also be summed to produce a global measure of negative emotional symptoms. In a non-clinical sample

(N = 1794), Cronbach’s alphas for the depression, anxiety, and stress subscales were .88, .82, .90,

respectively, and .93 for the total scale (Henry & Crawford, 2005). The validity of the scales has also

been established (Antony et al., 1998; Henry & Crawford, 2005).

Satisfaction with life scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985). The SWLS is a brief, five-item

measure designed to assess global life satisfaction (cognitive component) without tapping into affect. The

measure has proven good psychometric properties, including high internal consistency (Cronbach’s ά =

.87), and high temporal reliability with a two-month test-retest stability coefficient of .82. Predictive,

concurrent and discriminant validity have also been established. The SWLS was modified in the current

research to also assess the extent to which individuals are also satisfied with their home life, social life

and work life.

Positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, and Tellegen, 1988). The

PANAS (Watson, Clark, and Tellegen, 1988) was developed to measure two dominant and relatively

independent dimensions of affect: positive and negative affect. Positive affect reflects the extent to which

a person feels enthusiastic, active, and alert. Negative affect is a general dimension of subjective distress

and unpleasureable engagement. It encompasses several aversive mood states, such as anger, fear,

nervousness, disgust and guilt. The PANAS consists of two 10-item mood scales that have demonstrated

high internal consistency, stability, and convergent and discriminant validity. Watson et al. (1988)

68

reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the various time reference periods ranging from .86 to .90 for

the positive affect scale and .84 to .87 for the negative affect scale. For the general population, alpha was

.88 for positive affect and .87 for negative affect.

Procedure

A cross-sectional survey design was used to measure self-report questionnaire data collected in

2009 via an internet survey tool, “Survey Monkey”. The study was advertised through email recruitment

(see Appendix A) via various electronic mailing list servers, social networking, and other community

websites (e.g., www.craigslist.com). Participation was voluntary and participants’ anonymity was

maintained. The questionnaire protocols took participants approximately 30 minutes to complete. An

informed consent form was presented to participants upon entering the website (Appendix A).

In terms of privacy and confidentiality, individuals were informed that there would be no

identifying information requested. Individuals were informed that there is some degree of risk in terms of

privacy and confidentiality with online recruitment, such as viewing or tracking of online activity by

another party. However, every possible precaution was taken to eliminate the risk and ensure privacy and

confidentiality. Responses on the website remained secure by using SSL encryption. Moreover, responses

were automatically downloaded after completion of the survey to a fire-walled, secure, continuously-

monitored location and no online records of responses were kept.

Participants were required to agree to the terms of the study presented in the informed consent, as

well as the inclusion criteria (i.e., 18 to 65 years old, fluent in English, have been employed part-time or

full-time over the past 12 months) prior to being presented with the first questionnaire by clicking a

button. The reason for the age requirement was because the study investigates an adult population prior to

the standard age of retirement. Although many individuals work past retirement, they may choose to do

so for different reasons than individuals who are in their pre-retirement years, and the purpose of their

work may carry a different meaning in this stage of life. The reason for requiring that participants have

been employed over the past 12 months is because the current study investigates occupational stress, with

the stressor having occurred within the past 12 months. Most studies involving recall of events inquire

about short-term events that have transpired over no more than one year ago. The reason for this is that

69

memory function has been shown to significantly decline after one year. For example, research has shown

that 20% of critical details, selected at the time of occurrence to be "certainly” remembered, were

irretrievable after one year (see Bradburn et al., 1987). However, other researchers have found that time

of recall (even after one year period), was unrelated to life event measures, particularly with the provision

or elicitation of contextual and emotional cues (Byrne, Geraci and Uhde, 1987; Kessler, 1997).

Participants were informed that the purpose of the study was to examine the emotional processes

involved in coping with conflict in relationships and work stress. Participants completed the protocol on-

line at their leisure. For motivational purposes, a progress metre appeared on the computer screen

indicating how far along the participant was in completing the questionnaire, with words of

encouragement displayed at given points along the way (see Appendix A). At the conclusion of the

survey, participants were given the option of choosing one of six charity organizations in Canada to

which an anonymous donation of $5.00 was made by the primary researcher. The charities were: (1) Sick

Kids Hospital; (2) Canadian Cancer Society; (3) The Arthritis Society; (4) Heart & Stroke Foundation;

(5) Canadian Women’s Foundation; and, (6) The United Way. Upon completion of the protocol, the final

page (see Appendix A) again provided contact information with regards to any questions or concerns

participants may have had, as well as how to obtain the final results of the study. The questionnaire

protocols were administered in random order (i.e., the order of the questionnaires were changed with

approximately every twenty questionnaires completed). The Satisfaction with Life Scales were

administered at the end of each questionnaire package in order to minimize mood effects.

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Toronto, in

accordance with guidelines provided by the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research

Involving Humans, which include policies of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural

Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research

Council of Canada.

70

Chapter Three: Results

This chapter examines the diagnostic actions taken to ensure the integrity and appropriateness of

the data. Prior to data analysis, all items were examined for accuracy of data transfer and entry, and

principle components and cluster analyses were conducted on the gender, coping, and well-being

measures to obtain total variable scores. Next, variables were evaluated for missing values, and fit

between their distributions and the assumptions of univariate and multivariate analyses. Descriptive

statistics provided the sample characteristics, and the independent and dependent variable measures were

subjected to tests of reliability and validity. The issue of missing data was addressed, with the pattern of

missing data explored and steps taken to impute the missing data. Once these preliminary analyses were

completed, the data were subjected to bivariate and multivariate statistical procedures. Examples of the

relationship and work stressors provided by some of the participants are shown in Table 4 and Table 5.

Preliminary Analysis

The first step conducted to ensure the integrity of the data was to check the accuracy of transfer

of data from the internet-based protocol into the statistical computer program (Microsoft Excel and the

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 19.0; SPSS, Inc.). To complete this task, an

analysis of frequencies and descriptive statistics was conducted, and data ranges were verified for each

variable entered to ensure all data were within the prescribed ranges. Subscale scores were then computed

on all the questionnaires, with the exception of the coping strategies data and PAQ, which first required

an exploration of factor structures. In terms of exploratory analyses, the intercorrelations between the

research variables were examined for data to support the validity of the interpretations of the research

measures. Preliminary analyses revealed that correlations between the TMMS and well-being were

unexpectedly reversed, which led to a re-examination of the data transferred. The re-examination rectified

a survey protocol default on SurveyMonkey, requiring data to be reverse-keyed only for the TMMS.

70

71

Table 4 Stressor in Close Interpersonal Relationships Examples Provided By Participants My brother and I have a little strain in our relationship lately over money.

After twenty-two years of being at the hip, both mother/daughter and best friends, with my mother, I am ready to move out with a partner and there has been a lot of anger and emotion about this because she feels she is not ready though I am.

I want person A to take more responsibility for housework as person A is not employed. I try not to be resentful or to mention circumstances beyond person A's control usually, but when I get frustrated I make remarks more and more frequently for a few days until I finally start to yell at person A as I feel like all responsibility is on my shoulders. I 'vent' for a while, then we hug and sit down and talk about what stresses have triggered the outburst.

I am not liked by my husband’s family and it bothers me a lot. They don't like me because they think I am not good enough for him. I have none of my family around me and no friends, sometimes I feel so alone.

Friend and I have had several disagreements about her lack of confidence/need for approval and subsequent disagreements about self-centredness.

Had a conflict with a friend who I thought wasn’t putting in enough time in our friendship, so I sent him a email outlining the problem, got no response, and deleted him from Facebook.

I no longer see my husband's father and step-mother. The last time I did she told me, after I had an obvious weight gain, that if she gained 20 pounds she would kill herself. My husband didn't stand up for me. She is notorious for calling my husband names and telling him he's a loser and nobody says anything about her behaviour. I have tried to. But I have found that after these dinners with them it takes me a long time to recover and my state of mind is too fragile to include myself and put myself up to her scrutiny so I don't go. My husband still goes and I feel horrible about the entire situation.

My spouse started and maintained a close and flirty relationship with a woman that I do not know well.

I've had emotional stress with my mother that never has a real outward conflict but is extremely difficult as we don't talk at all except about 'the weather'. I feel constant disapproval and there is a general incompatibility in our tastes, values, morals.

My parents thought that I was going out with friends too much than spending time with family. I don’t usually go out a lot and I am old enough to decide what I want, but that day they just put me down so bad. I felt as if my parents are hypocrites and don’t care about my feelings.

As the oldest child in my family I often feel like I am in the middle when it comes to my parents’ very recent divorce.

A family member is an alcoholic who phones me while drunk to accuse me of things and say

72

offensive manipulative things about other family members. I refuse to engage in these arguments, usually.

I desire the opposite sex to a fault, and while I have never cheated, it eats me up inside, and I find that I tend to retreat inwards when it comes to the reality of a committed relationship, and this causes stress and conflict with my partner.

Dealing with estate planning for Parent A with Parent B no longer alive and Sibling A and Sibling B. Sibling A is married with her own children/husband; Sibling B is single.

I am gay and don't want to tell my parents about it. My parents live in China and during past few years, I almost call them every day. While I was turning 40 years old last year, my parents pressed me to marry more and more. Once my mom told me over the phone she felt shame because I am still single. I got very angry. I hung up the phone and didn't call them for several weeks.

Table 5 Occupational Stressor Examples Provided By Participants Office gossip and how draining it is to walk into work with my head held high, while co-workers

under the age of 25 play silly games.

I did not like co-worker A, and they had a really stuck up attitude. I did not realize that co-worker A had been working at the establishment as long as she had, and I thought she was newer than me (and co-worker A thought I was newer than her) when really we started around the same time, and never ended up working together until later on. She took over the space that I had been set-up in, so I had to find another spot in the establishment to work. She also took over cash handling responsibilities ... I didn't trust her and felt that she was going to steal money that was rightfully mine.

Not getting enough commission work and my boss talking behind my back.

I work for a family on a pretty irregular basis. They booked me recently for 3 days in a row and then the morning of, they e-mailed me to cancel. I find this stressful because I really rely on that money, and this is becoming a habit of theirs.

Boss was trying to be very cheap about attending a conference.

I had 9 patients die in the span of 3 hours.

I am often pressured to get something done quickly, usually with vague instructions, faulty equipment, and unfamiliar locations. I work long hours on my feet.

I was bullied by my manager. She would belittle me in front of others and tell me my work and ability were disappointing. I didn't feel good about my job performance.

73

I experienced stress at work when advocating for patients but coming up against resistance from hospital staff due to difference in opinion, ignorance, bureaucratic issues, etc. Stress arises when you realize the discordance between what you know to be best practice, and what you are actually providing the clients.

I dislike my job. It is high stress- shift work, poor working conditions, no breaks, dangerous and lacks consistency. I have been trying to get out of this job for over a year now.

I had just begun a new job. The demands of the job were a lot to handle - I was pulling 12 hour days trying to prove myself in a new role. I became very stressed out for a few days when my boss asked me to do multiple assignments which put me 'under the gun'. I got the work done, but it was a ton of work, and I really tried hard to do a good job because I was new to the role.

Dealing with politics.

A male colleague has a very demanding personality and when things do not go the way exactly the way he wants it, he belittles and mutters sexist comments to the person who is helping. I was assisting this colleague and experienced his outbursts. I retaliated by explaining that he could do the work himself.

I become very stressed when there is lack of autonomy. I was comfortable in my work environment and adapting to new management however, a particular person, Person A, began to crowd my space, second guessing my tasks, duties and responsibilities. He was not genuine in his approach and very overbearing. I felt devalued and degraded, so I left my job.

I have been struggling with unrealistic workload and demands. My boss requires me to work overtime to complete paperwork and it's very draining on my personal life.

This work stress relates to job security. My boss is person A. I like working for person A but he went through a difficult time recently because of economic difficulties. He was not sure he could keep the business afloat. As a result, he became rather depressed. He spends many work hours talking about how bad things were... making employees very nervous. Some began believing the business was doomed and began considering other jobs. I started considering what my next job would be, when this business would fail. Person A convinced many employees that the business probably would not recover. It was very difficult coming to work during this time. I found myself avoiding person A because of his "doom and gloom" attitude.

74

Data screening: statistical assumptions. Prior to evaluating study hypotheses, data screening

was completed, which included an examination of the descriptive statistics for all the variables, univariate

outliers, linearity and homoscedasticity, homogeneity of variance, normality, multivariate outliers,

multicollinearity and singularity, and missing data, to ensure assumptions were met. All variables were

examined for influential cases to ensure the variable distributions met statistical assumptions of the

planned analyses. Boxplots revealed relatively few outliers (less than or equal to five outliers per

variable) for attention, clarity, repair, agency, communion, negative affect, positive affect, anxiety, and

denial (for both work and relationship contexts), with nine outliers for alcohol/drug Use (work), 13

outliers for alcohol/drug use (relationships), 16 outliers for religion (relationship), and 18 outliers for

religion (work)4. Subsequent preliminary analyses were performed for variables without the outliers, with

variables transformed to approximate normal, and with winsorization of outliers. It was decided that

winsorization proved to be the best alternative as it adequately reduced the impact of the outliers while

maintaining sample size and power. Transformation was not used because of the difficulty it presented

with the interpretation of the results.

All variables were screened for univariate normality. First, upon visual examination of

histograms, normal P-P and Q-Q plots, it appeared that some of the variables slightly deviated from

normal. Normality was further assessed by inspection of skewness and kurtosis values for each of the

study variables, as well as the use of a more objective tests of univariate normality (the Kolmogorov-

Smirnov index5), and suggested that a number of variables were approximately nonnormally distributed,

with the exception of the following 11 variables: Clarity, agency, well-being, emotional expression

(relationship), emotional processing (work), venting/self-blame (relationship and work), active coping

(relationship and work), acceptance (work), and relationship coping satisfaction (see Table 6 to Table 9).

75

Table 6 Descriptive Statistics for Emotional Intelligence and Gender Variables

n Mean/Pooled Mean1

Std. Dev. Var. Skew Ratio Kurtosis Ratio

Overall EI 287 10.62/10.65 1.61 2.59 -.87 -1.32

Attention 287 3.72/3.72 .63 .39 -2.26 -0.85

Clarity 287 3.39/3.40 .71 .51 -1.53 -0.64

Repair 287 3.50/3.52 .83 .69 -3.29 -0.73

Agency 289 3.42/3.43 .62 .38 -0.80 -1.10

Communion 289 3.98 .64 .41 -3.47 -1.25

1 Pooled mean only shown if it is different from the mean for the listwise data.

Table 7 Descriptive Statistics for Relationship Coping Strategies

n Mean/Pooled Mean1

Std. Dev. Var. Skew Ratio Kurtosis Ratio

Emotional Expression 266 2.39/2.38 .81 .66 1.55 -1.93

Support from Others/ Social Support 273 2.25 .92 .84 2.65 -2.71

Emotional Processing 266 2.68/2.67 .84 .70 0.00 -3.35

Venting/Self-Blame 273 2.39 .75 .56 1.15 -2.43

Active Coping 273 2.69 .79 .62 -0.55 -2.91

Acceptance 266 2.76 .76 .57 0.30 -3.18

Denial 273 1.55 .66 .43 8.12 2.32

Alcohol/Drug Use 273 1.51/1.52 .79 .62 9.07 1.81

Religion 265 1.61/1.60 .85 .72 7.60 -0.27

Humour 266 1.92/1.91 .86 .74 4.58 -1.24


76

Table 8 Descriptive Statistics for Work Coping Strategies

n Mean1 Std. Dev. Var. Skew Ratio Kurtosis Ratio

Emotional Expression 274 2.29/2.28 .83 .70 2.43 -1.72

Support from Others 277 2.47 .87 .76 0.58 -3.12

Emotional Processing 273 2.61 .80 .64 -0.09 -2.13

Venting/Self-Blame 277 2.21 .74 .54 1.71 -2.34

Active Coping 277 2.82 .78 .61 -1.56 -2.45

Acceptance 274 2.62/2.61 .73 .54 1.41 -2.25

Denial 277 1.49/1.50 .64 .41 8.20 2.38

Alcohol/Drug Use 277 1.46 .74 .55 9.65 2.59

Religion 274 1.58/1.57 .81 .66 8.40 0.96

Humour 274 2.24/2.22 .98 .96 2.43 -3.22


77

Table 9 Descriptive Statistics for Well-Being Scales

n Mean1 Std. Dev. Var. Skew Ratio Kurtosis Ratio

Subjective Well-Being 254 -.01/-.02 .71 .51 -1.86 -2.06

Positive Affect 254 3.32 .84 .71 -2.82 -0.83

Negative Affect 254 2.42 .88 .77 3.81 -0.79

Stress 250 2.15 .73 .53 2.12 -1.90

Depression 250 1.94 .83 .70 4.45 -1.84

Anxiety 250 1.69 .67 .45 5.91 -0.55

General Life Satisfaction 250 4.27/4.26 1.66 2.75 -1.92 -3.16

Social Life Satisfaction 250 3.77 1.72 2.94 -0.25 -3.58

Career Life Satisfaction 247 3.77/3.75 1.88 3.54 0.34 -4.02

Home Life Satisfaction 250 4.35 1.74 3.03 -2.10 -2.94


Where possible, the analyses were conducted using both parametric and nonparametric methods

to address the issue of nonnormality. Because results were similar across methods, the results presented

were conducted using mostly parametric methods. It is no surprise that the results were similar across

methods, since it has long been established that the violation of normality assumptions in parametric

statistical analyses is of little to no significance because parametric methods have shown to be quite

robust, particularly with large sample sizes. In fact, Box (1953) mocked the idea of testing the variances

prior to applying an F-test, “To make a preliminary test on variances is rather like putting to sea in a

rowing boat to find out whether conditions are sufficiently calm for an ocean liner to leave port! (p.

333).” Monte Carlo simulations (research using dummy data) have found the t-test, correlation, analysis

of variance, least-squares regression, factor analysis, and related linear techniques to be relatively robust

78

against non-extreme deviations from normality provided errors are not severely asymmetric and sample

size is large (Bennett, 1977; Glass et al., 1972; Lumley et al., 2002; StatSoft, Inc., 2010; Vasu, 1979)6.

Log-linear analysis, logistic regression, and related techniques using maximum likelihood estimation are

even more robust against moderate departures from normality (Steenkamp & van Trijp, 1991).

Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) suggest that with large samples, variables with statistically

significant skewness and kurtosis usually do not deviate sufficiently from normality to contribute to

significant differences in the analyses. They cite research revealing that with positive kurtosis,

underestimation of variance disappears with samples of 100 or more cases, whereas underestimates of

variance associated with negative kurtosis disappear with samples of 200 or more (see Waternaux, 1976).

It has also been recognized that current nonparametric tests typically do not possess the power, versatility,

and extension to multivariate situations that characterize their parametric counterparts (Labovitz, 1970),

so the tendency to embrace nonparametric techniques is frequently undesirable and often unwarranted

(Nunnally, 1967; Pringle, 1976).

Univariate multicollinearity was tested by screening for large bivariate correlations (a cutoff of r

≥ .85 is typically used). However, no evidence of multicollinearity was found, with correlations among

variables not being in excess of r = .61.

Data Reduction

Coping strategies factors for stress in close interpersonal relationships and the workplace.

Once the data had been initially screened, the next issue for analysis was to reduce the data via factor

analytic methods in order to determine the factor structures of the coping and gender measures for this

particular sample. The dimensionality of the 41 coping items was examined through factor analysis (FA)

to identify and compute composite coping scores for underlying factors. The following widely used

criteria were applied as guidelines to determine the number of factors to rotate: 1) eigenvalues being over

1; 2) an examination of breaks in the scree plots; 3) the proportion of variance accounted for by the last

factor deemed large enough to be important (e.g., at least 5%) (Kahn, 2006); 4) the total variance

accounted for by the factor solution (at least 40% and above, Tinsley & Tinsley, 1987), and; 5) the

interpretability of the factor solution. A fifth criterion which was applied to enable comparison of coping

79

strategies between work and relationship contexts in further analyses was a common factor structure.

Several factor structures (with various rotation methods) were compared for consistencies of item

loadings across contexts, resulting in the removal of the following six items from the final factor

solutions: 1, 6, 12, 16, 17, and 19. Data screening for both relationship and work items suggested

reasonable factorability, using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy (at least

.6) and significant results on Bartlett’s test of sphericity.

Close interpersonal relationship coping strategies factors. The dimensionality of the 35 items

retained from the coping questionnaire was investigated using various extraction and rotation methods7.

The final solution used a principal components extraction method8. Communality values tended to be

moderate to high (ranging .54 to .88). Both oblique and orthogonal rotations were explored, and revealed

an acceptable 10-factor solution, which was identical across the method of rotation. Although the original

authors of the COPE instrument used an oblique rotation, the current research presents the orthogonal

solution because the varimax rotation seemed to provide a relatively simpler solution while maintaining a

factor structure identical to that of a promax rotation. The varimax-rotated solution, yielding ten

interpretable factors, is shown in Table 10. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was .81 and Bartlett’s test

of sphericity was significant (χ2 (595) = 5086.69, p < .001) (see Table 11).

80

Table 10 Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation of Coping Strategies for Stress in Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire Items Coping Strategies -

Relationship

1 – Emotional Expression

41. I’ve allowed myself to express my emotions. .83 42. I’ve let my feelings come out freely. .83 40. I’ve taken time to expression my emotions. .81 39. I’ve felt free to express my emotions. .75 21. I’ve been letting my feelings out. .53

2 – Support from Others

10. I’ve been getting help and advice from other people. .87 5. I’ve been getting emotional support from others. .85 23. I’ve been trying to get advice or help from other people about what to do.

.83

15. I’ve been getting comfort and understanding from someone. .81

3 – Emotional Processing

37. I’ve taken time to figure out what I’m really feeling. .86 38. I’ve delved into my feelings to get a thorough understanding of them.

.84

36. I’ve realized that my feelings are valid and important. .76 35. I’ve acknowledged my emotions. .64

4 – Venting / Self-Blame

30. I’ve been getting upset, and am really aware of it. .77 33. I’ve been feeling a lot of emotional distress and finding myself expressing those feelings a lot.

.77

13. I’ve been criticizing myself. .68 26. I’ve been blaming myself for the things that happened. .63 3. I’ve been getting upset and letting my emotions out. .62

5 – Active Coping

14. I’ve been trying to come up with a strategy about what to do. .79 7. I’ve been taking action to try to make the situation better. .77 2. I’ve been concentrating my efforts on doing something about the situation I’m in.

.76

25. I’ve been thinking hard about what steps to take. .75

6 – Acceptance

29. I’ve been getting used to the idea that it happened. .84

81

20. I’ve been accepting that it has happened and that it can’t be changed. .76 24. I’ve been learning to live with it. .78 31. I’ve been accepting the reality of the fact that it happened. .72

7 – Denial

34. I’ve been pretending that it hasn’t really happened. .87 32. I’ve been acting as though it hasn’t even happened. .83 8. I’ve been refusing to believe that it has happened. .59

8 – Alcohol/Drug Use9

11. I’ve been using alcohol or other drugs to get me through it. .91 4. I’ve been using alcohol or other drugs to make myself feel better. .90

9 – Religion

22. I’ve been trying to find comfort in my religion or spiritual beliefs. .90 27. I’ve been praying or meditating. .89

10 – Humour

28. I’ve been making fun of the situation. .90 18. I’ve been making jokes about it. .86

Note. n = 244. Only loadings in absolute magnitude above .50 are presented. Table 11 Total Variance Explained and Cronbach’s Alpha for the Coping Factors for Stress in Interpersonal Relationships

Relationship Coping Factor Items Percent (%) of

Variance Accounted For

Cronbach’s

Alpha

F1 - Emotional Expression 21, 39, 40, 41, 42 10.88 .90

F2 - Support from Others 5, 10, 15, 23 9.36 .91

F3 - Emotional Processing 35, 36, 37, 38 8.68 .89

F4 - Venting/Self-Blame 3, 13, 26, 30, 33 8.50 .78

F5 - Active Coping 2, 7, 14, 25 7.99 .82

F6 - Acceptance 20, 24, 29, 31 7.36 .80

F7 - Denial 8, 32, 34 5.84 .71

F8 - Alcohol/Drug Use 4, 11 5.80 .89

F9 - Religion 22, 27 5.13 .88

F10-Humour 18, 28 4.99 .79

Total ---- 74.53 ---- Note: *The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was .81 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ2 (595) = 5086.69, p < .001).

82

Coping strategies factors for workplace stress. The dimensionality of the 35 items retained from

the coping questionnaire for work stress was investigated using various extraction and rotation methods10.

The final solution used a principal components extraction method11. Although the initial solution

suggested nine factors, upon further examination a forced ten-factor solution was adopted which was

comparable to the relationship coping strategies, and based on prior research, eigenvalues12, and increased

levels of communalities among the individual items. Thus, the results of the ten-factor solution are

presented below (see Table 12). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was .83 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity

was significant (χ2 (595) = 5520.33, p < .001) (see Table 13). Communality values tended to be moderate

to high (ranging .40 to .94). Both oblique and orthogonal rotations were explored, and revealed an

acceptable ten-factor solution, which was identical across the method of rotation, as well as with the

factors that emerged in the factor solution for coping strategies in the context of stress in close

interpersonal relationships (above). Although the original authors of the COPE instrument used an

oblique rotation, the current research presents the orthogonal solutions because identical factor structures

emerged across the rotation types, and varimax rotations seemed to provide relatively simpler solutions,

while maintaining a factor structure identical to that of a promax rotation.

83

Table 12 Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation of Coping Strategies for Workplace Stress Questionnaire Items Coping Strategy – Work

1 – Emotional Expression

41. I’ve allowed myself to express my emotions. .84 42. I’ve let my feelings come out freely. .81 40. I’ve taken time to expression my emotions. .80 39. I’ve felt free to express my emotions. .77 21. I’ve been letting my feelings out. .71

2 – Support from Others

10. I’ve been getting help and advice from other people. .84 15. I’ve been getting comfort and understanding from someone. .83 23. I’ve been trying to get advice or help from other people about what to do.

.81

5. I’ve been getting emotional support from others. .81

3 – Emotional Processing

37. I’ve taken time to figure out what I’m really feeling. .84 38. I’ve delved into my feelings to get a thorough understanding of them.

.81

36. I’ve realized that my feelings are valid and important. .68 35. I’ve acknowledged my emotions. .63

4 – Venting / Self-Blame

30. I’ve been getting upset, and am really aware of it. .79 33. I’ve been feeling a lot of emotional distress and finding myself expressing those feelings a lot.

.73

13. I’ve been criticizing myself. .72 26. I’ve been blaming myself for the things that happened. .66 3. I’ve been getting upset and letting my emotions out. .64

5 – Active Coping

14. I’ve been trying to come up with a strategy about what to do. .85 2. I’ve been concentrating my efforts on doing something about the situation I’m in.

.82

25. I’ve been thinking hard about what steps to take. .80 7. I’ve been taking action to try to make the situation better. .79

6 – Acceptance

29. I’ve been getting used to the idea that it happened. .81 31. I’ve been accepting the reality of the fact that it happened. .80

84

24. I’ve been learning to live with it. .75 20. I’ve been accepting that it has happened and that it can’t be changed. .71

7 – Denial

32. I’ve been acting as though it hasn’t even happened. .87 34. I’ve been pretending that it hasn’t really happened. .86 8. I’ve been refusing to believe that it has happened. .55

8 – Alcohol/ Drug Use

11. I’ve been using alcohol or other drugs to get me through it. .95 4. I’ve been using alcohol or other drugs to make myself feel better. .94

9 – Religion

22. I’ve been trying to find comfort in my religion or spiritual beliefs. .89 27. I’ve been praying or meditating. .88

10 – Humour

18. I’ve been making jokes about it. .91 28. I’ve been making fun of the situation. .90

Note. n = 248. Only loadings in absolute magnitude above .50 are presented. Table 13 Total Variance Explained and Cronbach’s Alpha for Coping Strategies for Workplace Stress

Work Coping Factor Items Percent (%) of

Variance Accounted For

Cronbach’s

Alpha

F1 - Emotional Expression 21, 39, 40, 41, 42 11.92 .93 F2 - Support from Others 5, 10, 15, 23 9.00 .89 F3 - Emotional Processing 35, 36, 37, 38 8.17 .88 F4 - Venting/Self-Blame 3, 13, 26, 30, 33 8.31 .79 F5 - Active Coping 2, 7, 14, 25 8.49 .86 F6 - Acceptance 20, 24, 29, 31 7.53 .80 F7 - Denial 8, 32, 34 6.03 .73 F8 - Alcohol/Drug Use 4, 11 5.86 .92 F9 - Religion 22, 27 5.14 .87 F10-Humour 18, 28 5.12 .87 Total ---- 75.58 ---- Note: *The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was .83 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ2 (595) = 5520.33, p < .001). ** In order to maintain consistency and clarity, the above work coping factors were re-numbered according to the ordering of factors which emerged from the FA of the stress in close interpersonal relationships coping items in the previous section.

85

Gender. Although recent research has confirmed the reliability of the somewhat dated PAQ, there

has been some concern around the internal consistency of the androgyny scale. Initially, a FA was

conducted on the 24-item questionnaire, but because it produced uninterpretable results, only the eight

instrumentality and eight expressivity items from the original scale were included in further analyses13.

Various extraction and rotation methods for the 16 items retained were explored, with the final solution

using a principal components extraction method. Communality values tended to be low to moderate

(ranging from .18 to .63)14. Both oblique and orthogonal rotations were explored, and revealed an

interpretable two factor solution, which was similar across the method of rotation. The two factor

varimax-rotated solution is shown in Table 14. Factor one, “communion” (loading items 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 15,

21, and 22), accounted for 24.27% of the variance. Factor two, “agency” (loading items 2, 6, 10, 16, 17,

19, 20 and 24), accounted for 18.78% of the variance. Cronbach’s alphas were moderate to strong (.74 for

agency and .81 for communion). No substantial increases in alpha for either scale could have been

achieved by eliminating more items. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was .81 and Bartlett’s test of

sphericity was significant (χ2 (120) = 1267.76, p < .001).

86

Table 14 Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation of Gender

Items Components

1 – Communion

2 – Agency

G21: Understanding of others .79

G12: Kind .76

G15: Aware of feelings of others .75

G22: Warm in relations with others .71

G9: Helpful to others .70

G7: Able to devote self completely to others .63

G8: Gentle .59

G3: Emotionala .38

G19: Self-confident .76

G20: Feels superior .67

G24: Stands up well under pressure .63

G6: Active .58

G2: Independent .57

G16R b: Can make decisions easily .56

G17: Never gives up easily .49

G10: Competitive .41

Note. n = 269. These are varimax-rotated principal components. Only loadings in absolute magnitude above .38 are presented. a Although the loading of this item (“emotional”) was low on the communion factor, its removal did not significantly increase the internal reliability of the scale. Other researchers have noted the same finding (i.e., Helgeson et al., 2007; Voci & Kramer, 2009), which appears to be sample-specific, but have removed the item because it significantly increased the reliability of the scale. b This item loaded negatively, as in the literature, and was reversed.

Subjective well-being composite. Because the measures of well-being were significantly

intercorrelated (r = -.21 to .73, all ps < .001; see Table 15), I constructed an overall subjective well-being

composite by reverse scoring the negative indices (i.e., negative affect, stress, depression, anxiety) to

render them all in the same direction, standardizing the scores across well-being measures to render them

in the same scale, and averaging them together into an overall well-being index (Cronbach’s alpha = .87)

(see Table 16).

87

Table 15 Intercorrelations Using Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficients for Scales Comprising Well-Being

NA Stress Depress. Anxiety GLS SLS CLS HLS

Positive Affect (PA) -.26** -.24** -.52** -.21** .49** .49** .35** .34**

Negative Affect (NA) .73** .67** .62** -.42** -.32** -.28** -.30**

Stress .71** .72** -.38** -.33** -.34** -.30**

Depression .64** -.57** -.48** -.37** -.46**

Anxiety -.37** -.30** -.26** -.27**

General Life Satisfaction .66** .54** .65**

Social Life Satisfaction .38** .49**

Career Life Satisfaction .28**

Home Life Satisfaction ---- Table 16 Subjective Well-Being Component

Subjective Well-

Being

Positive Affect .59

Negative Affect -.74

Stress -.76

Depression -.87

Anxiety -.70

General Life Satisfaction .79

Social Life Satisfaction .69

Career Life Satisfaction .58

Home Life Satisfaction .63

Note. n = 247. These are varimax-rotated principal components.

Diagnostics/Missing Values

Understanding when and why variables are missing is crucial. An overall summary of missing

values is presented in Figure 5. The rate that each variable was missing was examined, as well as the

pattern of variable absence. The percentage of missing values across variables in the dataset ranged from

1.0% to 17.7%, with five variables having no missing values (i.e., sex, employed over past 12 months, if

currently employed, marital status, and fluency in English) (see Table 17).

88

Figure 5. Overall Summary of Missing Values. Table 17 Percentage of Missing Data

n

Missing

Count Percent

Age 297 3 1.0

Sex 300 0 .0

Marital Status 300 0 .0

Level of Education 297 3 1.0

Native Language 291 9 3.0

Country 298 2 .7

Relationship Coping Satisfaction 264 36 12.0

Work Coping Satisfaction 268 32 10.7

Attention 287 13 4.3

Clarity 287 13 4.3

Repair 287 13 4.3

EI 287 13 4.3

Agency 289 11 3.7

Communion 289 11 3.7R1: Emotional Expression 266 34 11.3R2: Support from Others 273 27 9.0R3: Emotional Processing 266 34 11.3R4: Venting/Self-Blame 273 27 9.0R5: Active Coping 273 27 9.0R6: Acceptance 266 34 11.3R7: Denial 273 27 9.0R8: Alcohol/Drug Use 273 27 9.0R9: Religion 265 35 11.7

89

R10: Humour 266 34 11.3W1: Emotional Expression 274 26 8.7W2: Support from Others 277 23 7.7W3: Emotional Processing 273 27 9.0W4: Venting/Self-Blame 277 23 7.7W5: Active Coping 277 23 7.7W6: Acceptance 274 26 8.7W7: Denial 277 23 7.7W8: Alcohol/Drug Use 277 23 7.7W9: Religion 274 26 8.7W10: Humour 274 26 8.7

Positive Affect 254 46 15.3

Negative Affect 254 46 15.3

Stress 250 50 16.7

Depression 250 50 16.7

Anxiety 250 50 16.7

General Life Satisfaction 250 50 16.7

Social Life Satisfaction 250 50 16.7

Career Life Satisfaction 247 53 17.7

Home Life Satisfaction 250 50 16.7

Well-Being 254 46 15.3

In addressing missing data, many researchers explain that pairwise deletion, mean substitution,

and regression-based single imputation should never be used, even with small rates of missingness.

However, they conditionally endorse the use of complete cases analysis, particularly with a small

proportion of missing data (Graham et al., 2003). Experts have not arrived at an agreement with respect to

the percentage of missing data that becomes problematic. Schafer (1999) recommended 5% as the cutoff

for listwise deletion for missing data. Bennett (2001) suggested that when more than 10% of data is

missing, statistical analyses are likely to be biased; and yet others have used 20%.

More recently, multiple imputation (MI) has been gaining much attention as an optimal method

of dealing with missing data because it has been shown to result in more efficient and unbiased parameter

estimates and standard errors in comparison with other methods (e.g., single imputation with expectation-

maximization, full-information maximum likelihood), even when a high percentage of data is missing. It

also accommodates various other data scenarios, including but not limited to normality violations15,

90

categorical data, nested and clustered data, and small sample sizes. MI has proven to provide acceptable

estimations of regression coefficients and standard errors across both missing completely at random

(MCAR) and missing at random (MAR) data patterns (Cole, 2008).

Implementing MI requires that the data are missing completely at random (MCAR) or missing at

random (MAR), conditional on the imputation model16. In MCAR, the probability of nonresponse is

independent of either observed or missing values. It is important to note that when nonresponse is

MCAR, deletion (or complete case analysis) is a potential strategy given that the randomness of the

missing values does not induce bias, although efficiency and power will be negatively affected (Schafer

& Graham, 2002). Data that are missing at random (MAR) require a pattern where the missing data are

related to observed data (i.e., another variable in the dataset), but not to the missing data (Schlomer,

Bauman, & Card, 2010). An example of MAR may occur when a participant accidentally omits an

answer on a questionnaire.

Little’s (1998) missing completely at random (MCAR) test was conducted to confirm the

distribution of missing values and suggested that all missing values were missing completely at random

(Chi-Square = 908.68, df = 875, p = .21). As a follow-up, a series of t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic

regression was undertaken to assess whether individuals who generated responses on the scales (e.g.,

depression) and individuals who did not generate responses on scales differed on other variables (e.g.,

Sex, clarity, attention, Communion, etc). Non-significant findings suggested that missing data on the

variables were random; otherwise, at least one variable should differ between individuals who responded

to this variable and individuals who did not respond to this variable.

The first step in MI, proposed by Rubin (1987), is to create several imputed datasets. Then, data

analysis is performed on each dataset, with the parameter estimates and their standard errors saved for

each dataset. Final results are obtained by averaging (pooling) the parameter estimates across these

multiple analyses, which results in an unbiased parameter estimate.17 The standard errors of the parameter

estimates are based on both the standard errors of the analysis of each dataset and the dispersion of

parameter estimates across datasets. By accounting for the random fluctuations that occur between each

91

imputation run in this way, the MI procedure provides accurate standard errors and therefore, accurate

inferential conclusions (Enders, 2010; Schlomer, Bauman & Card, 2010).

The imputation model. The issue of performing multiple imputations at the scale- or item-level

was considered. Schafer and Graham (2002) have suggested that if MI is not practical for item-level

imputation, then imputation after averaging of the available items works reasonably well, especially if the

reliability is moderately high (Cronbach’s alpha > .70), and the items to be averaged form a single unified

construct. As a rule of thumb, Cole (2008) suggests that researchers consider if the level of analysis will

take place on summary scores or item-level data. If statistical analyses are on scale-level data, then there

may not be much advantage to imputing the item-level data. The current data were imputed on a scale

level. Essentially, missing data occurs for this analysis when someone skips an entire section, not items

within scales. Monte Carlo studies of missing data in multiple item scales have found that under a broad

range of conditions, using the average of non-missing items to impute missing scale items leads to

extremely low levels of bias (e.g., with correlations changing in the third decimal place) (Fichman &

Cummings, 2003; Roth, Switzer & Switzer, 1999).

Next, the number of missing datasets to impute was considered. Little and Rubin (1987) and

Schenker (1986) have demonstrated that even in extreme cases where the proportion of missing

information constituted about a third of the dataset, no more than five replicates (m<= 5) of the model

provides efficient estimates. Three to five imputations are generally considered adequate (e.g., Schafer,

1997), although some researchers argue that 10 or 20 imputations provide higher efficiency rates. For

example, with 50% missing information, m = 10 imputations provides 95 % efficiency, while additional

imputations do little to remove noise from the estimate itself (see Schafer & Graham, 2002; Schlomer et

al., 2010). In the current study, 10 imputations were used.

Given the size of the dataset and space/memory limitations, certain decisions were made

regarding which variables to impute and how to specify the imputation models18. With respect to the

imputation model, at minimum, it must include any variables that will be used in a subsequent statistical

analysis. Additional variables to include in the MI model include auxiliary variables and interaction

92

variables that may be used in the statistical analysis. Auxiliary variables are variables that are ancillary to

the research questions of interest, but are potential correlates of missingness or correlates of one or more

variables that have missing data. Auxiliary variables help improve estimation of the missing data,

particularly if the auxiliary variables are highly correlated with the variables that have higher rates of

missingness (Cole, 2008). They also help improve estimation for the possibility of NMAR missingness.

In an MI model, the inclusion of interaction variables which may be used in the statistical

analysis is advised in order to preserve higher-order effects. Cole (2008) cautions that the MI model and

analytic model should be compatible, and that including interactional information that will not be

analyzed will lead to spurious underfitting of the data, leading to poor predictive power, and increasing

the odds of a Type II error. Preliminary analyses using a centering technique (see Enders, 2010) to

compute the interactions between all possible combinations of IVs were conducted (via regression) and

revealed no significant interaction effects (Cole, 2008; Enders, 2010; Graham, 2009; Schlomer, Bauman

& Card, 2010)19. Thus, the MI models used in the current investigation primarily included the analysis

variables, as well as two auxiliary variables, with separate models imputed for relationship and coping

strategies. I noticed that when fewer auxiliary were included, the more closely the analysis results were to

the original data. Overall, the results using the MI dataset were consistent with the original dataset.

Data analysis was primarily conducted in SPSSv.19.01. This version of SPSS allows the

imputation of missing values by regression models that are appropriate to the type of variable being

imputed: Linear for more or less continuous variables and logistic for ordinal categorical data. MI using

the predictive mean matching method was used. It is similar to the regression method except that for each

missing value, it imputes an observed value which is closest to the predicted value from the simulated

regression model (Rubin 1987, p. 168). The predictive mean matching method ensures that imputed

values are plausible and may be more appropriate than the regression method if the normality assumption

is violated (Horton and Lipsitz 2001, p. 246). Multivariate outliers were set to missing and subsequently

imputed, because they could exert undue influence on the parameter estimates and inflate the variability

93

of the multiple imputations (C. Enders, personal communication, March 31, 2011; also see Arnold &

Kronmal, 2003).

Statistical Analyses

Hypothesis one: EI will be related to distinct coping strategies for stress in close

interpersonal relationships and the workplace. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were computed

among the ten coping strategies (stress in close interpersonal relationships) and EI20. Using the

Bonferroni approach to control for Type I error across the 10 correlations, a p value of less than .01

(.10/10 = .01) was required for significance21. The results of the correlational analyses presented in Table

18 show that within the context of stress in close interpersonal relationships, overall EI was positively

related to emotional expression, support from others, emotional processing, active coping, and religion.

However, EI was also negatively related to venting/self-blame, denial, and alcohol/drug use.

Further investigation into the construct of EI and its relationship with coping was pursued

evaluating the relationship between the EI subscales components and coping strategies, to ensure similar

patterns of relationships with coping strategies emerged among the three EI subscales. Pearson’s

correlation coefficients were computed among the ten coping strategies (for stress in close interpersonal

relationships) and three subscales comprising EI (clarity, attention, repair)22. Using the Bonferroni

approach to control for Type I error across the 30 EI subscale correlations, a p value of less than .003

(.10/30 = .003) was required for significance. However, p values of less than .015 for the EI subscales are

shown as well. The results of the correlational analyses (see Table 18) show that in general, attention to

emotional information was significantly related to increased use of emotional expression, support from

others, emotional processing, and decreased use of humour. Correlations approached a level of

significance between attention and active coping in a positive direction, and negatively with alcohol/drug

use. Emotional clarity was positively associated with emotional expression, emotional processing, as well

as negatively with venting/self-blame and denial strategies. Ability to repair mood was positively related

to emotional expression, support from others, emotional processing, active coping, and religion, but

negatively to venting/self-blame. Overall, the patterns of relationships were similar among the EI

94

subscales and coping strategies (i.e., when attention was shown to be significantly related to emotional

expression, it was related positively, in the same direction as clarity and mood repair).

Table 18 also presents moderate to strong positive relationships between overall EI, clarity, and

repair with well-being, with a weaker relationship between attention and well-being.

Table 18 Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between Trait Emotional Intelligence, EI Subscales, Coping Strategies Within the Context of Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships, and Well-Being Relationship Coping Strategies

EI Attention Clarity Repair

C1: Emotional Expression .42*** .38** .33** .21**C2: Support from Others .20*** .20** -.02 .23**C3: Emotional Processing .48*** .48** .34** .29**C4: Venting/Self-Blame -.20*** .13 -.26** -.28**C5: Active Coping .21*** .16* .10 .20**C6: Acceptance .11 .06 .06 .11C7: Denial -.18** -.10 -.21** -.11C8: Alcohol/Drug Use -.16** -.16* -.12 -.09C9: Religion .24*** .14 .13 .21**C10: Humour -.06 -.20** -.04 .05Subjective Well-Being .64*** .24** .52** .60**

Note: N = 300; All tests of significance are two-tailed. For Overall EI: All relationships shown were significant using Bonferroni correction procedure. For correlations marked with an asterisk (**), EI was negatively correlated with denial, p = .003, and alcohol/drug use, p = .005; Correlations marked with an asterisk (***) were significant at p < .001. For EI subscales: For correlations marked with an asterisk (*), attention was correlated with active coping, p = .011, and alcohol/drug use, p = .008; Correlations marked with an asterisk (**) were significant at p < .002

Next, Pearson’s correlation coefficients were computed among the ten coping strategies for work

stress and EI23. Using the Bonferroni approach to control for Type I error across the 10 overall EI

correlations, a p value of less than .01 was required for significance; however, p values of less than .015

are shown as well. The results of the correlational analyses presented in Table 19 show that within the

context of work stress, EI was positively related to emotional expression, support from others, emotional

processing, and active coping. EI was also negatively related to venting/self-blame, denial, and

alcohol/drug use. Weaker positive correlations approaching a level of significance were shown between

EI with acceptance and religion.

95

Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficients were computed among the ten coping

strategies (for work stress) and three factors comprising EI (attention, clarity, repair). Statistical

significance of each correlation was determined by using a Bonferroni-corrected significance level of

.003. The results of the correlational analyses presented in Table 19 show that in general, emotional

attention was positively related to emotional expression, support from others, and emotional processing,

while it was negatively related to denial. A weak negative correlation approaching a level of significant

emerged between attention and alcohol/drug use. Clarity was positively associated with emotional

expression, emotional processing, and active coping, with negative correlations found with venting/self-

blame, denial, and alcohol/drug use. Repair was positively related to emotional expression, support from

others, emotional processing, and active coping, while negatively correlated with venting/self-blame.

Weaker correlations approaching a level of significance emerged between repair with religion in a

positive direction, and with alcohol/drug use in a negative direction.

Table 19 Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between EI, EI Subscales, and Coping Strategies Within the Context of Workplace Stress


R1: Emotional Expression .36*** .37** .21** .21**R2: Support from Others .24*** .25** .12 .19**R3: Emotional Processing .46*** .46** .30** .29**R4: Venting/Self-Blame -.23*** .03 -.30** -.19**R5: Active Coping .35*** .16 .26** .30**R6: Acceptance .16* .06 .13 .10R7: Denial -.23*** -.20** -.23** -.06R8: Alcohol/Drug Use -.26*** -.16* -.20** -.17*R9: Religion .16* .07 .10 .18*R10: Humour .07 -.10 .09 .12

Note: N = 300; All tests of significance are two-tailed. For Overall EI: Correlations marked with an asterisk (*), EI was correlated with acceptance, p = .013, and religion, p = .015; Correlations marked with an asterisk (***) were significant at p < .001 and met criteria for Bonferroni correction procedure. For EI subscales: Correlations marked with an asterisk (*), Attention and repair were correlated with Alcohol/drug use, p = .006; Repair was correlated with religion, p = .004; Correlations marked with an asterisk (**) were significant at p < .003 and met criteria for Bonferroni correction procedure.

96

A comparison between EI and relationship versus work stressors showed similar patterns of

coping, with EI being significantly positively related to emotional expression, support from others,

emotional processing, and active coping, as well as negatively related to venting/self-blame, alcohol/drug

use, and denial coping (see Table 20). However, with respect to stress in close interpersonal relationships,

EI was also significantly positively related to religion whereas this relationship was only approaching a

level of significance within the context of work stressors. In addition, within the context of work stress,

EI revealed a stronger negative relationship with alcohol/drug use when compared to stress in close

interpersonal relationships, although both correlations were statistically significant.

In comparing relationships between the EI facets and coping strategies between the two contexts,

attention was consistently positively related to the use of emotional expression, support from others, and

emotional processing across the two contexts, while it was negatively related to humour only in the

context of stress in close interpersonal relationships and negatively to denial only in the context of work

stress (see Table 20). Clarity was consistently positively related to emotional expression and emotional

processing, and negatively related to venting/self-blame and denial across contexts. When dealing with

work stress, clarity was also positively related to active coping and negatively to alcohol/drug use, while

these relationships were not significant when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships. The

ability to repair mood was positively related to emotional processing, emotional expression, support from

others, and active coping, and negatively to venting/self-blame across both contexts. When dealing with

stress in close interpersonal relationships, repair was positively related to religion while this relationship

was not considered significant (using Bonferroni’s criterion) for occupational stress. Acceptance was not

a strategy that was statistically significantly related to any of the EI facets in either work or interpersonal

contexts, while the only significant relationship for use of humour as a coping strategy was with attention

to emotional information in a negative direction, and only in the context of stress in close interpersonal

relationships. For the most part, it appears that the relationships between the EI subscales and coping

strategies are well-captured by the measure of overall EI and its relationships to the coping strategies. The

97

analysis of coping strategy use among the EI subscales may suggest which component of overall EI was

most responsible for a particular coping relationship.

Table 20 A Comparison of Overall Emotional Intelligence and EI Subscales with Coping Strategies Used Across Close Interpersonal Relationship and Workplace Contexts for the Overall Sample

Note: N = 300. All relationships shown were significant using Bonferroni correction procedure. All tests of significance are two-tailed. For Overall EI: Correlation marked with an asterisk (**), EI was negatively correlated with denial, p = .003, and alcohol/drug use, p = .005. Correlations marked with an asterisk (***) were significant at p < .001. For EI Subscales: All correlations are significant at p < .002 for stress in close interpersonal relationships and p < .003 for occupational stressors. R+ and R- denote the direction of correlation within the context of stress in close interpersonal relationships. W+ and W- denote the direction of correlation within the context of work stressors.

Hypothesis two: Differences will emerge in coping behaviours across contexts as well as

their relationships to EI and well-being.

Examining differences in coping strategies used across interpersonal and occupational

stressors. A series of t-tests was conducted to evaluate whether differences in the use of coping strategies

exist across relationships and work contexts (applying a Bonferroni correction (.10/10 = .01)24 (see Table 21).

The results indicated significant differences in the extent to which the following coping strategies are used

across relationship and work contexts: Support from others, venting/self-blame, acceptance, and humour (see

Figure 6). The extent to which emotional expression and active coping were used across contexts approached

a level of significance. When dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships, individuals reported


W1: Emotional Expression ***R+ ***W+ R+ W+ R+ W+ R+ W+W2: Support from Others ***R+ ***W+ R+ W+ R+ W+W3: Emotional Processing ***R+ ***W+ R+ W+ R+ W+ R+ W+W4: Venting/Self-Blame ***R - ***W- R - W- R - W-W5: Active Coping ***R+ ***W+ W+ R+ W+W6: Acceptance W7: Denial **R - ***W- W- R- W- W8: Alcohol/Drug Use **R - ***W- W- W9: Religion ***R+ R+ W10: Humour R-

98

using significantly more venting/self-blame and acceptance than when they were dealing with work stress.

When dealing with work stress, they relied on more support from others and humour than they did with stress

in close interpersonal relationships. Pooled effect sizes were small to medium (ranging .13 to .34). These

results were similar for both the original data file, as well as the pooled data file25. No significant differences

across coping contexts emerged with emotional processing, active coping, denial, alcohol/drug use, and

religion.

Table 21 Pooled Comparisons of Coping Strategies Used Across Interpersonal and Work Contexts

Coping

Strategy Inter-

personal M

Work

M

95%

Confidence

Interval

t-tests Effect

Size

(Cohen’s

d)26

Rel. Inc. in

Variance/ Fraction of

Miss. Info27Lower Upper

Emotional

Express 2.39 2.29 .02 .19 t(451) = 2.47, p = .014 .13

.09/.09

Support of

others 2.25 2.45 -.30 -.10 t(179) = -4.02, p < .001 -.22

.16/.14

Emotional

Processing 2.68 2.60 -.01 .17 t(73) = 1.77, p = .08, n.s. .10

.29/.23

Venting/ Self-blame

2.39 2.21 .09 .27 t(171) = 4.04, p < .001 .24

.16/.14

Active

Coping 2.69 2.83 -.25 -.01 t(135) = -2.15, p = .03,

n.s.

-.17

.19/.16

Accept 2.76 2.62 .04 .22 t(108) = 2.88, p < .005 .18

.22/.19

Denial 1.56 1.50 -.02 .14 t(1015) = 1.45, p = .15,

n.s.

.09

.06/.06

Alcohol/ Drug Use

1.52 1.48 -.05 .13 t(63) = .91, p = .37, n.s. .05 .32/.25

Religion 1.60 1.57 -.06 .12 t(45) = .69, p = .49, n.s. .04 .42/.31

Humour 1.92 2.24 -.44 -.19 t(121) = -4.88, p < .001 -.34

.20/.17

Note: Relative efficiency rates ranged 97.0 to 99.4%28. Bonferroni correction (p = .10/10 = .01) was applied.

99

Figure 6. Mean Comparisons of Coping Strategies Used Across Interpersonal and Work Contexts.

The relationships between coping strategies and well-being. Pearson’s correlation coefficients

were computed among the ten coping strategies (for stress in close interpersonal relationships) and

subjective well-being. Using the Bonferroni approach to control for Type I error across the 10

correlations, a p value of less than .01 (1.0/10 = .01) was required for significance. The results of the

correlational analyses presented in Table 22 show that within the context of stress in close interpersonal

relationships, SWB was significantly positively related to emotional expression, support from others, and

emotional processing, while it was related negatively to venting/self-blame, denial, and alcohol/drug use.

Table 23 presents the results for the correlational analyses between SWB and coping strategies used

within the context of work stress, and revealed that within the context of work stress, SWB was

significantly and positively related to support from others, emotional processing, and active coping, while

it was negatively related to venting/self-blame, denial, and alcohol/drug use. For comparison purposes,

correlations between EI and the coping strategies (from hypothesis one) are presented again.

100

Table 22

Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between Subjective Well-Being and Coping Strategies

Within the Context of Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships for the Overall Sample

Relationship Coping Strategies

Well-Being EI

C1: Emotional Expression .26*** .42***C2: Support from Others .17** .20***C3: Emotional Processing .28*** .48***C4: Venting/Self-Blame -.42*** -.20***C5: Active Coping .13 .21***C6: Acceptance -.02 .11C7: Denial -.23*** -.18**C8: Alcohol/Drug Use -.25*** -.16**C9: Religion .14 .24***C10: Humour -.02 -.06 Note: N = 300; All tests of significance are two-tailed. All relationships shown met a Bonferroni-corrected significance level. For SWB: Correlations marked with an asterisk (**) were significant at p < .01; (***) were significant at p < .005. For Overall EI: Correlations marked with an asterisk (**), EI was negatively correlated with denial, p = .003, and alcohol/drug use, p = .005; (***) significant at p < .001. Table 23 Pooled Pearson Product Moment Correlations Between Subjective Well-Being and Coping Strategies Within the Context of Work Stress for the Overall Sample

Work Coping Strategies

Well-Being EI

C1: Emotional Expression .13 .36***C2: Support from Others .25*** .24***C3: Emotional Processing .18*** .46***C4: Venting/Self-Blame -.45*** -.23***C5: Active Coping .19*** .35***C6: Acceptance .04 .16*C7: Denial -.26*** -.23***C8: Alcohol/Drug Use -.23*** -.26***C9: Religion .08 .16*C10: Humour .10 .07 Note: N = 300; All tests of significance are two-tailed. For SWB: Correlations marked with an asterisk (***) were significant at p < .005 All relationships shown met a Bonferroni-corrected significance level.

For Overall EI: Correlations marked with an asterisk (*), EI was correlated with acceptance, p = .013, and religion, p = .015; Correlations marked with an asterisk (***) were significant at p < .001 and met a Bonferroni-corrected significance level.

101

A comparison of the relationship of SWB to coping strategies across relationship and work

contexts revealed that SWB was positively related to emotional processing and support from others, as

well as negatively related to venting/self-blame, denial, and alcohol/drug use in both coping contexts

(seeTable 24). However, differences in coping strategies and well-being also emerged, with individuals

reporting greater subjective well-being when using emotional expression as a coping strategy to deal with

interpersonal (but not work) stress, while using active coping to deal with work (but not interpersonal)

stress.

Table 24

A Comparison of Well-Being and Coping Strategies Used Across Close Interpersonal Relationship and

Workplace Contexts for the Overall Sample

Note: N = 300. All tests of significance are two-tailed. All relationships shown met a Bonferroni-corrected significance level (p < .01). R+ and R- denote the direction of correlation within the context of stress in close interpersonal relationships. W+ and W- denote the direction of correlation within the context of work stressors.

The above correlational analyses confirmed the existence of weak to strong bivariate

associations among (a) emotional intelligence, some of the coping strategies people use in dealing with

both relationship and occupational stressors, and subjective well-being as well as (b) the proposed

mediators and subjective well-being. These results establish the necessary preconditions for the mediation

analyses which follow in hypothesis three.

Well-Being

C1: Emotional Expression R+ C2: Support from Others R+ W+C3: Emotional Processing R+ W+C4: Venting/Self-Blame R - W-C5: Active Coping W+C6: Acceptance C7: Denial R - W-C8: Alcohol/Drug Use R - W-C9: Religion C10: Humour

102

Investigating coping types across close interpersonal relationship and occupational contexts. In

order to ascertain whether people use the same patterns of coping strategies across contexts, and thus,

may be classified into coping “types”, separate cluster analyses were run on the standardized scores for

coping strategies used in dealing with relationship and work stress29. Two-step cluster analysis procedures

were followed up by K-means cluster analysis. In both contexts, the initial two-step procedure suggested

three clusters. The K-means procedures which followed attempted 2, 3, and 4 cluster solutions.

In the context of stress in close interpersonal relationships, the three-cluster solution was

accepted, which resulted in the first cluster being characterized by the minimal use of most coping

strategies (with the exception of a moderate use of Denial), and labelled, “Minimal Coping” (n = 103)

(see Table 25). The second cluster, was characterized by the high use of coping strategies which are

generally thought to be more negative (including high Maladaptive, Denial, Alcohol/Drug Use, but also

Humour), and was referred to as “Negative Coping” or “Maladaptive Coping” (n = 69). The third cluster,

was characterized by the high use of coping strategies more commonly consistent with adaptive coping

(including high Emotional Expression, Other Support, Emotional Processing, Active Coping, Acceptance,

Religion, and low Denial), and was referred to as “Positive Coping” or “Adaptive Coping” (n = 90).

Table 25 Coping Clusters for Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships

Relationship Clusters

1: “Minimal”

(n = 103)

2: “Maladaptive”

(n = 69)

3: “Adaptive”

(n = 90)

C1: Emotional Expression -.49 .81

C2: Support from Others -.61 .75

C3: Emotional Processing -.57 .91

C4: Venting/Self-Blame -.60 .68 C5: Active Coping -.61 .67

C6: Acceptance -.36 .30

C7: Denial .98 -.45

C8: Alcohol/Drug Use -.44 .86 C9: Religion -.39 .27

C10: Humour -.34 .55

103

In the context of work stress, a three-cluster solution was also accepted, and was similar to the

relationship clusters, with a minimum of four variables characterizing the clusters30. Similarly, the first

cluster was characterized by the minimal use of most coping strategies (with the exception of a moderate

use of Denial and Alcohol/drug use), and labelled, “Minimal Coping” (n = 105) (see Table 26). The

second cluster, labelled “Maladaptive Coping” (n = 81), was characterized by the high use of coping

strategies which are generally considered negative (including high venting/self-blame strategies, denial,

alcohol/drug use, but also humour). The third cluster, labelled “Adaptive Coping” (n = 83), was

characterized by the high use of coping strategies more commonly consistent with adaptive coping

(including high emotional expression, support from others, emotional processing, active coping,

acceptance, and religion, but also low denial and with low alcohol/drug use as an additional variable

characterizing this cluster in comparison to the relationship clusters).

Table 26 Coping Clusters for Workplace Stress

Work Clusters

1: “Minimal”

(n = 105)

2: “Maladaptive”

(n = 81)

3: “Adaptive”

(n = 83)

C1: Emotional Expression -.72 .74

C2: Support from Others -.62 .70

C3: Emotional Processing -.73 .90

C4: Venting/Self-Blame -.60 .62 C5: Active Coping -.40 .73

C6: Acceptance -.37 .62

C7: Denial .79 -.41

C8: Alcohol/Drug Use 1.02 -.47

C9: Religion -.47 .47

C10: Humour -.33 .25

EI and close interpersonal relationship coping style groups. Within the context of stress in close

interpersonal relationships, a one-way analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the relationship

between interpersonal coping style groups and EI. The independent variable, interpersonal coping style

104

groups, included three levels: Maladaptive, minimal, and positive. The dependent variable was overall EI.

The ANOVA was significant, Fmin (2, 297) = 20.07, Fmax = 36.84, p < .001, across all imputations. I used

partial eta-squared (ηp2) as an indicator of effect size for these group comparisons, where values of .01,

.06, and .14 are associated with small, medium, and large effects, respectively (Cohen, 1988). The

strength of the relationship (ηp2) between close interpersonal relationship coping style groups and overall

EI was large, with the coping style groups accounting for approximately 16.6% of the variance in the

dependent variable31.

Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pairwise differences among the means. Using a

conservative approach, I chose not to assume that the variances were homogeneous and conducted post

hoc comparisons with the use of the Games-Howell test, a test that does not assume equal variances

among the three groups32. There were significant differences in the means between adaptive and

maladaptive, as well as adaptive and minimal coping style groups; however, there was no significant

difference between the maladaptive and minimal coping style groups. The adaptive coping style group

showed significantly higher EI than the other two groups. The 95% confidence intervals for the pairwise

differences, as well as the means and standard errors for the three coping style groups are reported in

Table 27, with approximate distributions shown in Figure 7.

Table 27 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Emotional Intelligence Across Coping Clusters for Close Interpersonal Relationship Stress

Relationship Clusters Mean Std. Error. Maladaptive Minimal

Maladaptive 9.98 .20

Minimal 10.34 .15 -.87 to .13 p = .289

Adaptive 11.54 .17 -2.06 to -1.08** -1.68 to -.71** Notes: 1 **p < .001, *p < .05 2Relative efficiency ranges 96.0 to 98.2. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .40, .42, .18, respectively; relative increase in variance, .61, .67, and .22, respectively.

105

Figure 7. Boxplots Comparing Emotional Intelligence Means Across Coping Clusters for Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships.33

EI and workplace coping style groups. A one-way analysis of variance was conducted to

evaluate the relationship between occupational coping style and EI. The independent variable, work

coping style, included three levels: maladaptive, minimal, and positive. The dependent variable was

overall EI. The ANOVA was significant, Fmin (2, 297) = 27.73, Fmax = 40.21, p < .001, across all

imputations. The strength of the relationship (ηp2) between work coping style and overall EI was large,

with the coping style accounting for 19.1% of the variance in the dependent variable34.

Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pairwise differences among the means. Post hoc

comparisons with the use of the Games-Howell test found significant differences in the means between

adaptive and maladaptive, as well as adaptive and minimal coping style groups; however, a significant

difference was not found between the maladaptive and minimal coping style groups. The adaptive work

coping style group showed significantly higher EI than the other two groups. The 95% confidence

intervals for the pairwise differences, as well as the means and standard errors for the three coping style

groups are reported in Table 28 with approximate distributions shown in Figure 8.

106

Table 28 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Emotional Intelligence Across Coping Clusters for Workplace Stress

Work Clusters Mean Std. Error. Maladaptive Minimal

Maladaptive 9.89 .17

Minimal 10.40 .14 -1.01 to -0.02 p = .084

Adaptive 11.61 .17 -2.21 to 1.23** -1.66 to -.75** Note: **p < .001, *p < .05; Relative efficiency ranges 97.2 to 98.4. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .29, .28, .16, respectively; relative increase in variance, .38, .36, and .19, respectively.

Figure 8. Boxplots Comparing Emotional Intelligence Means Across Coping Clusters for Workplace Stress.35

Coping style groups and subjective well-being across contexts. A one-way analysis of variance

was conducted to evaluate the relationship between interpersonal coping style and well-being. The

independent variable, relationship coping style, included three levels: maladaptive, minimal, and positive.

The dependent variable was SWB. The ANOVA was significant across all imputations, Fmin (2, 297) =

10.34, Fmax = 20.99, p < .001. The strength of the relationship (ηp2) between relationship coping style and

SWB was moderate, with the coping style accounting for approximately 9.5% of the variance in the

107

dependent variable36. Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pairwise differences among the means.

Post hoc comparisons with the use of the Games-Howell test revealed significant difference in the means

among all three groups. When coping with stress in close interpersonal relationships, the adaptive coping

style group showed significantly higher well-being than the other two groups, while the minimal coping

style group also showed significantly higher well-being than the negative coping style group. The 95%

confidence intervals for the pairwise differences, as well as the means and standard errors for the three

coping style groups are reported in Table 29, with distributions shown in Figure 9.

Table 29 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Well-Being for Close Interpersonal Relationship Coping Clusters


Maladaptive -.32 .09

Minimal -.03 .07 -0.53 to -0.05* p = .037

Adaptive .25 .07 -0.80 to -0.33** -0.49 to -0.05* p = .018

Notes: 1 **p < .001, *p < .05 2Relative efficiency ranges 96.7 to 98.7. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .31, .34, .13, respectively; relative increase in variance, .43, .49, and .15, respectively.

Figure 9. Boxplots for Close Interpersonal Relationship Coping Clusters and Subjective Well-Being.37

108

Next, a one-way analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the relationship between

occupational coping style and SWB. The independent variable, work coping style, included three levels:

maladaptive, minimal, and positive. The dependent variable was SWB. The ANOVA was significant

across all imputations, Fmin (2, 297) = 8.06, Fmax = 14.33, p < .001. The strength of the relationship (ηp2)

between work coping style and well-being was moderate, with the coping style accounting for

approximately 7% of the variance in the dependent variable38. Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate

pairwise differences among the means. Post hoc comparisons with the use of the Games-Howell test

found significant differences in the means between adaptive and maladaptive, as well as maladaptive and

minimal coping style groups; however, a significant difference was not found between the adaptive and

minimal coping style groups. The adaptive work coping style group showed significantly higher well-

being than the maladaptive but not the minimal group, while the minimal group also showed significantly

higher well-being than the maladaptive group. The 95% confidence intervals for the pairwise differences,

as well as the means and standard errors for the three coping style groups are reported in Table 30, with

distributions shown in Figure 10.

Table 30 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Well-Being for Work Coping Clusters


Maladaptive -.27 .08

Minimal .00 .07 -0.50 to -0.04* p = .024

Adaptive .21 .08 -0.71 to -0.25** -0.44 to -0.02 p = .130 Notes: 1 **p < .001, *p < .05 2Relative efficiency ranges 97.8 to 98.8. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .12, .20, .23, respectively; relative increase in variance, .14, .23, and .28, respectively.

109

Figure 10. Boxplots for Work Coping Clusters and Subjective Well-Being.39

Summary of Hypothesis Two Results

The results indicated significant differences in the extent to which four coping strategies were

used between contexts; specifically, with respect to stress in close interpersonal relationships, individuals

reported using more emotional expression, venting/self-blame, and acceptance than when dealing with

work stress, while they used more humour with work stress than with stress in close interpersonal

relationships. Weak to strong correlations were observed with: (a) EI and coping strategies; and (b) the

coping strategies and SWB. These results established the necessary preconditions for the mediation

analyses in hypothesis three.

In addition, three coping “types” were found (i.e., maladaptive, adaptive, and minimal),

revealing that people use similar patterns of coping across contexts. EI was able to distinguish among all

three coping types (adaptive, maladaptive, and minimal) across both contexts with a large effect size

noted. SWB was able to distinguish among all three types only within the context of close interpersonal

stress; however, within the work context, SWB was able to distinguish only adaptive from maladaptive

(but not minimal) coping types, with the minimal type still being distinguished from the maladaptive type

with respect to SWB. The relationships between SWB and coping types were moderate in strength.

110

Hypothesis three: Coping behaviour is expected to mediate the relationship between EI and

well-being for both stress in close interpersonal relationships and the workplace.

Multiple mediation analysis. A multiple mediation analysis using mediated hierarchical

regression procedures was performed to determine whether coping behaviour mediates the relationship

between EI and well-being for both stress in close interpersonal relationships and the workplace (using

the SPSS macro developed by Preacher & Hayes, 2008). There are several advantages of performing

multiple mediation as opposed to separate simple mediation tests, including the ability to: (a) evaluate

whether an overall mediation effect exists before assessing specific effects of proposed mediators; (b)

tease apart the unique mediating effect that certain variables have within a single model, controlling for

the presence of other mediators as well as covariates (hypothesis four assesses the need for the potential

effect of sex as a covariate); and (c) enhance parsimony in model specification, which increases statistical

power and reduces the probability of Type I errors (Preacher and Hayes, 2008).

Multiple mediation analysis also addresses the limitations of other common mediation methods.

Most notably, the limitations of Baron and Kenny’s (1986) widely used approach include low power,

increased probability of Type I error, not being able to address suppression effects, and not providing a

test to evaluate the indirect effect that an independent variable has on a dependent variable via a proposed

mediator. In addition, the main assumption using Sobel’s (1982) test to determine the significance of the

indirect effect is that the sampling distribution is normally distributed; however, most often the

assumption of normality to test for the indirect effect is not attainable, unless the sample is very, very

large (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Thus, bootstrapping, a nonparametric resampling procedure, was used to

assess the significance of the indirect effect, given that it does not require that the normality assumption

be met and reduces the probability of Type I error. Bootstrapping generates an empirical approximation

of the sampling distribution of a statistic through repeated random resampling from the available data,

and uses this distribution to calculate superior confidence intervals (CIs) that are bias corrected and

accelerated (see Preacher and Hayes, 2008, for details). For the present analyses, 1,000 resamples were

drawn.

111

Multicollinearity was assessed for all variables included in the models through an examination of

variance inflation factors (VIF) and tolerance levels, with all variables falling well within acceptable

levels (Table 31). Initially, all ten of the coping strategies identified in the current research were

investigated for significant mediation between EI and SWB; no prediction was made regarding which

specific strategies would significantly mediate the link between EI and SWB. A preliminary analysis of

multiple mediation was conducted on the original set of data as well as m = 5 separate imputation

iterations of the relationship and work variables (see Appendix B; Tables B-1 and B-2). The results were

shown to be stable across the MI datasets. Three coping mechanisms (i.e., support from others,

venting/self-blame, and alcohol/drug use) consistently emerged as statistically significant mediators for

the interpersonal context, while two coping mechanisms (i.e., support from others, venting/self-blame)

were consistently found to be statistically significant mediators for the work data.

Table 31 Assessing Multicollinearity for Mediation Models

Collinearity Statistics Tolerance VIF

EI .91 1.10R2: Support from Others .86 1.16R4: Venting/Self-Blame .85 1.18R8: Alcohol/ Drug Use .93 1.08W2: Support from Others .85 1.18W4: Venting/Self-Blame .83 1.20

Note: These two statistics quantify the level of multicollinearity present. They provide a standardized index of the effects of possible collinearity on the variance of the coefficients in a multiple regression. A tolerance level of less than .2 or .1 indicates potential multicollinearity. Different researchers suggest different cutoff points for acceptable levels of VIF. The lowest cutoff point is 5 and the most widely accepted cutoff point is 10 (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007).

Two final mediation models (one within each context) were built using the three significant

coping strategies used in the context of stress in close interpersonal relationships, and the two coping

mechanisms used to cope with work stress (see Table 32 and Table 33, respectively; these results reflect

the results from the pooled data). These final mediation models were used to confirm that these particular

112

coping strategies significantly mediated the relationship between EI and SWB. As shown in Table 32,

with respect to the interpersonal context, the effect on well-being attributed to EI was reduced from .27

(see Total Effect of EI) to .23 (see Remaining Direct Effect) by the set of three mediator variables (i.e.,

support from others, venting/self-blame, and alcohol/drug use). Because the residual direct effect of EI on

SWB remains significant in the model (see Remaining Direct Effect of EI on SWB), these results

demonstrate partial rather than complete mediation by the coping strategy variables. An examination of

the specific indirect effects indicates that all three coping strategies are mediators, since their 95% CIs do

not contain zero. The overall model accounts for a substantial amount of the variance in subjective well-

being, approximately 48%, denoting a large effect size. A sensitivity analysis using mediated hierarchical

regression was conducted using the multiply imputed datasets (m = 10), with the pooled results

accounting for approximately 51% of the variance in SWB (Table 33)40.

113

Table 32 Mediation of the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Subjective Well-Being Through Proposed Coping Strategies for Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships (n = 235) Emotional Intelligence (IV) to Coping Strategies (Mediators) (a paths)

b se t p Support from Others .09 .04 2.44 .016 Venting/Self-Blame -.07 .03 -2.46 .015 Alcohol/Drug Use -.07 .03 -2.28 .023 Direct Effects of Coping Strategies (Mediators) on SWB (DV) (b paths)

b se t p Support from Others .10 .04 2.48 .014 Venting/Self-Blame -.29 .05 -6.04 .000 Alcohol/Drug Use -.09 .04 -1.99 .048 Total Effect of EI (IV) on SWB (DV) (c path)

b se t p EI .27 .02 12.14 .000 Remaining Direct Effect of EI (IV) on SWB (DV) (c-prime path)

b se t p EI .23 .02 10.90 .000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .49 .48 54.82 4.00 230.00 .000

Bootstrap Results for Indirect Effect

(ab paths) Point

Estimates SE Z

Bootstrapping (Bias Corrected and Accelerated

95% CIs)

Lower Upper Indirect Effects

Total .04 .01 3.29 .01 .06 Support from Others

.01 .01 1.75 .00 .02

Venting/ Self-Blame

.02 .01 2.29 .01 .04

Alcohol/Drug Use .01 .00 1.51 .00 .02 Contrasts

C1 -.01 .01 -1.14 -.04 .01 C2 .00 .01 .36 -.01 .02 C3 .02 .01 1.52 -.00 .04

114

Table 33 Pooled Results of the Mediated Hierarchical Regression for Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships (n = 300)

EI and Coping Predicting SWB R

2

Adj.

R2

ΔR2

Sig. FΔ

b

s.e. t p FMI/RIV

Dependent variable: SWB Step 1: EI .40 .40 .40 < .001 .28 .02 12.92 < .001 .24/ .33Step 2: Support from Others

.52 .51 .11 < .001 .11 .04 2.85 .005 .04/ .19

Venting/Self-Blame

-.31 .05 -5.84 < .001 -.41/-.20

Alcohol/Drug Usea

-.09 .05 -1.81 .074 -.18/ .01

a Alcohol/Drug Use was approaching a level of significance when pooled across m = 10, and significant at p = .048 using the listwise data. Therefore, it is not considered as potent a mediator as support from others and venting/self-blame.

Table 34 presents the final mediation results for the occupational context, and shows that the

effect on well-being attributed to EI was reduced from .28 (see Total Effect of EI) to .22 (see Remaining

Direct Effect) by the two mediator variables (i.e., support from others, and venting/self-blame). Because

the residual direct effect of EI on SWB remains significant in the model (see Remaining Direct Effect of

EI on SWB), these results demonstrate partial rather than complete mediation by the coping strategy

variables. An examination of the specific indirect effects indicates that the two coping strategies are

mediators, since their 95% CIs do not contain zero. The overall model accounts for a substantial amount

of the variance in subjective well-being, approximately 51%, denoting a large effect size. A sensitivity

analysis using mediated hierarchical regression was conducted using the multiply imputed datasets (m =

10), with the pooled results accounting for approximately 53% of the variance in SWB (see Table 35)41.

115

Table 34 Mediation of the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Subjective Well-Being Through Proposed Coping Strategies for Occupational Stress (n = 237) Emotional Intelligence (IV) to Coping Strategies (Mediators) (a paths)

b se t p Support from Others .11 .04 3.21 .002 Venting/Self-Blame -.11 .03 -3.84 .000 Direct Effects of Coping Strategies (Mediators) on SWB (DV) (b paths)

b se t p Support from Others .18 .04 4.62 .000 Venting/Self-Blame -.35 .05 -7.52 .000 Total Effect of EI (IV) on SWB (DV) (c path)

b se t p EI .28 .02 12.35 .000 Remaining Direct Effect of EI (IV) on SWB (DV) (c-prime path)

b se t p EI .22 .02 10.02 .000Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p

.52 .51 84.15 3 233 .000

Bootstrap Results for Indirect Effect

(ab paths) Point

Estimates SE

Bootstrapping (Bias Corrected and Accelerated 95% CIs)

Lower Upper Indirect Effects

Total .06 .01.01 .01

.04 .09 Support from Others

.02 .01 .04

Venting/Self-Blame

.04 .02 .07

ContrastsC1 -.02 .02 -.05 .01

116

Table 35 Results of the Pooled Mediated Hierarchical Regression for Occupational Stress (n = 300)

EI and Coping Predicting SWB R

2

Adj.

R2

ΔR2

Sig. FΔ

b

s.e. t p FMI/RIV

Dependent variable: SWB Step 1: EI .40 .40 .40 < .001 .29 .02 13.59 < .001 .07/.07Step 2: Support from Others

.18 .04 4.68 < .001 .16/.19

Venting/Self-Blame

.53 .53 .14 -.38 .05 -7.78 < .001 .24/.31

Investigating coping style group as a potential mediator. In order to examine coping style group

as a potential mediator, given that it is a categorical, nominal variable, analysis of covariance was

performed after a preliminary analysis evaluating the homogeneity of slopes assumption, which indicated

a linear relationship between the covariate and the dependent variable in both work and interpersonal

contexts. Preliminary analyses also suggested that the relationship between the covariate and the

dependent variable did not differ significantly as a function of the independent variable, in either context.

Within the context of stress in close interpersonal relationships, the test for homogeneity of slopes result

was Fmin (2, 294) = .02, Fmax = 1.35, p = .637, partial η2 = .004. Within the context of work stress, these

effects were also not deemed to be significant, Fmin (2, 294) = .63, Fmax = 2.78, p = .258, partial η2 = .01.

The independent variable for the ANCOVAs was coping type, while the covariate was emotional

intelligence. Results were similar for both relationship and work contexts. In the context of stress in close

interpersonal relationships, after adjustment by covariates, well-being was not found to vary significantly

with coping style, with Fmin (2, 296) = 1.84, Fmax = 8.82, p = .083. In the context of work stress, after

adjustment by the covariate, well-being was also not found to vary significantly with coping style, Fmin (2,

296) = .91, Fmax = 3.16, p = .16. Means and standard errors are reported in Table 36.

117

Table 36 Pooled Descriptives for Coping Clusters with Emotional Intelligence as Covariant in Well-Being

Relationship Clusters

Relationship M

Relationship Std. Error

Work M

Work Std. Error

Maladaptive -.14 .08 -0.06 0.06

Minimal .06 .06 0.07 0.05

Adaptive -.00 .07 -0.08 0.07

Hypothesis Four: Gender will be differentially related to EI and the coping strategies used

in each context. Gender will moderate the relationship between EI and SWB and between EI and

coping strategies.

Initial analysis: Assessing potential confounding of sex and gender and relationships to well-

being. Prior to investigating whether gender is differentially related to EI and the coping strategies, the

potential confounding of sex and gender (agency, communion) was assessed. Two independent-samples

t-tests were conducted to evaluate whether males and females differ in their levels of agency and

communion. Results revealed significant sex differences existed in levels of agency, with males (M =

3.54; SD = .59) having higher scores than females (M = 3.37; SD = .62), t(8086.44) = 2.35, p = .019. No

significant sex differences emerged with respect to communion, t(1089.87) = -1.58, p = .115, but females

(M = 4.03; SD = .61) did have somewhat higher scores on average than males (M = 3.89; SD = .68).

An independent samples t-test did not reveal significant differences between the sexes (i.e., males

versus females) in well-being, t(138.38) = -.15, p = .88. In further exploring gender differences in well-

being, gender role was found to be significantly positively related to well-being, with agency showing a

strong link and communion a moderate one (r = .52, p < .001 and r = .25, p < .001, respectively).

Gender differences and emotional intelligence. A series of independent-samples t-tests were

conducted to evaluate whether sex differences exist in emotional intelligence (see Table 37). Results did

not reveal any significant sex differences in overall EI, or the clarity and repair subscales; however,

118

significant sex differences did emerge with the attention subscale (applying a Bonferroni correction

(.10/4= .025))42.

The relationships between EI and the EI subscales were also examined with respect to agency and

communion, and revealed both agency and communion to be significantly positively related to overall EI

to a moderate extent. Communion was also significantly positively related to all EI subscales (attention,

clarity, and repair), while agency was significantly positively related to clarity and repair, but not

attention (see Table 38).

Table 37 Pooled Male and Female Comparisons Across Emotional Intelligence, Attention, Clarity, and Repair

Male (n = 100)

Female (n = 200)

95% Confidence

Interval

t-tests Pooled

Cohen’s

d

R.I.V.

/F.M.I.

M SD M SD Lower Upper

EI 10.41 1.62 10.77 1.61 -.75 .03t(22294.47) = -1.79, p = .07 -.22 .01

Attention 3.51 0.65 3.83 0.59 -.48 -.17

t(1693.03) = -4.17,

p < .001 -.52 .04

Clarity 3.44 0.68 3.38 0.73 -.11 .23

t(5397.59) = .68,

p = .49 .09 .02

Repair 3.46 0.83 3.55 0.84 -.29 .11

t(11756.27) = -.85,

p = .40 .11 .02

Note: Relative efficiency ranged 99.6 to 99.9%. Table 38 Pooled Pearson’s Product Moment Correlations for EI and EI Subscales With Agency and Communion

Agency Communion

EI .44*** .39***

Attention .07 .38***

Clarity .46*** .24***

Repair .41*** .27***

Note: N = 300; All tests of significance are two-tailed. ***p < .001

119

Gender differences and coping strategies. A series of independent-samples t-tests were

conducted to evaluate whether sex differences exist in coping strategies (see Table 39 and Table 40).

With respect to stress in close interpersonal relationships, sex differences were found with support from

others (with females having higher means than males), and alcohol/drug use (with males having higher

means than females) (applying a Bonferroni correction (.10/10= .01))43. With respect to work stress, sex

differences were found only with support from others (with females having higher means than males).

Sex differences did not emerge with any of the remaining coping strategies. With respect to relationship

strategies, effect sizes were medium for support from others and alcohol/drug use, pooled Cohen’s d= -

.48 and .42, respectively. With respect to work strategies, effect size was medium, pooled Cohen’s d= -

.49 for support from others.

Pearson product moment correlations were used to assess the relationships between agency and

communion with respect to the coping strategies people use to deal with conflict and work stress (see

Table 41). Using the Bonferroni approach to control for Type I error across the 20 correlations, a p value

of less than .0025 (.05/20 = .0025) was required for significance. However, given the conservative

significance value using Bonferroni’s approach, relationships with p values of less than .01 are also

shown. Within the context of stress in close interpersonal relationships, agency was significantly

positively related to emotional processing and active coping, and negatively to venting/self-blame,

whereas communion was significantly positively related to emotional expression and emotional

processing. Within the context of occupational stress, agency was significantly positively related to

emotional expression, emotional processing, active coping, and humour, whereas communion was

significantly positively related to emotional expression, support from others, emotional processing, and

active coping.

120

Table 39 Pooled t-tests for Sex Differences in Coping Strategies Used With Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships

Relationship

Coping

Strategies

Male (n = 100)

Female

(n = 200)

95% Confidence

Interval

t-tests RIV/ FMI

M SD M SD Lower Upper C1: Emotional Expression 2.24 0.85 2.45 0.78 -0.42 0.00

t(512.18) = -1.96, p = .05, n.s.

.08/ .09

C2: Support from Others 1.96 0.88 2.39 0.90 -0.65 -0.20

t(555.72) = -3.77,

p < .001 .08C3: Emotional Processing 2.61 0.84 2.71 0.83 -0.31 0.10

t(1851.63) = -0.98,

p = .33, n.s. .04C4: Venting/ Self-Blame 2.27 0.73 2.45 0.76 -0.36 0.00

t(1424.58) = -1.93,

p = .05, n.s. .05C5: Active Coping 2.68 0.76 2.70 0.80 -0.21 0.17

t(1244.06) = -0.25,

p = .80, n.s. .05

C6: Acceptance 2.79 0.69 2.74 0.78 -0.13 0.23

t(1290.59) = -0.54,

p = .59, n.s. .05

C7: Denial 1.52 0.63 1.56 0.66 -0.19 0.13

t(767.43) = -0.39,

p = .69, n.s. .06/ .07

C8: Alcohol/ Drug Use 1.75 0.89 1.40 0.70 0.15 0.56

t(958.49) = 3.36,

p < .001 .06

C9: Religion 1.51 0.79 1.64 0.86 -0.33 0.08

t(865.35) = -1.20,

p = .23, n.s. .06

C10: Humour 1.90 0.87 1.92 0.85 -0.24 0.20

t(277.74) = -0.15,

p = .88, n.s. .11/ .12

Note: Relative efficiency ranged 98.9 to 99.6%.

121

Table 40 Pooled t-tests for Sex Differences in Coping Strategies Used With Work Stress

Work Coping

Strategies

Male (n = 100)

Female

(n = 200)

95% Confidence

Interval

t-tests RIV/ FMI

M SD M SD Lower Upper C1: Emotional Expression 2.18 0.82 2.33 0.82 -0.35 0.07

t(325.05) = -1.34, p = .18, n.s. .10/.11

C2: Support from Others 2.20 0.82 2.60 0.86 -0.62 -0.20

t(250.07) = -3.76, p < .001 .12/.13

C3: Emotional Processing 2.56 0.82 2.63 0.78 -0.28 0.14

t(188.56) = -0.69,

p = .49, n.s. .14/.15C4: Venting/ Self-Blame 2.10 0.74 2.27 0.72 -0.35 0.02

t(320.02) = -1.77,

p = .08, n.s. .10/.11

C5: Active Coping 2.91 0.77 2.77 0.78 -0.06 0.34

t(260.49) = 1.39,

p = .17, n.s. .11/.13

C6: Acceptance 2.61 0.67 2.61 0.76 -0.19 0.19

t(77.62) = .00,

p = 1.0, n.s. .22/.27

C7: Denial 1.48 0.66 1.50 0.64 -0.18 0.15

t(210.73) = -0.20,

p = .84, n.s. .13/.14C8: Alcohol/ Drug Use 1.61 0.84 1.39 0.69 0.01 0.41

t(422.58) = 2.10,

p = .04, n.s. .09/.10

C9: Religion 1.59 0.79 1.56 0.82 -0.17 0.23

t(504.81) = 0.33,

p = .74, n.s. .08/.09

C10: Humour 2.21 0.97 2.23 0.98 -0.27 0.23

t(188.02) = -0.16,

p = .87, n.s. .14/.15

Note: Relative efficiency ranged 97.8 to 99.2%.

122

Table 41 Pooled Comparisons of the Relationships Between Agency and Communion With Coping Strategies Across Interpersonal and Occupational Contexts Using Pearson Product Moment Coefficients Relationship Coping Agency Communion

Work CopingAgency Communion

C1: Emotional Expression

.17** .22*** C1: Emotional Expression

.22*** .28***

C2: Support from Others .10 .12

C2: Support from Others .17* .21***

C3: Emotional Processing .22*** .22***

C3: Emotional Processing .20*** .24***

C4: Venting/ Self-Blame -.26*** .04

C4: Venting/ Self-Blame -.15 .00

C5: Active Coping .19*** .09

C5: Active Coping .29*** .21***

C6: Acceptance .05 .05 C6: Acceptance .12 .09

C7: Denial -.19** -.10 C7: Denial -.10 -.09C8: Alcohol/ Drug Use -.02 -.14

C8: Alcohol/ Drug Use -.02 -.15

C9: Religion .11 .17** C9: Religion .10 .13

C10: Humour .09 -.09 C10: Humour .20*** .07 Note: N = 300. All tests of significance are two-tailed. *p < .01 **p < .005 ***p < .0025

Gender and coping style groups. Exploratory analyses using a two-way contingency table

revealed no significant sex differences in coping types used in either relationship or work contexts,

pooled Pearson χ2(2, 300) = 4.04, p = .215, Cramer’s V = .112, and pooled Pearson χ2(2, 300) = 4.21, p =

.820, Cramer’s V = .034, respectively. However, gender differences, in terms of agency and communion,

in coping types were found to be significant. With respect to stress in close interpersonal relationships,

differences in agency were found to be significant using ANOVA across all imputations, Fmin (2, 297) =

8.39, Fmax = 14.08, p < .001. The strength of the relationship (ηp2) between coping style groups and

agency was moderate, with coping style groups accounting for approximately 6.7% of the variance in

agency44. Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pairwise differences among the means. Post hoc

comparisons with the use of the Games-Howell test found significant differences in the means between

adaptive and maladaptive, as well as adaptive and minimal coping style groups; however, no significant

123

differences were found between minimal and maladaptive styles. The adaptive work coping style group

was significantly higher in agency than the other two groups. Table 42 presents the 95% confidence

intervals for the pairwise differences, as well as the means and standard errors for the three coping style

groups, with Figure 11 illustrating mean differences.

Table 42 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Agency for Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships


Maladaptive 3.25 0.07

Minimal 3.37 0.06 -0.32 to 0.07 p = .315

Adaptive 3.64 0.06 -0.60 to -0.18** -0.46 to -0.07* p = .009 Notes: 1 **p < .001, *p < .01 2Relative efficiency ranges 98.5 to 99.0. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .15, .11, .12, respectively; relative increase in variance, .17, .11, and .14, respectively.

Figure 11. Mean Differences in Agency Across Coping Style Groups for Stress in Close Interpersonal

Relationships.

124

With respect to stress in close interpersonal relationships, differences in communion were also

found to be significant with ANOVA across all imputations, Fmin (2, 297) = 2.90, Fmax = 6.34, p = .021.

The strength of the relationship (ηp2) between coping style groups and communion was small, with

coping style groups accounting for approximately 2.9% of the variance in communion45. Follow-up tests

were conducted to evaluate pairwise differences among the means. Post hoc comparisons with the use of

the Games-Howell test found significant differences in the means between adaptive and minimal coping

style groups, with the adaptive group being significantly higher in communion than the minimal coping

group. However, no significant differences were found between adaptive and maladaptive, or maladaptive

and minimal styles. Table 43 presents the 95% confidence intervals for the pairwise differences, as well

as the means and standard errors for the three coping style groups, with Figure 12 illustrating mean

differences.

Table 43 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Communion for Stress in Close Interpersonal Relationships

Relationship Clusters Mean

Std. Error. Maladaptive Minimal


Minimal 3.89 0.06 -0.20 to 0.25 p = .897

Adaptive 4.12 0.07 -0.43 to 0.01 p = .095 -0.43 to -0.04 p = .025* Notes: 1 *p < .05 2Relative efficiency ranges 98.3 to 98.5. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .16, .17, .15, respectively; relative increase in variance, .19, .20, and .18, respectively.

125

Figure 12. Mean Differences in Communion Across Coping Style Groups for Stress in Close

Interpersonal Relationships.

With respect to work stress, differences in agency were found to be significant with ANOVA

across all imputations, Fmin (2, 297) = 2.41, Fmax = 7.38, p = .03. The strength of the relationship (ηp2)

between coping style groups and agency was small, with coping style groups accounting for

approximately 2.8% of the variance in agency46. Follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pairwise

differences among the means. In Table 44, post hoc comparisons with the use of the Games-Howell test

found significant differences in the means between adaptive and maladaptive coping style groups, with

the adaptive style being significantly higher in agency than the maladaptive group. No significant

differences were found between adaptive and minimal, or minimal and maladaptive styles. Figure 13

illustrates mean differences in agency between the coping style groups.

126

Table 44 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Agency for Occupational Stress

Work Clusters Mean

Std. Error. Maladaptive Minimal


Minimal 3.38 0.06 -0.25 to 0.13 p = .731

Adaptive 3.57 0.07 -0.45 to -0.04* p = .022 -0.39 to 0.02 p = .128 Notes: 1 *p < .05 2Relative efficiency ranges 97.7 to 99.3. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .07, .13, .24, respectively; relative increase in variance, .08, .15, and .29, respectively.

Figure 13. Mean Differences in Agency Across Coping Style Groups for Occupational Stress.

With respect to work stress, differences in communion were also found to be significant with

ANOVA across all imputations, Fmin (2, 297) = 6.29, Fmax = 12.65, p < .001. The strength of the

relationship (ηp2) between coping style groups and communion was small to moderate, with coping style

accounting for approximately 5.9% of the variance in communion47. Follow-up tests were conducted to

evaluate pairwise differences among the means. Post hoc comparisons with the use of the Games-Howell

127

test found significant differences in the means between adaptive and maladaptive, as well as adaptive and

minimal coping style groups, with the adaptive coping style group being significantly higher in

communion than the other two groups. No significant differences were found between maladaptive and

minimal styles. Table 45 presents the 95% confidence intervals for the pairwise differences, as well as the

means and standard errors for the three coping style groups, with Figure 14 illustrating mean differences.

Table 45 Pooled 95% Confidence Intervals of Pairwise Differences in Mean Changes in Communion for Occupational Stress



Minimal 3.91 0.06 -0.23 to 0.19 p = .937

Adaptive 4.22 0.07 -0.55 to -0.12* p = .002 -0.51 to -0.13* p = .002 Notes: 1 *p < .05 2Relative efficiency ranges 97.0 to 98.9. For the following comparisons, Maladaptive-Minimal, Maladaptive-Positive, Positive-Minimal, respectively: Fraction Missing Info, .12, .16, .31, respectively; relative increase in variance, .12, .18, and .42, respectively.

Figure 14. Mean Differences in Communion Across Coping Style Groups for Occupational Stress.

128

Moderation analysis. Moderation was conducted using hierarchical regression to evaluate

whether gender (i.e., in terms of males or females, agency, and communion) moderates the relationship

between (1) EI and coping strategies used; and (2) EI and well-being. Following the procedure outlined

by Aiken and West (1991) for testing interactions (or moderation effects) involving continuous variables,

all continuous variables were converted to z scores and gender, EI skills, and the product terms between

gender and EI skills were used to predict (1) coping strategies; and (2) well-being. Given the large

number of coping strategies, those of particular interest were the coping strategies which emerged as

significant within the mediation model presented in hypothesis three (i.e., support from others and

venting/self-blame across contexts, and alcohol/drug use within the interpersonal context).

The first set of regression models presented in Table 46 examined the role of sex (in terms of

male-female) as a moderator of the relationship between EI and the coping strategies, as well as EI and

well-being. A series of moderated regressions for sex was performed to explore the incremental variance

of the product term beyond that of main effects. No significant interactions emerged for any of the

moderation models in either work or relationship contexts, or with well-being. However, when EI and sex

were entered together, results revealed significant main effects for both variables in predicting support

from others, venting/self-blame, and alcohol/drug use (in relationships); only EI significantly predicted

well-being, with sex being a non-significant predictor.

The next set of regression models presented in Table 47 examined agency as a potential

moderator. A series of moderated regressions for gender were performed to explore the incremental

variance of the product term beyond that of main effects. No significant interactions emerged for any of

the moderation models. However, when agency and EI were entered together, significant main effects for

EI emerged when predicting support from others (relationship and work), venting/self-blame (work),

alcohol/drug use (relationship), and well-being. When entered together with EI, agency was significant in

predicting only venting/self-blame (relationships), and well-being. It should be noted that EI was

nonsignificant in predicting venting/self-blame (relationships), when entered with agency; however, EI

explained more of the variance in well-being than did agency.

129

Table 46 Pooled Hierarchical Regression Analyses Predicting Coping Strategies and Well-Being from EI

By Sex Interactions

Gender X EI Predicting Coping

or SWB R

2

Adj.

R2

ΔR2

Sig. FΔ β

s.e. t p FMI/RIV

Dependent variable: Support from Others – Relationship

Step 1: Sex .081 .074 .081 < .001 .389 .113 3.444 < .001 .080/.085 EI .165 .053 3.125 .002 .059/.062Step 2: Sex X EI .081 .071 .000 .873 .003 .110 .025 .980 .037/.038

Dependent variable: Support from Others – Work

Step 1: Sex .096 .090 .096 < .001 .419 .126 3.329 < .001 .129/.144 EI .215 .060 3.577 < .001 .151/.173Step 2: Sex X EI .096 .087 .000 .773 .005 .128 .043 .966 .137/.154

Dependent variable: Venting/Self-Blame – Relationship

Step 1: Sex .059 .053 .059 < .001 .215 .093 2.316 .021 .059/.062 EI -.162 .045 -3.578 < .001 .121/.135Step 2: Sex X EI .061 .051 .002 .482 .065 .092 .701 .483 .041/.042

Dependent variable: Venting/Self-Blame – Work

Step 1: Sex .073 .067 .073 < .001 .290 .126 2.304 .021 .089/.095 EI -.248 .059 -4.214 < .001 .096/.104Step 2: Sex X EI .075 .066 .002 .552 .079 .135 .589 .556 .211/.256

Dependent variable: Alcohol/Drug Use – Relationship

Step 1: Sex .064 .057 .064 < .001 -.329 .098 -3.354 < .001 .080/.085 EI -.108 .047 -2.303 .021 .102/.111Step 2: Sex X EI .073 .063 .009 .117 .156 .100 1.565 .118 .116/.128

Dependent variable: Well-Being Step 1: Sex .407 .403 .407 < .001 -.121 .112 -1.073 .285 .295/.394 EI .641 .048 13.439 < .001 .116/.128Step 2: Sex X EI .408 .402 .000 .738 -.009 .103 -.089 .929 .148/.168

Note: For all models, Step 1, df (2, 297); Step 2, df (1, 296); pooled parameter estimates represent mean values for m = 10; all values are similar to results obtained via listwise deletion. Final efficiency rates range from 97.2 to 99.7.

130

Table 47 Pooled Hierarchical Regression Analyses Predicting Coping Strategies and Well-Being from EI By Agency Interactions


or SWB R

2

Adj.

R2

ΔR2

Sig. FΔ

β s.e. t p FMI/RIV

Dependent variable: Support from Others – Relationship

Step 1: Agency .041 .035 .041 .003 .011 .070 .161 .873 .195/.232 EI .196 .067 2.940 .003 .101/.110Step 2: Agency X EI .042 .032 .001 .767 -.015 .061 -.242 .809 .146/.166

Dependent variable: Support from Others – Work

Step 1: Agency .062 .056 .062 < .001 .079 .067 1.181

.238 .143/.162

EI .203 .069 2.942 .004 .191/.226Step 2: Agency X EI .067 .058 .005 .285 -.064 .060 -1.059 .290 .146/.165


Step 1: Agency .076 .070 .076 < .001 -.207 .064 -3.217 < .001 .072/.076 EI -.111 .066 -1.687 .092 .103/.112Step 2: Agency X EI .078 .068 .002 .497 -.039 .059 -.656 .512 .146/.165


Step 1: Agency .058 .052 .058 < .001 -.065 .067 -.979 .328 .125/.139 EI -.204 .065 -3.123 .002 .089/.095Step 2: Agency X EI .067 .057 .009 .175 -.087 .065 -1.346 .180 .263/.339


Step 1: Agency .029 .022 .029 .019 .061 .069 .887 .376 .156/.179 EI -.184 .067 -2.741 .006 .106/.116Step 2: Agency X EI .029 .019 .000 .766 -.017 .058 -.287 .774 .068/.072

Dependent variable: Well-Being Step 1: Agency .476 .473 .476 < .001 .300 .049 6.053 < .001 .110/.120 EI .503 .050 9.974 < .001 .145/.165Step 2: Agency X EI .479 .473 .002 .309 -.046 .046 -.999 .319 .188/.223

Note: For all models, Step 1, df (2,297); Step 2, df (1, 296); pooled parameter estimates represent mean values for m = 10; all values are similar to results obtained via listwise deletion. Final efficiency rates range from 97.4 to 99.3.

131

The final series of moderated regressions for communion are shown in Table 48, with no

significant interactions. However, when communion and EI were entered together, significant main

effects for EI emerged when predicting support from others (relationship and work), venting/self-blame

(relationship and work), and well-being; EI was marginally significant in predicting alcohol/drug use

(relationships). When entered together with EI, communion was significant in predicting only support

from others (work), and venting/self-blame (relationships); however, EI explained more of the variance in

the dependent variables than communion.

132

Table 48

Pooled Hierarchical Regression Analyses Predicting Coping Strategies and Well-Being from EI By

Communion Interactions


or SWB R

2

Adj.

R2

ΔR2

Sig. FΔ Final β

s.e. Final t p FMI/RIV

Dependent variable: Support from others – Relationship

Step 1: Communion .043 .037 .043 .002 .052 .065 .798 .425 .098/.107 EI .180 .063 2.881 .004 .028/.029Step 2: Communion X EI

.044 .034 .001 .653 -.019 .059 -.328 .743 .133/.150

Dependent variable: Support from others – Work

Step 1: Communion .073 .067 .073 < .001 .138 .062 2.204 .028 .051/.054 EI .183 .066 2.784 .006 .149/.169Step 2: Communion X EI

.073 .064 .000 .824 -.005 .058 -.084 .933 .061/.064


Step 1: Communion

.059 .052 .059

< .001 .144 .064 2.250 .025 .090/.097

EI -.258 .064 -4.030 < .001 .089/.096Step 2: Communion X EI

.070 .061 .012 .073 -.103 .058 -1.794 .073 .109/.119


Step 1: Communion

.064 .058 .064 < .001 .109 .063 1.718 .086 .064/.068

EI -.275 .063 -4.375 < .001 .058/.061Step 2: Communion X EI

.069 .060 .005 .266 -.066 .060 -1.102 .271 .117/.129


Step 1: Communion

.032 .025 .032 .014 -.086 .065 -1.312 .190 .101/.109

EI -.124 .064 -1.929 .054 .061/.065Step 2: Communion X EI

.036 .026 .004 .271 .062 .056 1.100 .271 .030/.030

Dependent variable: Well-Being Step 1: Communion

.404 .400 .404 < .001 .001 .054 .019 .985 .177/.207

EI .635 .053 11.989 < .001 .157/.180Step 2: Communion X EI

.405 .399 .001 .463 -.033 .045 -.732 .464 .076/.081

Note: For all models, Step 1, df (2,297); Step 2, df (1, 296); pooled parameter estimates represent mean values for m = 10; all values are similar to results obtained via listwise deletion. Final efficiency rates range from 97.2 to 99.7.

133

Summary of Hypothesis Four Results

The potential confounding of sex and gender role (agency, communion) was first assessed and

revealed males had higher levels of agency than females, but no difference emerged with communion. No

significant differences were observed between males and females with SWB; however, agency was

moderately correlated with SWB while communion was only weakly related with SWB. No significant

differences were observed between males and females with respect to EI and its clarity and repair facets;

however, females had significantly higher attention scores than males. In addition, communion was

weakly to moderately related to EI and its facets (attention, clarity, and repair); however, agency was

moderately related to EI and its facets of clarity and repair but not attention. Although the latter

relationships were significant, results also suggested that agency was more strongly related than

communion with clarity and repair.

In dealing with conflict in relationships, females relied on more support from others than did males,

while males indicated more alcohol/drug use than females. No other differences were seen here. In

dealing with occupational stress, males and females differed only on seeking support from others, with

females having higher means. In terms of gender roles and coping strategies used with interpersonal

conflict, agency was significantly positively related to emotional processing and active coping, and

negatively related to venting/self-blame, while communion was related with emotional expression and

processing. In terms of gender roles and coping strategies used with work stress, agency was

significantly positively related to emotional expression, emotional processing, active coping, and humour,

while communion was positively related with expression, support from others, emotional processing, and

active coping. Agency and communion were able to differentiate between certain coping types, although

the effects were mostly weak. With respect to interpersonal stress, agency differentiated adaptive coping

types from both maladaptive and minimal coping types, while communion differentiated only adaptive

from minimal coping types. With respect to workplace stress, agency only differentiated adaptive from

maladaptive coping types, while communion differentiated adaptive coping types from both maladaptive

and minimal coping types.

134

Moderation analyses revealed no significant interaction effects (sex x EI; agency x EI; communion

x EI) for any of the moderation models (predicting coping strategies, including support from others,

venting/self-blame, alcohol/drug use, and SWB) in either work or relationship contexts.

135

Chapter Four: Discussion

In achieving a greater sense of subjective well-being, the results revealed that it is important to

take into account the levels of emotional skills individuals possess, the coping strategies they use, their

gender assignment, as well as degree of gender socialization – and suggested the value of considering

these constructs both as separate entities as well as simultaneously as a process that occurs in adaptation

to stress in close interpersonal relationships and the workplace. Chapter four begins with a review of each

the four hypotheses in order to make sense of the findings and their consistency, or lack of consistency in

some cases, with some of the research described in the literature review. An overview is then provided

delineating the unique contributions of the current findings to the field, followed by a discussion of

therapeutic and organizational implications. Next, theoretical considerations and future directions are

discussed, as are some of the research limitations.

Hypothesis One: EI will be related to distinct coping strategies for interpersonal and occupational

stress

The first hypothesis of this research was that EI would relate to distinct coping strategies for

interpersonal and occupational stress, and that these coping strategies would be linked with patterns of

adaptive coping. The relationship between EI and adaptive coping patterns was confirmed with results

showing that EI was predominantly linked with a similar pattern of coping strategies applied across the

two contexts. Emotionally intelligent individuals seemed to cope with relationship conflict and work

stress by increasingly focussing on understanding emotional responses, expressing their emotions, getting

comfort and advice from others, and taking action to resolve their situations. They also used less denial

and venting/self-blame to cope with stress across contexts. A difference in coping behaviour emerged

between contexts, with EI being significantly related with increased religious coping in the interpersonal

but not occupational domain. As expected, EI appeared to provide participants with the ability to use

emotional information to guide, and not cloud, their judgment in effective action by implementing more

adaptive coping strategies in dealing with their particular relationship conflict and work situations. The

current findings clarified the specific areas of emotional skills (EI) related to the adaptive and

135

136

maladaptive coping strategies by investigating relationships between the coping strategies and the EI

subscales (attention, clarity, and repair).

It is important to point out that data reduction did suggest the possible confounding of emotional

coping and venting items often used in existing coping research, given that one of the items which

typically has been grouped with venting (i.e., “I’ve been letting my feelings out”), actually loaded on the

emotional expression factor (although it was the lowest loading item on this factor). Upon closer

examination of the items comprising the factors, the nature of venting items reflected a somewhat

uncontrollable release of negative feelings, which may be likened to “emotional leakage” (Goleman,

1995), while the emotional expression items reflected a more thoughtful, controlled method to expressing

emotions (which may be positive or negative in nature). In comparison with emotionally skilled

individuals, those with fewer emotional skills displayed coping behaviour which demonstrated less

control over their emotions and difficulty with modulating emotions when faced with stressors. This

maladaptive coping behaviour may have worsened the outcome of the situations they were dealing with,

for example, by scaring others away due to their emotional outbursts or excessive negativity and thereby

limiting the amount of emotional support they received. The uncontrollable release of distress feelings

may be viewed as being cyclical, contributing to increased stress, depression, anxiety, and negative affect.

These results provide some support for the Kennedy-Moore and Watson (1999) emotional expression

model (reviewed in chapter one). In addition, these findings suggest that having strong emotional skills

provides a degree of control over emotion-focussed coping behaviour, and an abundance of research has

shown that the amount of control individuals perceive themselves to have over stressful situations

influences how difficult the stressors will be for them to cope with (Kobasa, 1979).

The relationship observed between EI and active coping with both interpersonal and occupational

stress may provide some support to the notion that, “Too much emotional intensity could interfere with

the cognitive functioning that is necessary for effective problem-focused coping (Folkman & Lazarus,

p.314)”. While significant relationships between EI and active coping were shown when dealing with

both interpersonal and work stressors, this relationship was somewhat stronger within the occupational

137

context (r = .21 versus r = .35, respectively). Thus, the emotional skills participants possessed appeared to

be particularly helpful in enabling active coping within the work environment. Another consideration is

that active coping might be more appropriate or important in work contexts. In healing relationships, the

coping process seems to be more intrapersonal in nature, not requiring as much external, active coping as

needed when dealing with occupational stress.

The results confirmed research reviewed earlier by Salovey et al. (2002) linking emotional repair

to active coping in a laboratory experiment. Therefore, the current results extend the ecological validity of

some of their findings to real-life situations. They also confirmed research findings by Fitness and Curtis

(2005), who reported emotional repair to be related to task-oriented coping when dealing with an

interpersonal stressor (N = 170). Fitness and Curtis (2005) did not find a significant link between task-

oriented (or active) coping and the attention subscale of EI, as in the current study. However, it should be

noted that in the present study, the relationship between attention and active coping with conflict

approached significance which may be attributed to a larger sample size, increasing power. Attention was

not significantly related to active coping with work stress either. In contrast to coping with stress in close

interpersonal relationships where clarity did not result in increased active coping, when dealing with

occupational stress, clarity (and not only repair) was positively related to active coping.

The current research also provides some insight into substance use in dealing with interpersonal

and workplace stressors, an area in which research is limited. Within the work environment, those higher

in EI tended to use significantly less alcohol/drugs, while this relationship was still significant but weaker

when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships (r = -.26 versus r = -.16). This finding may

simply be attributed to the structure imposed by organizational climates, where the access and

opportunity for substance use is restricted. In addition, emotionally intelligent individuals may be able to

discern that in work situations, where they may already have little control because of the “environmental

press” dictated by the organizational climate, losing what little control they have by using alcohol or

drugs would only contribute to more stressful outcomes48. Less emotionally skilled individuals may be

more likely to turn to alcohol use when dealing with work stressors, because alcohol/drug use represents a

138

means of regulating negative emotions (e.g., depression, anxiety, or anger) or thoughts that result from

aversive work environments (Frone, 1999). EI may serve as a protective factor in a work environment

because having emotional skills helps people in regulating negative emotions so that they would not need

to turn to substances as an attempt to manage distress emotions. An implication for organizations include

supporting their employees in coping with work stress by providing them with outlets (e.g., therapeutic

support, stress-management workshops) that help reduce the emotional impact of stressors so as to avoid

the need to turn to external strategies (such as alcohol use) for dealing with work stress.

One of the differences which emerged was with EI, and more specifically, its repair facet, being

positively associated with religion as a form of coping with close interpersonal but not work stress. The

nature of stress in close interpersonal relationships has to do with connection to others, so people higher

in EI may draw on spiritual connection in effort to help in healing their relationships; doing so may be

helpful in the process of forgiveness (Lawler-Row, 2010). The emotional skill of repairing negative mood

states may be considered an important part of the forgiveness process. Generally, mixed findings have

been shown in terms of the relationship between religion and occupational stress, with only some studies

finding a link (e.g., Barhem, Younies, & Muhamad, 2009; Maldonado Feliciano, 2005; Pienaar,

Rothmann, Van de Vijver, 2009). These mixed findings may be attributed to the potential confounding of

extraneous variables, such as gender role, religious orientation (including meditative practices), levels of

faith, cultural background, work climate, and types of occupational stressors.

Interestingly, acceptance, which has been considered an adaptive coping strategy in the literature,

was not related to EI or any of its subscales. Acceptance may not be necessary in making positive

changes when faced with relationship and work stress. For instance, one of the participants in the current

study, “Mary”, who was high in EI and SWB wrote about an interpersonal conflict with her sister

involving her sister taking advantage financially of her family, “I'd like to just accept my sister for who

she is without judgement, but it is very hard. Sometimes distance between two people is okay. Sometimes

conflict is okay. I think it makes room for change in both people.” Therefore, Mary saw this conflict as a

situation for personal growth, and chose to not accept her sister’s behaviour. For Mary, accepting her

139

sister’s behaviour would appear to stunt her personal development and forming a more mature adult

relationship with her sister. Mary’s response reflects a degree of confidence that she has the ability to

“repair” her emotional state, as well as the flexibility of knowing that she does have a choice to accept her

sister. Thus, acceptance is accessible within her coping repertoire, as she sees fit. Perhaps, in certain

stressful situations, acceptance may be akin to learned helplessness, a psychological state that describes

people feeling powerless to change their self or situation (Seligman, 1975). Accepting a stressful work

situation “as is” would not contribute to improving the situation in any way. It should be noted that the

unexpected finding of a lack of significant relationships with acceptance may be measurement based, and

perhaps requires more specific and detailed items to clarify a definition of acceptance for participants

completing the survey. While acceptance was not shown to be used by emotionally intelligent individuals

in dealing with conflict in personal relationships or work stress, this relationship may be dependent on the

nature of the stressor. For example, acceptance has been shown to have beneficial effects when dealing

with grief or chronic pain (see Kubler-Ross, 1969), and emotionally intelligent individuals may be able to

implement acceptance as a strategy more readily in dealing with these types of stressors, with studies

needed to further explore these areas.

The subscales comprising EI suggested specific emotional skills were linked with particular

coping strategies. This information may be useful to therapists in terms of helping their clients develop

certain areas of emotional skills in promoting the use of certain adaptive coping strategies when facing

conflict situations and work stress. For example, when dealing with work and stress in close interpersonal

relationships, support from others was significantly related to attention to emotional information and the

ability to repair negative mood states, but emotional clarity was not a skill that was significantly

positively related to gaining support from others. Thus, when clients indicate a lack of social resources,

therapists may be more inclined to focus on helping their clients develop their emotional attention and

repair skills rather than clarity. However, emotional clarity was significantly negatively related to

venting, self-blame, and denial coping across contexts, whereas attention to emotion and repair were not

as strongly related to these coping strategies (with the exception of repair being negatively correlated with

140

venting/self-blame when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships, and attention being

negatively correlated with denial when dealing with work stress). In application, therapists working with

clients who are self-critical and/or using denial/avoidance when dealing with conflict and work stress

may wish to begin by helping these clients gain a better understanding of their emotional experiences

(i.e., emotional clarity). Rather than letting their emotions paralyze and trap them in a state of avoidance,

helping clients understand their emotions (i.e., by naming feeling “anxious” or “afraid” and

understanding why they feel this way) seems to allow people to face their situations. In promoting active

coping across contexts, therapists may primarily seek to build clients’ skills in emotional repair, although

developing emotional clarity may also help with active coping when dealing only with occupational

stress. A more thorough discussion of therapeutic applications will be presented in the summary and

implications section below.

The current results also confirmed that EI is moderately related with subjective well-being, with

clarity and repair facets being moderately related with subjective well-being and attention to emotion

being weakly related. These results are consistent with the previous research findings noted earlier and

suggest that clarity and repair are the emotional skills most salient in achieving well-being. It is important

to note that a linear rather than curvilinear relationship was found between attention and well-being, and

so the idea that excessive emotional attention is detrimental to well-being was not supported. Fitness and

Curtis (2005) pointed out that the ability to pay attention to feelings may serve an informational function,

with more cognitive work being needed in terms of establishing their meaning, consequences, and

regulation. The ability to pay attention to emotional information may act as a stepping stone for the

higher-level emotional skills in achieving well-being, and without attention to emotion, clarity and repair

would not be attainable. Taken together, emotionally intelligent individuals appear to pay more attention

to emotional information, and possess an increased ability to regulate emotions and integrate emotions

rationally in their actions (i.e., coping strategies) so as to obtain more positive and less negative outcomes

when dealing with stressful personal and work situations.

141

Hypothesis Two: Differences will emerge in coping behaviours across contexts as well as their

relationships to EI and well-being

Hypothesis two examined whether people apply coping strategies consistently regardless of the

type of stressors they face (i.e., interpersonal or occupational). In general, the results indicated both

similarities and differences in the ways people cope with relationship and work stress. As expected, when

dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships, individuals reported using significantly more

emotion-focused strategies, including venting, self-blame, and acceptance than when they were dealing

with work stress, with emotional expression approaching a level of significance. Unanticipated was the

finding that relationship rather than occupational stress was associated with more reports of self-blame

since pattern was reversed in an earlier study (Vitaliano et al., 1995). However, this may have resulted

from the grouping of self-blame with venting items which made it unclear as to whether differences

found were attributable more so to venting or self-blame. Interestingly, when dealing with occupational

stress, individuals reported relying more on support from others and humour than when they were dealing

with stress in close interpersonal relationships. Because social support consisted of both instrumental and

emotional items, it is unclear whether participants used more of one form of social support than the other.

In view of the contradictory findings cited earlier surrounding the types of coping strategies used with

work stress, it is not surprising that no clear patterns were shown with active coping as a problem-focused

strategy. No significant differences emerged in the extent to which coping strategies were used between

contexts with respect to emotional processing, active coping, denial, alcohol/drug use, and religion,

suggesting that people use these strategies equally.

Given the questions of whether coping strategy effectiveness is different depending on the

context and whether they help at all in the context of occupational stress, hypothesis two also explored

the relationships between subjective well-being in relation to the coping strategies people applied.

Findings suggested that participants were generally not coping well with either interpersonal or

occupational stress. For example, more humour was used with occupational stress, yet humour was

unrelated to SWB. Similarly, acceptance was unrelated to SWB, yet participants reported using more

142

acceptance with interpersonal conflicts than workplace stress. A comparison of the relationship of

subjective well-being to coping strategies between relationship and work contexts revealed that not all

strategies typically considered to be adaptive were associated with well-being. For example, acceptance,

religion, and humour, which are strategies generally considered to be adaptive in the literature, were not

related to SWB. Differences in the relationships between coping strategies and well-being also emerged,

with individuals reporting greater subjective well-being when using emotional expression as a coping

strategy to deal with interpersonal but not work stress, as well as when using active coping to deal with

stress in the workplace but not close interpersonal relationships. These findings suggest that expressing

emotions when dealing with conflict in personal relationships may be psychologically healthy, but in a

professional work environment, expressing emotion may not increase SWB. On the other hand, actively

working to resolve problems in a professional work environment contributes positively to psychological

health, whereas active coping strategies do not seem to increase SWB when dealing with relationship

conflict where emotional connection to others is key.

In further exploring coping behaviours across contexts, the coping strategies were classified into

three coping “types”: Individuals who primarily used adaptive strategies, those who generally used

maladaptive strategies, and those who used little of either adaptive or maladaptive coping strategies. The

three coping types which emerged were identical across the two contexts, with only a minor difference in

the grouping of one of the coping strategies (i.e., little alcohol/drug use was grouped with adaptive coping

when dealing with work stress, while it was grouped with minimal coping when dealing with stress in

close interpersonal relationships). Humour was grouped under maladaptive coping, and may represent a

confounding of humour styles (e.g., aggressive humour, self-defeating humour, self-enhancing, and

affiliative humour; see Martin et al., 2003). In both contexts, a somewhat larger number of people were

grouped under minimal coping, in comparison with the adaptive and maladaptive coping groups,

suggesting that most people generally do not implement coping strategies to any great extent when

dealing with either conflict in relationships or stressors in the workplace.

143

While the increased use of coping strategies has been considered beneficial, it is conceivable that

individuals in the minimal coping group might have been more adept at handling stressors given their

emotional skills, and needed to access coping strategies to a lesser extent than the other participants. In

investigating this possibility, it was found that EI was significantly able to differentiate the adaptive

coping group from both the maladaptive and minimal coping groups in each of the two contexts. EI was

generally related to a pattern of implementing adaptive coping strategies, suggesting that those with

higher emotional skills actively apply positive coping strategies, while those with lower emotional skills

either do not access coping strategies much and/or apply maladaptive strategies to a greater degree.

Although there was no statistically significant difference in emotional skills between minimal and

maladaptive groups, it may be of practical significance to point out that in comparison, the EI means were

observed to be somewhat higher in the minimal group.

The adaptive copers were also differentiated from both the maladaptive and minimal coping

groups when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships in terms of achieving greater

subjective well-being; no difference in SWB was found between minimal and maladaptive groups. When

dealing with work stress, however, the adaptive coping group showed significantly higher SWB than the

maladaptive coping group only and not the minimal coping group. In terms of practical significance, it

should be noted that the means for SWB were observably, although not statistically, higher for the

adaptive copers in comparison with the minimal copers. The minimal coping group also fared

significantly better than the maladaptive copers to some degree in both contexts. Therefore, it may be

easier for the “minimal group” to learn to develop emotional skills and move towards implementing more

adaptive coping strategies than it would be for the maladaptive coping group (where participants may

need to learn to both eliminate maladaptive patterns and implement positive patterns).

Altogether, these findings suggest that individuals who are emotionally skilled and have greater

subjective well-being implement positive coping strategies to a larger degree than those less skilled.

Although it is possible that emotionally skilled individuals would need to access fewer coping strategies

in general because they would naturally be able to “repair” their emotional states in response to stressors,

144

in actuality, it appears that they access coping strategies to a large extent. The coping strategies which

those higher in EI access are primarily adaptive in nature and most likely used to repair the negative

mood states they may experience as a result of the stressors. Individuals in the minimal coping group may

not access any coping strategies to a large extent because they may be at a loss for how to cope given

their somewhat lower levels of emotional skills (in comparison with the adaptive coping group). They

may pointlessly try a little of everything in terms of coping strategies to deal with the stressors they face.

It may also be that their lack of emotional skills fail to convey the extent to which the stressors are

affecting them (e.g., because of lower attention or clarity with regards to emotional information), and as a

result they may not detect the need to implement coping strategies to a greater extent.

Hypothesis Three: Coping behaviour will mediate the relationship between EI and well-being for

both interpersonal and occupational stress

The mediation model results examining the relationship between EI and well-being were similar

across occupational and interpersonal contexts. In terms of coping with both interpersonal and

occupational stress, a partial mediation was found between emotional intelligence and well-being through

the use of social support and less self-blame/venting. In terms of coping with stress in close interpersonal

relationships, EI also promoted well-being through a reduced reliance on alcohol/drug use. In other

words, the current study suggested that EI is valuable in increasing well-being when dealing with

interpersonal and occupational stress primarily because effective emotional understanding, awareness,

and management tends to increase social support and decrease venting and self-blame across both

contexts, as well as reduce alcohol/drug use when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships.

These results further demonstrated that a direct link remained between EI and well-being, after

controlling for coping mechanisms. Although a full mediation was not found, the overall models,

consisting of EI and the coping strategies (social support, venting/self-blame, alcohol/drug use)

impressively explained approximately 51% of the variance in subjective well-being for stress in close

interpersonal relationships, while EI and the coping strategies (social support and venting/self-blame)

similarly explained an impressive 53% of the variance in SWB for occupational stressors.

145

It is important to keep in mind that everyone who participated in the current study, regardless of

their levels of EI, reported an interpersonal conflict situation. It appears, then, that both emotionally

intelligent and less emotionally skilled individuals experience conflicts in close relationships in their

lives. A high level of emotional skill does not implicate a lack of interpersonal conflicts, but it appears to

affect how well individuals navigate through conflict to maintain high levels of well-being. As was noted

earlier, social supports are not always positive in nature and may have deleterious consequences for well-

being. In the case of interpersonal conflict, it may be considered more likely for the conflict situation

between two people to “spread” more widely and affect other members closely related to the individual

who is directly faced with the conflict. However, those who were emotionally skilled appeared to be able

to draw on positive social support systems in helping them cope, which led to increased SWB. These

positive social supports may belong to the immediate group affected by the conflict (e.g., family members

supporting the individual who is upset because of her partner’s long work hours), or the social support

may come from other networks (e.g., friends of the upset partner who are unrelated to the family,

particularly in the situation where family members may be supporting the partner’s efforts to provide

financially for the family). Therefore, it is possible that emotionally skilled individuals have larger social

networks upon which they may rely on when other interpersonal relationships go awry.

While it may be that emotionally intelligent individuals have a larger network of positive social

supports in their lives, it is not implied that emotionally intelligent individuals are all extraverts. In the

case of emotionally intelligent introverts, it may be that they have fewer, but very stable and reliable

positive social supports whom they can look to for comfort when dealing with conflict in a different

relationship. For instance, having one positive role model in the life of an individual has been shown to

make a positive impact and begin the process of building resilient characteristics, such as, emotional

intelligence (Werner, 1999). Because the support coping scale consisted of both emotional and

instrumental support items in the current study, it is unclear whether the type of social support is

important in terms of the findings. However, the principal components analysis made no distinction

146

among the items comprising the social support scale, and therefore, the interpretation may be made that

EI acts through either type of social support to augment overall well-being.

Given the beneficial effects of social support in terms of general health and psychological well-

being, it is not surprising that emotionally intelligent individuals use social support coping to deal with

conflict in their personal lives and work stress. In the case of work stress, one type of work stress cited by

participants was bullying situations (either through their coworkers or managers/supervisors). It may be

that particularly when dealing with troubled relationships, either in their personal or professional lives,

emotionally intelligent individuals seek social supports elsewhere to perhaps re-affirm their ability to be

accepted, cared for, and adored socially. Gaining social support and continuing to build positive social

bonds elsewhere may work to minimize rather than magnify the troubled interpersonal relationships or

work demands they are dealing with. It may reassure the individuals that they are able to form positive

bonds and are not to be blamed for their troubled conflictual relationships. Speaking to others may also

help them process their conflictual and occupational situations to work towards attaining solutions that

mitigate the effects of the stressors.

Interestingly, alcohol/drug use was found to be a mediator of the relationship between EI and

well-being when dealing with relationship, but not work stress. The successful navigation of stress in

close interpersonal relationships seems to require emotional skills with those more skilled being less

inclined to increase substance use – an avoidant strategy which, in turn, resulted in greater distress.

However, significant results for alcohol/drug use as a mediator were found only when using listwise data

(p = .048), with results approaching a level of significance when pooled across m = 10 datasets (p =

.074). Therefore, this coping strategy may not be considered as potent a mediator as support from others

and venting/self-blame. This particular coping variable is usually largely skewed within the general

population and the study sample was reflective of this pattern. Given the tendency for multiple imputation

to normalize variables, it is possible that after imputing the missing data, power may actually have been

sufficiently reduced for statistics involving this particular coping strategy to render the pooled findings

non-significant.

147

It is somewhat surprising that of the ten coping strategies included as possible mediators, only

three were found to be significant with the relationship data model, and two with the work data model. A

possible explanation for this may be that when entering all the coping strategies together in a mediation

model, social support and venting/self-blame may simply simultaneously explain more of the variance in

EI’s relationship to well-being than any of the other coping strategies assessed. That emotional expression

and processing were not found to be significant mediators may be attributed to their potential overlap

with EI skills, and the possibility that they may explain more shared variance in SWB. The current study

also far from exhausted the different types of coping strategies and had other coping strategies been

included, they may have been shown to also be salient in explaining the relationship between EI and

SWB.

One unexpected finding warranting further comment was that active coping was not a significant

mediator of the relationship between EI and subjective well-being in either context. It may be that when

dealing with interpersonal and occupational stressors, emotional skill is not necessarily required for active

coping to significantly increase well-being. For example, working on a task at work (e.g., returning

customers’ calls) may be considered an active coping strategy which helps reduce work overload, and

may help one feel better about being more on top of things or less overwhelmed. However, completing

this particular work task may not require a high degree of emotional skill – whereas intuitively, accessing

social support would.

Another possible explanation may be best illustrated by an example directly from a study

participant, a 32-year-old woman who was considered to be highly emotionally intelligent and

psychologically well-adjusted. In dealing with a stressful situation at work in which she felt marginalized

because she tried to speak up against unethical practices by individuals in her organization, she

recognized that because she had little power in her workplace, it would be better for her to step back and

not take an active approach to handling the situation,

I am in a situation where I have to endure this for a year.... I do not want to get involved in office politics because I have a year to go before I finish my degree. I need to finish my research and defend after which I will be in a less vulnerable situation and can take a stand. I don't enjoy backing off but at this point it appears the best solution. Am not happy about it

148

but feel I don't have a choice in the matter. How important strategy and credentials are ... if you want to challenge unethical practice you need to be in a position of power since there are limited accountability systems in place within the institution and individual personalities count for more.

Thus, there may be occupational and interpersonal situations in which active coping would not be

beneficial in increasing subjective well-being, regardless of one’s level of emotional intelligence. It

has been shown that perceived control affects coping strategies used in the workplace (Petrides and

Furnham, 2003), and future research may wish to control for this factor.

At the same time, it is also important to keep in mind that active coping on its own may offer a

different route to augmenting well-being than through the EI path. To increase subjective well-being, it

may be easier to guide individuals who are not high in their level of emotional skill to implement active

coping strategies rather than develop emotional skills, which may be more challenging to do. Then again,

it may not make sense to coach specifically on implementing active coping strategies to deal with work

stress because an emphasis needs to be placed on what may be the ability and flexibility emotionally

intelligent individuals have in recognizing when to implement certain strategies and when not to. It is

important to keep in mind that EI is positively related to active coping, and therefore, there is generally an

increased likelihood for individuals with higher EI to recognize that active coping may be more

worthwhile than stewing over their stressors. The subtleties of the particular stressor situations (e.g., type

of work stress) were not fully captured in the analysis of the data, and would be more difficult to control

for and factor in without conducting an experimental study. This may also explain why additional

significant coping strategies mediators (other than social support, venting/self-blame, and alcohol/drug

use) were not found.

In considering that subjective well-being was assessed by calculating a composite score across

several indices (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, negative affect, positive affect, life satisfaction, etc.), it is

possible that additional significant mediators would be found when considering specific aspects of well-

being rather than overall psychological well-being. A composite score assumes that a person's overall

well-being is made up of an equal combination of depression, anxiety, stress, positive affect, life

satisfaction, etc. When using a composite well-being score, it is unknown to what extent the results reflect

149

the common variance which is shared among the components or the unique variances of the specific

components (Busseri, Sadava & DeCourville, 2007). Without further statistical procedures, it is unknown

whether the results found using subjective well-being represent the variance that is shared among the

components or the variance specific to depression, stress, anxiety, positive affect, negative affect, or life

satisfaction.

Because the mediation models demonstrated only a partial mediation, it made it apparent that EI

may be working through other unexamined coping mechanisms and has strong direct effects on

increasing subjective well-being. It follows that increasing emotional skills alone may help in promoting

SWB. Whether it is possible to learn emotional skills and to what extent, has been an area of controversy

(Matthews and Zeidner, 2000).

Investigating coping style group as a potential mediator. In order to examine coping style

group as a potential mediator between EI and SWB, analysis of covariance was performed given that it is

a categorical, nominal variable, with results showing that well-being was not found to vary significantly

with coping style across both interpersonal and occupational contexts, after adjustment by covariates (i.e.,

emotional intelligence). Thus, coping style group does not appear to be a potential mediator of the

relationship between EI and SWB. The reason that coping style group was not found to be a significant

mediator may be explained statistically. In constructing the coping groups, the coping data was clustered

and collapsed into only three groups, thereby leaving out potentially important information. Therefore, it

may be more informative and practical for future research in this area to continue to examine the

intricacies of coping behaviour through the examination of each particular coping strategy rather than a

general coping style (e.g., adaptive or maladaptive).

Hypothesis Four: Gender will be differentially related to EI and the coping strategies used in each

context. Gender will moderate the relationship between EI and SWB and between EI and coping

strategies.

As anticipated, the results of the gender analysis did suggest the confounding of sex and gender

differences. Generally, the current sample reflected men to be significantly higher in agency than women,

150

but no significant sex differences existed with communion, suggesting that men and women may be

differentiated along the agentic but not communion dimension. In other words, on average, men may be

as expressive as women while at the same time, more agentic than women. This finding is contrary to the

notion of restrictive emotionality in men reviewed earlier (Blazina & Watkins, 1996). While neither men

nor women were significantly better off in terms of subjective well-being, well-being was significantly

and positively related to gender role (i.e., both agency and communion). However, a stronger relationship

was found between SWB and those possessing agentic in comparison with communal characteristics (r =

.52 and r = .25, p < .001, respectively). Although there was a statistically significant difference in the

extent to which men and women internalize the agentic role, it is important to note that on a practical

level, the differences in the means appeared to be minimal. These results may be compared with those

reported earlier by Ghaed and Gallo (2006), indicating women to be significantly higher in femininity

then men, with no significant sex differences emerging with agency. In terms of the implications that

these findings have on cultural and societal levels, as suggested by Twenge (1997), these findings may

reflect a general trend in our society of women becoming more autonomous than in the past, with men

and women evening up the gaps on their levels of expressiveness or tendencies towards others. The

results suggest a slight shift from traditional cultural and societal expectations valuing the characteristics

of agency in men (i.e., self-confidence, autonomy, active) more so than communion (e.g., kind,

understanding, and helpful to others).

In terms of EI, no significant sex differences emerged between men and women. As expected,

however, a significant sex difference was found in the extent of attention individuals pay to emotional

information, with women possessing higher levels than men (Lane, Sechrest, and Riedel, 1998; Zomer,

2003). Gender role differences in emotional attention were observed as well, with communion being

positively associated with attentional skills, and agency being unrelated to attention. In comparison with

men, EI appears to implicate greater attention and awareness of emotional information in females and in

individuals who are higher in their levels of communion. Agency was more strongly positively related to

clarity and repair than expressivity although significant positive relationships were seen with both. These

151

findings appear contrary to Conways (2000) research reviewed earlier revealing higher masculinity to be

associated with lower complexity in representations of one’s own and others’ emotions and no relation

between complexity of emotional representation and femininity. However, it makes sense that those who

were more independent (agentic) were clearer about their emotions and better able to regulate them,

whereas those with more expressive traits were more attentive to emotional information. These gender

findings are consistent with previous research investigating sex differences in EI, and seem to reflect the

varying interpersonal styles between the sexes shaped by societal expectations, with men being

encouraged to be more rational and women more emotional (Jordan, 1997; Rider, 2000; Zomer, 2001,

2003). Other trait investigations (e.g., the Big Five), similarly show weak links to male-female sex

differences, while stronger links are reported with socialized gender differences (i.e., agency-communion)

(e.g., Ghaed & Gallo, 2006). Overall, however, the relationship between EI and agency and EI and

communion are very similar (r = .44 vs. r = .39, respectively) suggesting that while both are moderately

related to emotional intelligence, the way that EI is achieved in agentic and communal personalities is

different. It may be that the increased attention to emotional information in communion is ruminative in

nature and given the negative relationship between excessive rumination and well-being, perhaps helps

explain why communal personalities are not as strongly related to SWB as agentic personalities.

When examining gender in relation to coping strategies, differences were found to be attributed

more so to gender role (i.e., agency/communion) rather than sex (i.e., male/female). The only sex

differences in coping strategies to emerge were with: 1) alcohol, with men using this strategy more than

women when dealing with interpersonal conflict (and not with occupational stress), and; 2) support from

others, with women using this strategy more than men in both relationship and work contexts. These

results make sense considering cultural influences regarding the importance of attachment and

relationships to women. They are consistent with other studies showing men to use more withdrawal

coping, females more social support coping, and a lesser likelihood of men’s willingness to seek help

from others (Blazina & Watkins, 1996; Gilligan, 1993; Gonzales-Morales et al., 2006; Nolen-Hoeksema

et al., 1994; Tamres et al., 2002).

152

Statistics also report greater reliance on alcohol consumption as a coping strategy by men;

interestingly, the men in this sample showed increased alcohol/drug use in the context of stress in close

interpersonal relationships but not work, perhaps because of the more conservative structures set in place

within work environments, as well as the need to be alert on the job. As explained earlier, Burda & Vaux

(1987) found that social drinking may facilitate supportive exchanges in men by easing restrictions

against traditionally feminine behaviours, and perhaps this is being tapped into by the current findings.

Unexpectedly, these findings do not provide support for the earlier research cited linking sex differences

with other types of coping strategies (e.g., rumination and emotional expression being used more so by

women than men). Although the results suggest the confounding of gender role with sex in existing

research examining coping and EI, it is important to point out that the existing research cited has

examined these constructs with general coping style rather than in relation to specific situations as was

done in the current study; this may have contributed to the discrepancies reported.

Several gender role differences emerged with respect to coping. Interpersonally, communion was

linked with emotional expression and emotional processing, while agency was significantly positively

related to emotional processing, active coping, and negatively to self-blame/venting. In conflict

situations, it is common for women to often seek their male partners to be more expressive of their

emotions, as men are more likely to cope by withdrawal or expressing frustrations in destructive ways

(Fitness & Curtis, 2005). Interpersonally, the agentic gender role was found to be more action-oriented in

coping with conflict (i.e., processing emotions, actively coping), and less expressive of emotion

(including distress emotions). In contrast, communion as a gender role was shown to be emotion-oriented

in coping with conflict in relationships, but in a seemingly productive, active manner to help with

processing emotions. In light of these results, it appears that the link between emotional expression,

emotional processing, and active coping with gender is more related to the degree of internalization of

gender role (i.e., agency or communion) rather than being male or female because no significant

differences were found between males and females along these coping dimensions.

153

In terms of work stress, both agency and communion were significantly related with emotional

expression, emotional processing, and active coping. Agentic individuals appear to be more comfortable

and confident in voicing their feelings about situations at work than in their personal/intimate

relationships. Differences in work stress emerged with humour being positively related to agency, but

unrelated to communion. Communion was positively related to social support, while the relationship was

not significant for agency and social support. Keeping in mind that women in this study were lower than

men in agency and that agency was unrelated to the use of social support, the latter findings are supported

by the cross-cultural study conducted in Spain reviewed earlier, where social support coping reduced

distress for women but not for men when dealing with occupational stress (Gonzales-Morales et al.,

2006). Overall, the results of the current study suggest that existing research has likely confounded male

and female differences in EI and coping with gender socialization. Additional studies are needed to

clarify these relationships.

Investigating gender differences and coping style groups. In terms of coping style groups (i.e.,

adaptive, minimal, and maladaptive), the current findings again suggested that gender effects were

primarily attributable to the social constructs of agency and communion, rather than being male or female

since no significant differences emerged with sex, while they did with the gender social constructs.

Within the context of work, findings were intuitive, with agency significantly differentiating between

adaptive and maladaptive coping groups; there was no significant difference in agency between adaptive

and minimal groups. Communion did significantly differentiate between the adaptive coping group in

contrast to both minimal and maladaptive coping groups in the occupational context, with higher

communion seen among the adaptive coping group. This suggests that success in dealing with workplace

stress is strongly related to turning towards others (or, communion). With respect to stress in close

interpersonal relationships, the adaptive work coping style group was significantly higher in agency than

the other two groups, as anticipated. Unexpectedly, in terms of stress in close interpersonal relationships,

the adaptive coping group possessed significantly more communal characteristics than the minimal, but

not the maladaptive coping group.

154

The lack of a significant difference in level of communion between adaptive and maladaptive

coping groups, together with a significant difference emerging between adaptive and minimal groups is

difficult to interpret. A possible explanation for this effect may be attributed to the expressive quality of

communion, with communion also having been termed “expressiveness” by some. The minimal group

showed little expressiveness, because it used little of any particular type of coping strategy. However, the

maladaptive group used more venting/self-blame (among other expressive maladaptive coping strategies),

which is a form of expression and requires some level of sensitivity to others. Thus, the maladaptive

group was somewhat higher in expressiveness than the minimal coping group and did not differentiate

itself statistically from the adaptive group in terms of expressiveness (although it is observably lower in

mean). Similarly, a tendency towards others (or communion) did not seem to significantly differentiate

between maladaptive and adaptive groups, because coping strategies in both groups may have involved

some form of expression (whether positive or negative in nature). Further investigation is needed as to the

sensitivity of the communion construct in detecting maladaptive dimensions of coping, since this

construct is intended to reflect adaptive tendencies towards others (apparent in its association with SWB).

Since these unexpected results did not emerge within the context of work stress, it may suggest a possible

confounding of the operationalization of this construct (e.g., with unmitigated communion), particularly

when assessed in different contexts (e.g., interpersonal and occupational). Even so, the magnitude of the

effect size for both agency and communion was rather small, and even smaller in comparison with the

effects observed between EI and coping style groups suggesting variance in coping style groups to be

better explained by EI.

Unexpectedly, the moderation analysis revealed that the ways in which emotional intelligence

and coping strategies were related to well-being was not significantly affected by sex (i.e., being male or

female) or socialized gender role (i.e., agency/communion). In other words, gender did not interact with

emotional skills in a way that affected coping strategy choice or well-being. For example, although it was

considered possible that perhaps being female or having more expressive traits, together with being

emotionally intelligent might result in the increased use of social support than it would for an emotionally

155

intelligent male (or agentic individual), this was not the case. Therefore, any significant correlational

relationships between the gender measures with respect to EI or coping strategies appears to be limited to

simple and not interactional effects. Given the moderation results, it was unnecessary to control for

gender in the above path analysis models.

Overview of Research Contributions

Taken together, the findings presented support for the place for emotional intelligence within an

extended adaptational model contextualizing EI within the transactional model of stress and coping. The

results of the current investigation confirmed that individual differences in emotional processes play a

crucial role in how individuals cope with both interpersonal and occupational stress to affect subjective

well-being. The current investigation presents as being the first or earliest I found which compares stress

responses in relation to EI and coping simultaneously in an adaptational model across two different

contexts, with research in this area just beginning to emerge. Both the interpersonal and occupational

realms seemed to be appropriate choices in assessing the extended adaptational model since they were

common areas applicable to all participants and allowed them to choose their own personally salient units

of analysis (i.e., stressor examples). Providing the units for assessment likely increased the ecological

validity of the results and the applicability of the findings to real-life (rather than laboratory) situations.

The areas assessed also presented as valuable realms wherein emotional and coping processes take place

to shape SWB. The current investigation is unique in its assessment of mediation models across the two

contexts, with results revealing that certain coping strategies in dealing with conflict in relationships (i.e.,

social support, venting/self-blame, and alcohol/drug use) and work stress (i.e., social support,

venting/self-blame) partially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and well-being; in

other words, EI facilitates adaptive coping when dealing with interpersonal conflict and occupational

stress primarily through the use of these particular coping strategies. The mediation models further

revealed a direct effect for EI in predicting SWB, suggesting that developing emotional competencies

may directly contribute to SWB.

156

For the most part, findings indicated that when dealing with either type of stressor, EI was

consistently positively related to certain coping strategies (i.e., positively related with emotional

expression, support from others, emotional processing, active coping), and negatively related to other

strategies (i.e., venting/self-blame, denial, and alcohol/drug use). One of the differences which emerged

was with EI being positively related to religion when dealing with conflict situations but insignificant for

work stress. The results further provide unique contributions to this area of research by assessing well-

being as it relates to coping behaviour, rather than assuming the intrinsic adaptiveness (or lack of) of a

particular coping strategy which most studies in the area have tended towards. It revealed that certain

coping strategies considered to be adaptive in the literature were not necessarily adaptive when

considered in different contexts (i.e., emotional expression being adaptive when dealing with stress in

close interpersonal relationships but not significant with occupational stress, and active coping being

adaptive with occupational stress but not significant with stress in close interpersonal relationships).

The study further uniquely assessed the coping strategies through classification procedures and

identified three coping “types” common across contexts: Those who used few or minimal coping

strategies, those who primarily used adaptive strategies, and those who primarily used maladaptive forms

of coping. The results revealed that most participants (66%) did not cope adaptively with stress. EI was

able to differentiate the adaptive coping type from both the maladaptive and minimal coping types, with

the coping types also being differentiated with respect to both gender role and SWB, but not sex.

A further unique contribution of the present research to the field is in its assessment of gender as

it may possibly be the first or one of the earliest studies to examine gender differences (in terms of both

sex and/or gender role) in EI and coping strategies across contexts, with the differences being mostly

attributed to the socialization of gender role (agency/communion) rather than sex (male/female). It

appears that existing studies identifying gender differences in EI and coping may have confounded

biological and sociological aspects of gender. Results further indicated no significant gender differences

in terms of the transactional model of stress (via moderation models) suggesting that sex does not interact

with EI to influence coping strategy choice (i.e., social support, venting/self-blame, alcohol/drug use) or

157

well-being. Finally, while studies in psychology use student samples most often, with some studies

evaluating specific populations, this study increased the generalizability of the findings to the general

population. Given that most individuals, if not all, may relate to having close interpersonal and

occupational stressors in their lives, the results of the current investigation may be readily and practically

applied essentially by anyone in the general (North American) population to help increase their subjective

well-being.

Therapeutic Implications

Overall, these results have important implications for the therapeutic context and organizational

policy, as well as future research directions. With regards to therapeutic implications, assessing emotional

intelligence and coping behaviour may help guide therapeutic intervention. Therapists may help clients in

developing emotional and coping skills where needed to help increase their quality of life. For example,

for those with low emotional clarity or repair skills, therapy may help with understanding and modulating

negative affectivity to enable better choices in terms of responding to interpersonal conflict and work

stressors. This may be illustrated by an example directly from another study participant, “Ed”, a young

man who was 20-year-old and considered to be low in EI and SWB. In describing a stressful

interpersonal situation, he wrote,

I’ve started to have more feelings towards her [a really good friend for the past eight years], and I’m about 100 times way more sensitive towards times where I perceive that she is avoiding me or has ditched me. Last night [when] we were hanging out, she gets a phone call, [and] she was on the phone for like 30 minutes, continuously saying things like: “We're doing nothing” and “I’m tired”. I was getting really upset but I couldn't show it. I didn't want to show it. I love her to death but can't even show it due to fears of ruining the relationship. Ed recognized that he would like to express what is on his mind and that nothing would change if

he kept silent. A therapist may help him recognize why he is unable to express his thoughts/feelings to his

friend, for example, by helping him in labelling and understanding his feelings of inadequacy, upset, and

perhaps anger, in addition to his fears. Ed is aware that he is afraid that expressing himself may result in

relationship dissolution, but perhaps he is unaware of the roots of his fears which may stem from earlier

life experiences that made him feel unworthy of affection or perhaps showed him that expressing anger

158

may be explosive and result in relationship termination. Throughout the process, the therapist may help

Ed by exploring his attitude toward emotion (Elliot, Watson, Goldman & Greenberg, 2004), and attention

to emotional information. The therapist may also assist by helping Ed develop a better understanding of

the emotional processes involved, as well explore ways of using emotion as information to guide his

future interactions with his friend (Elliot et al., 2004; Mayer & Salovey, 1997). By modulating his

emotional responses, Ed may have access to the cognitive space needed to make better coping choices in

his encounters with his friend (as well as in his other relationships) which will lead to increased well-

being. The emotional knowledge individuals with high EI possess appears to allow them to more

rationally make decisions and actively cope with stressful situations.

Therapists may also wish to focus on the coping aspects alongside the development of emotional

skills. Bodenmann et al. (2002) examined the effectiveness of Coping Enhancement Training (CET), a

coping-focused prevention program based upon the transactional stress concepts of Lazarus and his

coworkers. In CET, personal coping skills are practiced over a six-hour period by means of theoretical,

diagnostic, and practical work. CET training focuses on three main components: a) the avoidance of

unnecessary stress, b) the expansion of one’s own hedonistic repertoire (pleasant activities) and, c) the

improvement of matching appraisals and situation-appropriate coping strategies. Results showed that

participants displayed better individual coping skills (e.g. active problem-solving and positive self-

verbalization) as well as less reliance on dysfunctional coping strategies (e.g. rumination and blaming

strategies) after two years. A limitation to their study is that it did not evaluate well-being as an outcome.

However, research contextualizing coping and assessing its adaptiveness, as in the present study, may

help inform therapeutic prevention programs, such as CET.

In drawing some parallels between the study results and the therapeutic context, it appears that

individuals with higher levels of emotional skills have learned or inherited some of the basic concepts and

principles implemented in process-experiential therapy (PET) (e.g., emotional expression) and cognitive-

behavioural therapies (CBT) (e.g., linking cognitive patterns of thoughts and emotions with behaviours,

positive self-talk). Given that many individuals present with interpersonal challenges when beginning

159

therapy, the client-therapist relationship would appear to be highly important in modelling and improving

social-emotional skills. Empathy is considered highly valuable in forming this relationship. One of the

functions of empathic listening by a therapist is affect regulation (Watson, 2007). Watson (2007) explains

that the foundational skills of emotional intelligence and competence (e.g., awareness, labelling,

modulation, and expression) are facilitated by therapists’ empathic listening and communication.

Empathic listening assists clients in becoming aware of and labelling their inner experience. In the

process of becoming aware of their emotional experiences, clients are modulating their emotions through

processing them in the pre-frontal cortex (Greenberg & Watson, 2006). This processing decreases

emotional intensity and provides a controlled way for clients to reflect on their experience. Emotions may

be further regulated as clients continue reflecting on their experience and find positive rather than self-

destructive ways of expressing it.

In a comparative study of PET and CBT, Watson and Geller (2005) found that the relationship

conditions (including empathy, acceptance, positive regard, and congruence) facilitated the development

and maintenance of a good working alliance across the two therapies. No significant differences in

relationship conditions emerged across the modalities, other than clients rating their PET therapists to be

higher in positive regard. The study also found that the relationship conditions were predictive of

outcome on measures of depression, dysfunctional attitudes, and self-esteem in both PET and CBT. It

was considered that the relationship conditions help with the development of specific tasks and

interventions which clients view as more fitting to their needs. Interestingly, the alliance was not found to

play a mediating role with respect to the improvement of clients’ interpersonal difficulties, which was

predicted by clients’ mid-treatment depression change scores (Watson & Geller, 2005).

In an earlier study, Greenberg and Watson (1998) found that both client-centred therapy and PET

were effective in treating depression with effect sizes comparable to those reported in studies

investigating CBT. However, PET produced a significantly greater improvement in clients' interpersonal

problems and self-esteem than CBT. A more recent study by Watson et al. (2003) comparing the

effectiveness of CBT and PET also showed clients' levels of depression, self-esteem, general symptom

160

distress, and dysfunctional attitudes significantly improved in both therapy groups. By the end of

treatment, clients in both groups used significantly lower levels of reactive and suppressive coping

strategies and higher reflective coping. However, PET was found to be more effective than CBT (and

other types of therapy) in treating clients’ sense of interpersonal difficulties (Watson et al., 2003).

Therefore, in addition to the therapeutic relationship, the specific tasks of PET may help to improve

clients' interpersonal functioning. For example, a therapist working with Ed may use two-chair and

empty-chair tasks, which would encourage him to express his feelings and needs, as well as request

changes of himself and his friend in appropriate, non-blaming ways. These techniques may help him

listen to his friend’s response and negotiate, responding both to his own needs and his friend’s needs

using a thoughtful rather than avoidant or reactive approach. Through PET, clients learn how to attain

successful conflict resolution and negotiation and are encouraged to apply these skills to their

relationships outside of the therapeutic context (Watson et al., 2003).

Therapeutically, the significance of emotional intelligence and in particular, the ability to pay

attention to emotional information, may also be likened to the practice of mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to increase both psychological and physical well-being on a

long-term basis for those who practice regularly (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). As mindfulness meditation may be

learned, many therapists today are integrating mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) into their

practice, applying it more generally to clients from all populations. MBSR has been proven to benefit

more specific populations as well, such as those experiencing mental health disorders, caregiver distress,

grief, traumatic events, and chronic illness, and professionals in high-stress work environments (Kabat-

Zinn, 1990; Walach et al., 2007).

While mindfulness meditation may be taught as a sort of “skill” with awareness not being limited

to the emotional realm, emotionally intelligent people appear to be innately more aware of their own

emotions and the emotions of others, allowing them to guide rather than control their actions. Cultivating

awareness is essential for the practice of mindfulness meditation, which is “not so concerned with how

much thinking is going on as it is with how much room you are making for it to take place within the

161

field of your awareness from one moment to the next” (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, p. 69). In mindfulness

meditation, it is desirable for individuals to fully attend at each instance, “What matters is whether you

are aware of your thoughts and feelings during meditation and how you handle them” (Kabat-Zinn, 1990,

p. 69). It is considered that by fully attending in the moment to emotions and thoughts of any nature that

may come to mind, allowing them to run freely, and letting them go non-judgmentally, individuals will be

able to apply this practice to their daily experiences of painful emotions or stressful events and “let go” of

the negative emotions which may have deleterious effects on their health. In the process of awareness and

letting go, individuals are letting go of the negative thoughts and emotions which may prevent them from

coping more rationally and effectively. Given these therapeutic implications (with similar implications for

other therapeutic modalities not discussed), the assessment of emotional skills, coping strategies, and

well-being is considered to be valuable in guiding treatment focusing on intrapersonal and interpersonal

experiences, and serves as a way to establish the effectiveness of a therapeutic modality.

Organizational Implications

In terms of organizational implications, given the potential detrimental effects of workplace stress

on workers’ mental health reviewed and the results obtained, it would appear to beneficial for employers

to provide their employees with counselling, psycho-educational programming/seminars, and/or coaching

resources in helping them increase their quality of life. By providing preventative resources to employees,

such as counselling or psycho-educational seminars, these coping outlets will likely assist with

productivity and reduced leave due to stress and depression. Moreover, the use of leisurely work group

activities and work fitness teams may promote psychological and physical health as well as social support

networks for workers (Callan, 1993). Increased well-being is known to result in better job performance.

In contrast, burnout is known to lead to poor job performance and some employees who experience it

need to take a leave of absence from their work, at a substantial financial loss to the companies they work

for.

In addition to helping individuals develop stress-management skills through making counselling

services available to them, large organizations and small businesses are encouraged to put protective

162

structures and strategies in place to help with stress management, sick leave expenses, turnover rates, and

burnout prevention. As described by Lazarus’ transactional model of stress, personal and contextual

factors often interact to influence coping strategies, and in turn employees’ physical and psychological

health (Callan, 1993). Therefore, careful attention is needed with respect to external or environmental

demands and resources (e.g., supports). For instance, equality of pay and pay satisfaction are considered

to help improve well-being. In a study of 211 human service practitioners, Jenaro, Flores, and Arias

(2007) found that coping strategies alone did not preclude burnout but may assist in turnover prevention.

High job and salary satisfaction, along with active coping strategies played an important role in

promoting personal accomplishment. Low job and salary satisfaction and the use of passive or emotional

strategies predicted increased emotional exhaustion. Organizations also need to be mindful of demanding

schedules and compensate appropriately in an effort to reduce stress upon workers. Additional

opportunities for organizational improvements, include providing employees with professional

development opportunities and performance feedback and promoting mutually supportive (horizontal and

vertical) communication to enable workers to adopt a proactive work role (Parker, 1998). Further

organization-focused interventions to help reduce sick leave expenses and turnover include conflict-

solving strategies, team-building strategies, leadership styles (collaborative versus directive), and changes

in workload and shifts (Callan, 1993).

Theoretical Considerations and Future Directions

In terms of theoretical implications, the results provided some support for the adaptational model

contextualizing emotional intelligence within the coping process (see Figure 4). Within the context of the

model, evidence was provided showing that when individuals appraise interpersonal or occupational

situations as stressful, they may attempt to implement certain coping strategies which mediate the

relationship between EI and psychological well-being. The use of social support and lack of venting/self-

blame partly explains the strong direct relationship between EI and psychological well-being. However,

there is much variance in well-being unaccounted for by the strategies used for testing the model. It

would be interesting for future research to investigate the potential meditational effects of coping

163

strategies not considered in the present study, as well as more clearly operationalize the coping scales

(e.g., separate coping scales for venting and self-blame, separate scales for different types of humour,

etc.). In addition, with respect to organizational stress, an outcome measure involving the assessment of

burnout, productivity, turnover rates, etc. may be of further value to organizations.

The construct of emotional intelligence was noted earlier to be of controversy, as is its

operationalization. The current investigation used the self-report or trait approach to EI assessment, and it

would be interesting if an ability EI assessment approach would be able to replicate these results, as some

inconsistencies between these two assessment approaches have been indicated in other research studies

(Emmerling, Shanwal, and Mandal, 2008). It is also important to point out that trait EI is not limited to

attention, clarity, and repair skills, and that the TMMS is simply one measure of EI and did not tap all its

dimensions. Moreover, overall EI was considered to be comprised equally of emotional attention, clarity,

and repair skills; however, because attention was not quite as strongly related to well-being as clarity and

repair, it may have influenced the strength of some of the relationships found. Nonetheless, theoretically,

attention may be a necessary prerequisite for the development of the higher-level emotional skills of

clarity and repair, and considering it of equal value in the composition of EI may be appropriate, with

further research needed in this area.

Another theoretical consideration for future research includes the examination of gender

differences in terms of biological sex as well as socialized gender role. As suggested by Bornstein (1994,

1998) classification described earlier, there are other aspects to gender which were not evaluated in the

present study, in part because of a lack of validated assessment instruments. Researchers need to be

cautious about confounding the different aspects of gender which has resulting in sociological differences

being construed as biological in nature. Theoretically, the results suggest that males and females appear to

be innately more alike in terms of their coping styles, while the extent to which they have internalized

stereotypically feminine and masculine characteristics has a stronger influence on individual differences

in coping behaviour. Validated assessment instruments which evaluate the different aspects of gender are

required. Future research may wish to consider the influence and possible interactions of social economic

164

status, education, and cultural differences along with gender. For example, perhaps more well-educated

men have more feminine characteristics than less well-educated men, which may affect their emotional

competencies, coping styles, and well-being. The interplay between EI, gender, and coping may also be

different for men and women who are in the minority across occupational contexts which traditionally are

more predominantly female or male populated (e.g., construction workers, engineers, nurses, primary

school teachers).

Finally, there are a number of ethical considerations to keep in mind as researchers develop

knowledge and theories about emotional intelligence. For example, is it right for companies to hire

individuals based on their levels of EI? What would the implications be for people if they knew that they

were not emotionally intelligent? Does the emotionally intelligent person do whatever it takes to succeed

(e.g., in an organizational climate or interpersonal relationships), regardless of who they may injure along

the way? Is emotional intelligence always positive in achieving well-being, or might there be situations in

which it may reduce well-being (e.g., empathy may prevent a business decision involving property

acquisitions which would result in people being homeless but lead to greater financial distress for the

empathic individual)?

Limitations

There are a number of limitations with the current study. Coping was limited in its assessment

with only ten coping strategies examined. There are many more ways of coping, as well as coping outlets

(e.g., listening to music, relaxation exercises, going for a drive), which were not investigated and may be

linked with EI and well-being. The brief COPE also did not provide a number of the anticipated coping

strategy scales found in the original study when it was subjected to principal components analysis in the

present research. Because responses were analyzed in two specific contexts – interpersonal and

occupational, results are limited to these contexts. It is also important to point out that the nature of the

stressors within these contexts were unspecified, and may be considered for further specification in future

research. For instance, would individuals cope differently with occupational stress related to workload in

contrast to career development or organizational climate? Similarly, would individuals cope differently

165

with stress in close interpersonal relationships related to their spouses than they would with their siblings

or friends? Another consideration may be the development of an objective way to determine the level of

stress inherent in a particular job (e.g., nursing, police, sales clerk, etc.).

The operationalization of SWB may also be considered a limitation since it was a composite

measure based equally on several well-being scales, including depression, anxiety, stress, negative affect,

positive affect, general life satisfaction, social life satisfaction, career life satisfaction, and home life

satisfaction. Although a composite measure of SWB is considered advantageous in its robustness, it is

unclear to what extent the results represent the unique variances of the specific components or the

common shared variance. Without further statistical procedures, it is unknown whether the results with

respect to the subjective well-being score reflect the variance specific to depression, anxiety, social life

satisfaction, and so on, or the shared variance among these individuals measures.

There is also the limitation inherent in all self-report measures. Although self-report measures

have the advantage of obtaining direct information in a fast, convenient way from the person being

evaluated, they have the disadvantage that the respondents may lack the ability or awareness needed to

properly evaluate themselves, carelessly rush through the protocols, or fake good or bad. Faking in this

study, however, was unlikely to have occurred because of a lack of motivation given the anonymity of the

participants (Schutte & Malouff, 1999). In addressing the limitations of self-reports, future studies would

benefit from using a daily process approach (e.g., journaling, day-to-day monitoring), observer-rated and

physiological measures, where possible.

Moreover, since recruitment and participation were web-based, the sample included only

individuals who had access to the internet. The majority of the sample (over 97%) was North American,

with most participants being Canadian and native-English speakers, rendering the results limited in their

cross-cultural generalizability. While the recognition of emotions in facial expressions is considered to be

largely universal, cross-cultural differences have been found with respect to the levels of control exerted

over different emotions as well as the interpretation of emotional intensity. In terms of emotional control,

for instance, one study found Russians to most tightly control the display of their emotions, closely

166

followed by the Japanese and South Koreans, with Americans displaying the least control over their facial

expressions. Sex differences within these cultures were also discovered (Matsumoto, 2006). Minor, yet

significant, cultural differences in aspects of emotional intelligence have also been found in a study

comparing Norwegians with Americans (Hystad, et al., 2010). Coping styles vary across cultures as well.

Terms such as individualistic and collectivistic are often used to describe the general orientation of other

cultures, and can be extended to describe individuals’ coping styles in these cultures. For example, many

East Asian cultures are collectivistic, emphasizing interdependence on others. The orientation of the

North American and European countries by contrast is individualistic, emphasizing independence and

reliance on oneself.

It should be noted that the current sample was disproportionately comprised of women, and

gender differences should therefore be viewed tentatively. It may be interesting to attempt replication of

the findings by running separate mediation models for males and females. However, splitting the current

sample on sex to run separate mediation models may unintentionally split the sample on an extraneous

variable, such as income. Further research into gender differences may control for potential confounding

variables by collecting separate samples of males and females.

Furthermore, this study used path analyses to examine whether emotional intelligence predicted

the coping behaviours involved in increased subjective well-being. It is possible that the temporal order

of these relationships differ from the suggested model. Although trait EI is considered to develop in early

childhood, emotional skills may be developed through life experiences and there is no way of knowing if

the coping behaviours reported by participants in the present study preceded the skills involved in

emotional processing and regulation. In addition, participants were asked to recall stressful events which

occurred within a year, and the accuracy of their memories may have been affected. Prospective,

longitudinal studies are required to further investigate these limitations.

167

Conclusion

The current study examined the role of emotional intelligence, gender, and coping strategies in

the management of perceived interpersonal and occupational stress on well-being. In general, the current

investigation provided evidence to support the idea that people with high emotional intelligence seem to

possess skills that allow them to cope effectively with stress in close relationships as well as the

workplace. Although some unanticipated findings were recognized and discussed, (for example, in the

relationships of certain coping strategies to EI and gender role), overall, the results (N = 300) supported

each of the four hypotheses and helped to clarify the relationships among the variables. Firstly, EI was

related to the use of distinct coping strategies when dealing with interpersonal and occupational stress.

Secondly, differences in coping behaviour (i.e., coping strategies and coping types) emerged across

coping contexts, as did differences in their relationships to EI and well-being; similarities emerged as

well. It was also found that most participants (66%) did not cope adaptively with stress. Thirdly, certain

coping strategies were found to mediate the relationship between EI and subjective well-being, and a

difference was noted in the mediators between the two context-dependent models, with support from

others and venting/self-blame being common mediators to both models, and alcohol/drug use being an

additional mediator only when dealing with stress in close interpersonal relationships. Fourthly, gender

differences were found in relation to EI and the coping strategies people used in each context and were

more so related to gender role than being male or female; however, moderation models revealed that

gender did not interact with EI to affect coping responses or subjective well-being.

Taken together, the findings of the current research support an extended adaptational model

incorporating emotional intelligence in the transactional model of stress and coping. The results are

considered to be applicable to the general (North American) population. Overall, this study provides

insight into the adaptation processes which occur in two important areas of our lives: close interpersonal

relationships and the workplace. Results indicated that the emotional skills comprising emotional

intelligence are vital to promoting a substantial proportion of our subjective well-being, both directly as

well as indirectly through the implementation of specific coping strategies when faced with these types of

168

stressors. These findings have significant implications for therapists, organizations, and theory

development, as well as directions for future research.

169

Footnotes

1 In other conceptualizations of emotions, emotions are regarded as complex sets of meanings,

meanings-in-action, action potentials (i.e. driving one’s goals), motivational units, and as composed of

desires, beliefs, feelings and values (see Oatley, 2004). Similar to Lazarus’ perspective on emotions,

Damasio’s (2004) perspective is grounded in evolutionary theory. According to Damasio (2004),

emotions are “bioregulatory reactions that aim at promoting, directly or indirectly, the sort of

physiological states that secure not just survival but survival regulated into the range that we, conscious

and thinking creatures, identify with well-being (p. 50).”

2 According to Kennedy-Moore and Watson (1999), emotion has four components: (1) arousal;

(2) experience; (3) reflection; and (4) expression. Arousal is the physiological response which begins with

an initial prereflective reaction to a precipitating stimulus. For instance, an individual with a high distress

threshold may not react much to a love letter she finds in her husband’s coat pocket written by another

woman, particularly if it reduces her sense of guilt about her own affair. Experience is the

phenomenological, felt sense, which begins with the conscious perception of response. Emotional

experience provides individuals with information about themselves and their environment, as they

interact and adapt to it. All forms of emotional experience, from crude affects to focused emotions to

highly elaborated feeling, carry subjective meaning. Reflection involves thoughts pertaining to emotion.

These thoughts involve monitoring experience, expression, and arousal; making sense of them; and

evaluating them. Reflection is represented by the cognitive-evaluative steps. Expression is the observable

behaviour component of emotion, which occurs either automatically in response to arousal or more

deliberately, after cognitive processing.

3 Clearly, emotion is a complex phenomenon which has been conceptualized in different ways by

different theorists. Common to these conceptualizations is the understanding that emotion involves

physiological, affective, and cognitive processes which are involved in assisting individuals to adapt to

their environments. The investigation of EI may assist us in further understanding the coping process

170

since it essentially can be conceptualized as being at the junction of both emotional and cognitive

processes.

4 It should be noted that in the relevant section, principal components analysis was also attempted

by deleting outlier values at the item-level and results were similar to the factor structures presented.

5 With large samples, minor deviations from normality may be flagged as statistically significant,

even though small deviations from a normal distribution will not affect the results of a t test or ANOVA.

Normality tests have little power to tell whether or not a small sample of data comes from a Gaussian

distribution and almost always pass a normality test.

6 In addition, I did perform factor analyses on my data using both parametric (using pearson

correlations) and nonparametric (using polychoric correlations) procedures. Essentially, the factor

structures were the same using either procedure (aside from very slight differences in the inter-item

correlations which did not affect the resulting factor structures).

7 Applying the alternate nonparametric method for FA, the dimensionality of the 35 items

retained from the coping questionnaire was investigated by performing FA on the matrix of inter-item

polychoric correlations using various extraction and rotation methods. The final solution used a principal

components extraction method7. Standard FA procedures produce enhanced results if the data are truly

continuous and multivariate normal because they are based on Pearson correlations. However, item-level

data (e.g., consisting of dichotomous items or items based on Likert scales) often to not meet these

criteria (Bernstein & Teng, 1989). In considering these limitations, some experts recommend conducting

FA procedures on the matrix of Spearman’s correlations (a non-parametric method based on distribution-

free assumptions) rather than on the matrix of Pearson correlations (Panter, Swygert, Dahlstrom, &

Tanaka, 1997, p. 570-571). However, in the current research, the results were similar and because of its

flexibility with data analysis, parametric methods were used.

171

8 It should be noted that both maximum likelihood and principle axis factoring revealed similar

solutions, but principal components extraction method produced a clearer factor solution (and with higher

communalities values and total variance explained).

9 Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) and Hair et al. (1995) indicated that a ratio of 10 cases per factor was

acceptable. Although at least three variables are generally needed per dimension to define a construct,

Bollen (1989) has suggested that two indicators are sufficient for this purpose. In addition, the two items

that load on to each of the following three factors are the same as those used in the Brief COPE.

10 Applying the alternate nonparametric method for FA, the dimensionality of the 35 items

retained from the coping questionnaire was investigated by performing FA on the matrix of inter-item

polychoric correlations using various extraction and rotation methods. The final solution used a principal

components extraction method10. Standard FA procedures produce enhanced results if the data are truly

continuous and multivariate normal because they are based on Pearson correlations. However, item-level

data (e.g., consisting of dichotomous items or items based on Likert scales) often to not meet these

criteria (Bernstein & Teng, 1989). In considering these limitations, some experts recommend conducting

FA procedures on the matrix of Spearman’s correlations (a non-parametric method based on distribution-

free assumptions) rather than on the matrix of Pearson correlations (Panter, Swygert, Dahlstrom, &

Tanaka, 1997, p. 570-571). However, in the current research, the results were similar and because of its

flexibility with data analysis, parametric methods were used.

11 It should be noted that both maximum likelihood and principle axis factoring revealed similar

solutions, but principal components extraction method produced a clearer factor solution (and with higher

communalities values and total variance explained).

12 It is important to note that the ten factor solution adopted possessed eigenvalues over .99.

Although generally factors with eigenvalues over 1.0 are interpreted, as with all mechanical rules, this

method can lead to arbitrary decisions; for instance, it doesn’t make much sense to regard a factor with an

eigenvalue of 1.01 as ‘major’ and one with an eigenvalue of .99 as ‘trivial’. Lastly, in various simulation

172

studies with PCA and EFA, this method has demonstrated tendency to substantially overestimate the

number of factors, and, in some cases, even underestimate them (Ledesma & Valero-Mora, 2007;

Tabachnick & Fiddell, 1996; Zwick & Velicer,1986).

13 Other studies have also included only the eight masculinity and eight femininity items.

14 When an indicator variable has a low communality, the factor model is not working well for

that indicator and possibly it should be removed from the model. Low communalities across the set of

variables indicate the variables are little related to each other. However, communalities must be

interpreted in relation to the interpretability of the factors. A communality of .75 seems high but is

meaningless unless the factor on which the variable is loaded is interpretable, though it usually will be. A

communality of .25 seems low but may be meaningful if the item is contributing to a well-defined factor.

That is, what is critical is not the communality coefficient per se, but rather the extent to which the item

plays a role in the interpretation of the factor, though often this role is greater when communality is high.

15 Although multiple imputation assumes multivariate normality, Schafer and colleagues suggest

that it can work for a variety of different distribution types (Bernaards, Belin, & Schafer, 2007; Graham

& Schafer, 1999; Schafer, 1997; Schafer & Olsen, 1998). It has been pointed out by many that normality

is often the exception rather than the rule (Enders, 2010; Micceri, 1989). Empirical studies further reveal

that normality violations may not pose a serious threat to the accuracy of multiple imputation parameter

estimates (Demirtas, Freels & Yucel, 2008; Graham & Schafer, 1999; Rubin & Schenker, 1986; Schafer,

1997). Research shows that the magnitude of the bias appears to depend on the sample size and missing

data rate (Enders, 2010). Demirtas et al. (2008) found that the parameter estimates and standard errors

from a bivariate data analysis were quite distorted with a sample size of N = 40, but relatively accurate

with a sample size of N = 400. Other simulation studies have reported accurate estimates and confidence

intervals with sample sizes as low as N = 100 (Graham & Schafer, 1999; Schafer, 1997). As mentioned

above, the percentage of missing data plays a role, as well. Enders (2010) indicated that while it is

173

difficult to determine rules of them about the percentage of missing data, Demirtas et al. (2008) reported

accurate parameter estimates with missingness rates as high as 25%.

Enders (2010) noted that applying normalizing transformations at the imputation phase is a

possible way to mitigate the impact of normality violations. However, there are objections to this

approach, including the lack of software programs that estimate skewness and kurtosis with missing data

when deciding the choice of transformation. After all, it is recommended that researchers experiment with

different transformations until a transformation is found which best normalizes the data (e.g., Tabachnick

& Fidell). Enders (2010) also noted that data transformations are problematic because they can alter the

covariate structure of the data. These issues require clarification through further research and have

prompted some methodologists to raise strong concerns about the appropriate use of transformations in

the context of multiple imputation (Demirtas et al., 2008).

16 There is also evidence that suggests MI to be appropriate even for data which are not missing at

random (NMAR), where data is missing for a specific reason (i.e., which may signal a biased survey

question, survey, or sample) (Enders, 2010).

17 As of yet, no explicit pooling rules for pooling F-tests in regression or ANOVA have been

defined for multiple imputation; averaging F-values is not justified because this will incorporate the extra

uncertainty due to the missing data in the analysis (J. R. van Ginkel, personal communication, March 21,

2011). Therefore, minimum and maximum F values are reported.

18 Multiple imputation procedures are conducted separately for some analyses because they

involve different variables. As a result, descriptive statistics may vary insignificantly depending on the

model (see Xia, 2009).

19 Including too many variables in the imputation process is unlikely to produce much bias, so a

liberal approach to variable selection is suggested as a good strategy (Cole, 2008; Enders, 2010; Graham,

2009; Schlomer, Bauman & Card, 2010).

174

20 Given that Spearman’s coefficients provided similar results (without changes in the

significance of any relationships, and any differences mostly occurring within .02 decimal points),

Pearson’s correlations are shown.

21 Bonferroni correction was applied separately for EI and the EI subscales because these

independent variables were imputed using different imputation models.







24 Because of the exploratory nature of the study, a more liberal family wise error rate of .10 was

used. It should be noted, however, that in this particular section findings were also significant at the more

conservative level of .05, with the exception of findings for emotional expression.

25 Because of concerns with regards to normality of the coping strategy distributions,

nonparametric methods (using Wilcoxon tests), although not reported here, revealed similar results with

respect to the significant relationships found.

26 These effect sizes represent the averaged effect sizes across each of the ten imputed datasets.

Listwise effect sizes were sometimes slightly larger (by up to .03).

27 The fraction of missing information is an estimate of the ratio of missing information to

"complete" information, based on the relative increase in variance due to non-response, which in turn is a

(modified) ratio of the between-imputation and average within-imputation variance of the regression

coefficient.

28 The relative efficiency is a comparison of this estimate to a (theoretical) estimate computed

using an infinite number of imputations. The relative efficiency is determined by the fraction of missing

175

information and the number of imputations used to obtain the pooled result; when the fraction of missing

information is large, a greater number of imputations are necessary to bring the relative efficiency closer

to 1 and the pooled estimate closer to the idealized estimate.

29 MI is not a supported procedure for cluster analysis in SPSS v. 19.0. Listwise deletion was

applied for the original cluster analyses providing a total of 262 cases for relationship and 269 cases for

work stress contexts. Multiple imputation procedure was then applied to increase power.

30 One of the biggest problems with cluster analysis is identifying the optimum number of

clusters. As the fusion process continues, increasingly dissimilar clusters must be fused, and the

classification tends to become increasingly artificial. Clusters are interpreted solely in terms of the

variables included in them and should contain at least four elements in order to be meaningful.

31 In the original dataset, similar results were obtained; however, work coping style accounted for

approximately 19.7% of the variance of the dependent variable, overall EI.

32 Games-Howell was selected because this method takes unequal group sizes into account, as

well as violations of homogeneity of variance (which occurs more often with unequal group sizes).

Additionally, this method has been shown to perform well when groups are homogenous (Dunnett, 1980).

Similar results were obtained, however, using approaches that assume homogeneity of variances (e.g.,

Tukey).

33 Distributions are based on the imputation most closely reflecting pooled mean values.


approximately 24.9% of the variance of the dependent variable, overall EI.



approximately 12.1% of the variance of the dependent variable, SWB.


176


approximately 9% of the variance of the dependent variable, SWB.


40 A sensitivity analysis was conducted using both listwise deletion and multiple imputation. A

decision was made to present the final mediation results using listwise deletion, given that both methods

produced similar results (Hayes, Slater, and Snyder, 2008).

41 A sensitivity analysis was conducted using both listwise deletion and multiple imputation. A

decision was made to present the final mediation results using listwise deletion, given that both methods

produced similar results (Hayes, Slater, and Snyder, 2008).



conservative level of .05.



conservative level of .05.


approximately 7.5% of the variance of the dependent variable, Agency.


approximately 3.1% of the variance of the dependent variable, communion.


approximately 3.8% of the variance of the dependent variable, Agency.


approximately 7.2% of the variance of the dependent variable, communion.

48 Henry Murray proposed the concept of “press,” or forces provided by situations or events in the

environment. These forces may help or hinder individuals in reaching their goals.

177

References

Abelson, R. P. (1963). Computer simulation of “hot cognitions.” In S. Tomkins & S. Mednick (Eds.),

Computer Simulation of Personality (pp. 34-75). New York: Wiley.

Abraham, R. (2005). Emotional intelligence in the workplace: A review and synthesis (pp 255-270). In R.

Schulze and Roberts, R.D. (Eds.) Emotional Intelligence: An International Handbook. Toronto:

Hogrefe.

Abraham, R. (2000). The role of job control as a moderator of emotional dissonance and emotional

intelligence – outcome relationships. The Journal of Psychology, 134, 169-184. doi:

10.1080/00223980009600860

Abraham, C., Zvi, E., Josman (2006). The relationship among emotional intelligence, task performance,

and organizational citizenship behaviours. Human Performance, 19, 403-419. doi:

10.1207/s15327043hup1904_5

Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple Regression: Testing and. interpreting interactions. Newbury

Park, CA: Sage.

American Institute of Stress (2007). Stress in the Workplace. Retrieved from: http://www.stress.org

Anger-Elfenbein, H. & Ambady, N. (2002). Predicting workplace outcomes from the ability to eavesdrop

on feelings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 963-971. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.87.5.963

Antonucci, T.C., Kahn, R.L., & Akiyama, H. (1989). Psychosocial factors and the response to cancer

symptoms. In R. Yancik, & J.W. Yates (Eds.), Cancer in the elderly: Approaches to early

detection and treatment (pp. 40-52). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Arnold, A. M. & Kronmal, R. A. (2003). Multiple imputation of baseline data in the cardiovascular health

study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 157, 74-84. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwf156

178

Ashkanasy, N. M., Ashton-James, C. E., & Jordan, P. J. (2004). Performance impacts of appraisal and

coping with stress in workplace settings: The role of affect and emotional intelligence. In P. L.

Perrewe & Ganster, D. C. (Eds.). Research in Occupational Stress and Well-Being: Emotional

and Physiological Processes and Positive Intervention Strategies, vol. 3, pp. 1-43. Oxford, UK:

JAI Press/Elsevier.

Austin, E. J. (2004). An investigation of the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and

emotional task performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 1855-1864.

Barhem, B., Younies, H., Muhamad, R. (2009). Religiosity and work stress coping behavior of Muslim

employees. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 2, 123-137.

Blood pressure rising? It is job stress: study. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, ON: Aug 16,

2006. pg. C.2

Bar-On, R. (1997). The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): A Test of Emotional Intelligence. Toronto,

Canada: Multi-Health Systems, Inc.

Baron, R.A., (1984). Reducing organizational conflict: An incompatible response approach. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 69, 272-279.

Bar-On, R. (2000), Emotional and social intelligence: Insights from the Emotional Quotient inventory. In

R. Bar-On and J.D.A. Parker (Eds), The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence (pp. 363-88), San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bar-On, R. and Parker, J.D.A. (Eds.) (2000). The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence, San Francisco,

CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bates, T. (1999, July). Domain-specific information-processing speed model of emotional intelligence (IQ

e). Paper presented at the 9th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of

Individual Differences, Vancouver, Canada.

179

Barrett, L. F., & Gross, J. J. (2001). Emotion representation and regulation: A process model of emotional

intelligence. In T. Mayne & G. Bonnano (Eds.), Emotion: Current Issues and Future Directions

(pp. 286-310). New York: Guilford.

Beehr, T. & Newman, J. (1978). Job stress, employee health, and organizational effectiveness: A facet

analysis model, and literature review. Personnel Psychology, 31, 665-699. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-

6570.1978.tb02118.x

Belle, D. (Ed.) (1982). Lives in stress: Women and depression. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical

Psychology, 42, 155-162.

Ben-Ze’ev, A. (2000). The Subtlety of Emotions. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Bernaards, C. A., Belin, T. R., & L., S. J. (2007). Robustness of a multivariate normal approximation for

imputation of incomplete binary data. Statistics in Medicine, 1368-1382. doi: 10.1002/sim.2619

Blazina, C. & Watkins, C. E. (1996). Masculine gender role conflict: Effects of college men’s

psychological well-being, chemical substance usage, and attitudes toward help-seeking. Journal

of Counseling Psychology, 43, 46 1-466. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.43.4.461

Bodenmann, G., Perrez, M., Cina, A., & Widmer, K. (2002). The effectiveness of a coping-focused

prevention approach: A two-year longitudinal study. Swiss Journal of Psychology. 61, 195-202.

Retrieved from: http://resolver.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/resolve/14210185

/v61i0004/195_teoacpa

Bornstein, K. (1998). My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You,

or Something Else Entirely. New York: Routledge.

Bornstein, K. (1994). Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us. New York: Routledge.

Bradburn, N. M., Rips, L. J., & Shevell, S. K. (1987). Answering autobiographical questions:

The impact of memory and inference on surveys. Science, 236, 157-161. Retrieved from:

http://www.jstor.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/stable/1698381

180

Brody, N. (2004). What cognitive intelligence is and what emotional intelligence is not. Psychological

Inquiry, 15, 234-238. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/

stable/20447233

Busseri, M. A., Sadava, S. W., & DeCourville, N. (2007). A hybrid model for research on subjective

well-being: Examining common and component-specific sources of variance in life satisfaction,

positive affect and negative affect. Social Indicators Research, 83, 413-445. doi:

10.1007/s11205-006-9028-8

Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.

Butler, L. D., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1994). Gender differences in responses to depressed mood in a

college sample. Sex Roles, 30, 33 1-346. doi: 10.1007/BF01420597

Byrne, P. R., Geraci, M., & Uhde, T. W. (1987). Life events obtained via interview: the effect of time of

recall on data obtained in controls and patients with panic disorder. Journal of Affective

Disorders. 12, 57-62. doi: 10.1016/0165-0327(87)90061-9

Callan, V. J. (1993). Individual and organizational strategies for coping with organizational change. Work

& Stress, 7, 63-75. doi: 10.1080/02678379308257050

Campbell, T., Gillaspy, J. A., Thompson, B. (1997). The factor structure of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory

(BSRI): Confirmatory analysis of long and short forms. Educational and Psychological

Measurement, 57, 118-124. doi: 10.1177/0013164497057001008

Cannon, W. (1932). The Wisdom of the Body. London, UK: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner.

Carmeli, A., & Josman, Z. (2006). The relationship among emotional intelligence, task performance, and

organisational citizenship behaviours. Human Performance, 19(4), 403-419. doi:

10.1207/s15327043hup1904_5

Cartwright, S., Cooper, C.L. (1996). Managing Mergers, Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances:

Integrating People and Cultures. Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman.

181

Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol is too long: Consider the Brief

COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 92-100. 10.1207/s15327558ijbm0401_6

Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1994). Situational coping and coping dispositions in a stressful

transaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 184-195. doi: 10.1037/0022-

3514.66.1.184

Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically

based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 267-283. doi:

10.1037/0022-3514.56.2.267

CBC News. Tuesday, October 17, 2006. http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2006/10/17/job-stress.html

Choi, N. (2004). A psychometric examination of the personal attributes questionnaire. The Journal of

Social Psychology, 144, 348-352. doi: 10.1007/BF00287587

Chung, M.C., Farmer, S., Grant, K., Newton, R., Payne, S., Perry, M., Saunders, J., Smith, C., & Stone, N.

(2002). Self-esteem, personality and post traumatic stress symptoms following the dissolution of a

dating relationship. Stress and Health, 18, 83-90. doi: 10.1002/smi.929

Ciarrocchi, J., Forgas, J., Mayer, J. (2001). Emotional Intelligence in Everyday Life: A Scientific Inquiry.

Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

Ciarrochi, Deane, and Andersen (2002). Emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between stress

and mental health. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 197-209. doi: 10.1016/S0191-

8869(01)00012-5

Cloninger, S. C. (1996). Personality: Description, Dynamics, and Development. New York: W. H.

Freeman and Company.

Conway, M. (2000). On sex role and representations of emotional experience: Masculinity, Femininity,

and Emotional Awareness. Sex Roles, 43, 687-698. doi: 10.1023/A:1007156608823

182

Copper, R.K. (1997). Applying Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace. Training & Development, 51

(12), 31-38. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/docview/

227008818?accountid=14771

Corcoran, K. & Fisher, J. (1987). Measures for Clinical Practice: A Sourcebook. New York:

The Free Press.

Coyne, J. C., Thompson, R. & Palmer, S.C. (2002). Marital quality, coping with conflict, marital

complaints, and affection in couples with a depressed wife. Journal of Family Psychology, 16,

26-37. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.16.1.26

Crowne, D. P. & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 24, 349-354. doi: 10.1037/h0047358

Damasio, A. (2004). Looking for Spinoza. London: Vintage.

Darwin, C. R. (1873). The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. New York: Appleton.

Davidson, R. J. & Ekman, P. (1994). Afterword: What are the minimal cognitive prerequisites for

emotion? In P. Ekman & R. J. Davidson (Eds.), The Nature of Emotion: Fundamental Questions

(pp. 232-234). New York: Oxford University Press.

Davidson, R. J., Jackson, D. C, & Kalin, N. H. (2000). Emotion, plasticity, context and regulation:

perspectives from affective neuroscience. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 890-909. doi:

10.1037/0033-2909.126.6.890

Davies, M. Stankov, L. & Roberts, R. D. (1998). Emotional Intelligence: In search of an elusive

construct. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 989-1015. doi: 10.1037/0022

3514.75.4.989

Day, A.L. & Carroll, S.A. (2004). Using an ability-based measure of emotional intelligence to predict

individual performance, group performance, and group citizenship behaviours. Personality and

Individual Differences, 36, 1443-1458. doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00240-X

183

Day, A. L. & Kelloway, E.K. (2004). Emotional intelligence in the workplace: Rhetoric and reality. In G.

Geher (Ed.), Measuring Emotional Intelligence: Common Ground and Controversy (pp. 219-

241). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Demirtas, H., Freels, S.A., Yucel, R.M. (2008). The Plausibility of Multivariate Normality Assumption

When Multiply Imputing Non-Gaussian Continuous Outcomes: A Simulation Assessment.

Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation, 78, 69-84. doi: 10.1080/10629360600903866

Dewe, P., Cox, T. & Ferguson, E. (1993): Individual strategies for coping with stress at work: A review,

Work & Stress, 7, 5-15. doi: 10.1080/02678379308257046

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. 1985. The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of

Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13

Dulewicz V. & Higgs, M. J. (2002). Emotional Intelligence and the Development of Managers &

Leaders. In M. Pearn (Ed.) Individual Differences and Development in Organizations: A

Handbook in the Psychology of Management in Organizations. Chichester: Wiley.

Durkheim, E. (1951). Suicide. Translated by J. Spaulding and G. Simpson. Glencoe: Free Press.

Duxbury, L. & Higgins, C. (2005). Report Four: Who Is at Risk? Predictors of Work-Life Conflict. Public

Health Agency of Canada. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the

Minister of Health URL: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/work-travail/report4/index.html

Elliott R, Watson J Goldman, R, Greenberg L. (2004). Learning Emotion-Focused Therapy. Washington,

D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Emmerling, R. J., Shanwal, V. K., & Mandal, M. K. (Eds.). (2008). Emotional Intelligence: Theoretical

and Cultural Perspectives. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers Inc.

Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied Missing Data Analysis. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Endler, N.S., Speer, R.L., Johnson, J.M. & Flett, G. (2000). Controllability, coping, efficacy, and

distress, European Journal of Personality, 14, 245-264. doi: 10.1002/1099-

0984(200005/06)14:3<245::AID PER375>3.0.CO;2-G

184

Engelberg, E. & Sjoberg, L. (2005). Emotional intelligence and inter-personal skills. In R. Schulze and

Roberts, R.D. (Eds.) Emotional Intelligence: An International Handbook (pp. 289-303). Toronto:

Hogrefe.

Evenson, B. (2002, September 24). Marital angst can be harder on heart than marathon: study. National

Post. p. A2.

Fichman, M., & Cummings, J. M. (2003). Multiple imputation for missing data: Making the most of what

you know. Paper posted at Research Showcase in Organizational Research Methods. Pittsburg,

PA: Carnegie Mellon University.

Fiore, J., Becker, J., Coppel, D. B. (1983). Social network interactions: A buffer or a stress. American

Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 423-439. Retrieved from: http://pao.chadwyck.com/PDF/

1334542041809.pdf

Fitness, J. & Curtis, M. (2005). Emotional intelligence and the trait meta-mood scale: Relationships with

empathy, attributional complexity, self-control, and responses to interpersonal conflict. E-Journal

of Applied Psychology, 1, 50-62.

Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). Coping as a mediator of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 54, 466-475. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.54.3.466

Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample.

Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219-239. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/

2136617.

Fox, K. E., Tett, R. P., & Palmer, P. C. (2003). Is Emotional Intelligence a Valid Predictor of Job

Performance? Paper presented at the 18th Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology

conference, Orlando, FL.

Friedman, M. & Rosenman, R. (1974). Type A Behaviour and Your Heart. New York: Knopf.

Frijda, N. H. (1994). Emotional are functional, most of the time. In Ekman, P. & RJ. R. Davidson, The

Nature of Emotion: Fundamental Questions. New York: Oxford University Press.

185

Frijda, N. H. (1986). The Emotions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Frone, M. (1999). Work stress and alcohol use. Alcohol Research & Health, 23, 284-291.

Frydenberg, E. & Lewis, R. (1994). Coping with Different Concerns: Consistency and Variation in

Coping Strategies Used by Adolescents. Australian Psychologist, 29, 45–48.

doi: 10.1080/00050069408257320

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, L. (2005). Emotional Intelligence and Occupational Stress. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.

Swinburne University of Technology.

Gianakos, I. (2000). Gender roles and coping with work stress. Sex Roles, 11/12, 1059-1079.

doi: 10.1023/A:1007092718727

Gilligan, C. (1993). In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge,

MA: Harvard University Press.

Giese-Davis, J., Koopman, C., Butler, L. D., Classen, C., Cordova, M., Fobair, P., Benson, J., & Spiegel,

D. (2002). Change in emotion regulation strategy for women with metastatic breast cancer

following supportive-expressive group therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,

70(4), 916-925.

Gilligan, C. (1993). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development (2nd ed.).

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gohm, C. L. (2004). Moving forward with emotional intelligence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 222-227.

http://www.jstor.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/stable/20447231

Gohm, C. L. & Clore, G. L. (2002). Affect as information: an individual-difference approach. In L. F.

Barrett & P. Salovey. The Wisdom in Feeling: Psychological Processes in Emotional

Intelligence. New York: The Guilford Press.

186

Gohm, C. L., Corser, G. C., Dalsky, D. J. (2005). Emotional intelligence under stress: Useful,

unnecessary, or irrelevant? Personality and Individual Differences, 39, 1017–1028. doi:

10.1016/j.paid.2005.03.018

Goldberger, L, & Breznitz, S (Eds.), (1993). The Handbook of Stress. Free Press, New York.

Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it can Matter More than IQ. Toronto: Bantam Books.

Graham, J. W. (2009). Missing data analysis: Making it work in the real world. Annual Review of

Psychology. 60, 549-576. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085530

Graham, J. W., Cumsille, P. E., & Elek-Fisk, E., (2003). Methods for handling missing data. In I. B.

Weiner, Schinka, J. A., & Velicer, W. F. Handbook of Psychology: Research Methods in

Psychology (Volume 2). Toronto: John Wiley and Sons Inc. pp. 87-115.

Graham, J. W., and Schafer, J. L. 1999. On the performance of multiple imputation for multivariate data

with small sample size. Statistical Strategies for Small Sample Research, R. Hoyle (ed.).

Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications Ltd., pp. 1-29.

Gray, J. (1992). Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. New York: Harper Collins.

Gonzalez-Morales, M. G., Peiro, J. M., Rodriguez, I., and Greenglass, E. R. (2006). Coping and distress

in organizations: The role of gender in work stress. International Journal of Stress Management,

13, 228-248. doi: 10.1037/1072-5245.13.2.22

Greenberg, L. S. & Safran, J. D. (1987). Emotion in Psychotherapy: Affect, Cognition, and the Process of

Change. New York: The Guilford Press.

Haas, L. (1995). Structural Dimensions of the Work-Family Interface. In G. Bowen and J. Pittman (Eds.),

The Work-Family Interface, Families in Focus Series. National Council on Family Relations,

Minneapolis, MN, pp. 113-121.

Harrington, D. (2009). Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

187

Hayes, A. F., Slater, M.D., Snyder, L. B. (Eds.). (2008). The Sage Sourcebook of Advanced Data

Analysis Methods for Communication Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Herrnstein, R. J. & Murray, C. (1994). The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life.

New York: Free Press.

Holahan, C. J., & Moos, R. H. (1987). Risk, resistance, and psychological distress: A longitudinal

analysis with adults and children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 3-13.

Holmes, T. & Rahe, R. (1967). Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of

Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213-218.

Horton, N.J. & Lipsitz, S.R. (2001). Multiple imputation in practice: Comparison of software packages

for regression models with missing variables. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 55,

244–254.

House, J.S., Landis, K.R., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241, 540-

545. doi: 10.2307/2685809.

Humphrey, J. H. (2005). Women and Stress Research. New York: Novinka Books.

Hystad, S. W., Eid, J., Tapia, M., Hansen, A.L., Matthews, M.D. (2010). An exploratory study of

differences in emotional intelligence in U.S. and Norwegian undergraduate students.

Psychological Reports, 107, 891-8. doi: 10.2466/04.09.17.PR0.107.6.891-898

Ice, G. H. & James, G. D. (2007). Conducting a field study of stress: general principles. In G. H. Ice &

James, G. D. (Eds). Measuring Stress in Humans: A Practical Guide for the Field. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Isen, A.M. (2004) Some perspectives on positive feelings and emotions. In A. S. R., Manstead, Frijda, N.,

& Fischer, A. (Eds.). Feelings and Emotions: The Amsterdam Symposium. New York: Cambridge

University Press.

Jenaro, C., Flores, N. & Arias, B. (2007). Burnout and Coping in Human Service Practitioners.

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38, 80–87. doi: 10.1037/0735-7028.38.1.80

188

Jordan, J. V. (Ed.). (1997). Women’s Growth in Diversity. New York: The Guilford Press.

Jordan, P.J., Ashkansay, N.M. & Hartel, C.E.J. (2002) Emotional intelligence as a moderator of

emotional and behavioural reactions to job insecurity. Academy of Management Review, 27(3),

361-372. doi: 10.5465/AMR.2002.7389905

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face

Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York, NY: Bantam Dell.

Kahn, J. H. (2006). Factor analysis in counseling psychology research, training, and practice:

Principles, advances, and applications. The Counseling Psychologist, 34, 684-718. doi:

10.1177/0011000006286347

Kennedy-Moore, E. and Watson, J. C. (1999). Expressing Emotion: Myths, Realities and Therapeutic

Strategies. New York: The Guildford Press.

Kihlstrom, J.F. & Cantor, N. (2000). Social intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed). Handbook of intelligence

(pp. 359-379). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Kobasa, S. C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality, and health: An inquiry into hardiness. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1-11.

Krahe, B. (1992). Personality and Social Psychology: Towards a synthesis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Publications.

Kübler-Ross, E. (1969) On Death and Dying. Routledge, ISBN 0415040159.

LaFrance, M., & Banaji, M. (1992). Toward a reconsideration of the gender-emotion relationship. In M.S.

Clark (Ed.), Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 14, 178-201.

Lane, R. D., Quinlan, D. M., Schwartz, G. E., Walker, P. A., Zeitlin, S. B., (1990). The levels of

emotional awareness scale: A cognitive-developmental measure of emotion. Journal of

Personality Assessment, 55, 124-134. doi: 10.1080/00223891.1990.9674052

Lane, R. D., Sechrest, L., & Riedel, R. (1998). Sociodemographic correlates of alexithymia.

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 39, 377-385.

189

Lawler-Row, K. A. (2010). Forgiveness as a mediator of the religiosity—health relationship.

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2, 1-16. doi: 10.1037/a0017584

Lazarus, R. S. (2006). Stress and Emotion: A New Synthesis. New York: Springer.

Lazarus, R. S. (1999). Stress and Emotion: A New Synthesis. New York: Springer.

Lazarus, R. S. (1993). From psychological stress to the emotions: a history of changing outlooks. Annual

Review of Psychology, 44, 1-21. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ps.44.020193.000245

Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and Adaptation. New York: Oxford University Press.

Lazarus, R. S. (1984). Puzzles in the study of daily hassles. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 7, 375-389.

doi: 10.1007/BF00845271

Lazarus, R. S. (1966). Psychological Stress and the Coping Process. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Lazarus, R. S., DeLongis, A., Folkman, S., & Gruen, R. (1985). Stress and adaptational outcomes: The

problem of confounded measures. American Psychologist, 40, 770-779. doi: 10.1037/0003-

066X.40.7.770

Lazarus, R.S. & Folkman, S. (1991). The Concept of Coping. In A. Monat & Lazarus, R. S. (Eds.) (1991)

Stress and Coping: An Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press.

Lazarus, R. S. & Lazarus, B. N. (1994). Passion and Reason: Making Sense of Our Emotions. New York:

Oxford University Press.

Leana, C . R. & Feldman, D. C. (1990). Individual responses to job loss: empirical findings from two

field studies, Human Relations, 11, 1155-1181. doi: 10.1177/001872679004301107

Ledesma, R. D. & Valero-Mora, P. (2007). Determining the number of factors to Retain in EFA: An

easy-to-use computer program for carrying out Parallel Analysis. Practical Assessment, Research

& Evaluation, 12, 1-11. Retrieved from: http://pareonline.net/pdf/v12n2.pdf

Lee, S. J., Lee, H. K. (1997). The research on the validation of the trait meta-mood scale: The domain

exploration of emotional intelligence. Korean Journal of Social and Personality Psychology, 11,

95-116.

190

Lips, H. M. (1997). Sex and Gender: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

Little, B. R. (1983). Personal projects: A rationale and method for investigation. Environment and

Behaviour, 15, 273-309.

Little, B. R. (2001). Personality psychology: Havings, doings and beings in context. In S. Davis & J.

Halonen (Eds.). The different faces of psychology in the twenty-first century. Washington, DC:

American Psychological Association.

Little, B., R. (1983). Personal projects: A rationale and method for investigation. Environment and

Behaviour, 15, 273-309.

Lohr, J. M. & Nix, J. (1982). Relationship of assertiveness and the short form of the Bem Sex-Role

Inventory: A replication. Psychological Reports, 50, 114.

Lopes, P. N., Brackett, M. A., Nezlek, J. B., Schutz, A., Sellin, I., & Salovey, P. (2004). Emotional

intelligence and social interaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1018-1034.

Lopes, P. N., Salovey, P., & Straus, R. (2003). Emotional intelligence, personality and the perceived

quality of social relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 641-658.

Mackenzie, C. S., Wiprzycka, U., Hasher, L., & Goldstein, D. (2008). Seeing the glass half full:

Optimistic expressive writing improves mental health among chronically stressed caregivers.

British Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 73-76. doi: 10.1348/135910707X251153

Lyne, K., & Roger, D. (2000). A psychometric re-assessment of the COPE questionnaire. Personality and

Individual Differences, 29, 321-335. doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00196-8

Mackenzie, C. S., Wiprzycka, U., Hasher, L., & Goldstein, D. (2007). Does expressive writing reduce

stress and improve health for family caregivers of older adults? The Gerontologist, 47, 296-306.

Maldonado Feliciano, L. E. (2005). Coping, Social Support, Biculturalism, and Religious Coping as

Moderators of the Relationship Between Occupational Stress and Depressive Affect Among

Hispanic Psychologists. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Maryland, Maryland.

191

Malouff, J. & Schutte, N. (1998) EI scale scores predict counsellor performance. Paper presented at the

annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. Cited in A. L. Day

& Kelloway, E.K. (2004). Emotional intelligence in the workplace: Rhetoric and reality. In G.

Geher (Ed). Measuring Emotional Intelligence: Common Ground & Controversy. New York:

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. pp. 219-241.

Manstead, A.S.R., Frijda, N., & Fischer, A. (Eds.). (2004). Feelings and Emotions: The Amsterdam

Symposium. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Mantler, J., Matejicek, A., Matheson, K., & Anisman, H. (2005). Coping With Employment Uncertainty:

A Comparison of Employed and Unemployed Workers. Journal of Occupational Health

Psychology, 10, 200–209. doi: 10.1037/1076-8998.10.3.200

Martin, H. J. & Ramanaiah, N. V. (1988). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Bem sex-role inventory.

Psychological Reports, 62, 343-350.

Martin, R. A., Berry, G. E., Dobranski, T. & Horne, M (1996). Emotional perception threshold:

individual differences in emotional sensitivity. Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 290-305.

Martin, R. A., Puhlik-Doris, P., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003). Individual differences in uses of

humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the humor styles

questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(1), 48-75. doi: 10.1016/S0092-

6566(02)00534-2

Martins, A., Ramalho, N., & Morin, E. (2010). A comprehensive meta-analysis of the relationship

between emotional intelligence and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 554-564.

doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.05.029

Matsumoto, D. (2006). Culture and nonverbal behaviour. In V. L. Manusov & M. L. Patterson (Eds.). The

SAGE Handbook of Nonverbal Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

192

Matthews, G., Emo, A., Funke, G., Roberts, R., Zeidner, M., Costa, P., Schulze, R. (2006). Emotional

Intelligence, personality and task-induced stress. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.

12, 96 – 107. doi: 10.1037/1076-898X.12.2.96

Matthews, G., Zeidner, M., & Roberts, R. D. (2002). Emotional Intelligence: Science and myth.

Cambridge, MA: MIT.

Matthews, G., & Zeidner, M. (2000). Emotional intelligence, adaptation to stressful encounters and health

outcomes. In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 459-

489). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

May, K. (2004, November 9). Health costs linked to overwork, stress: Canadians struggling to cope,

study finds. Edmonton Journal. p. A10

Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R. & Salovey, P. (2000). Emotional Intelligence meets traditional standards for

an intelligence. Intelligence, 27, 267-298.

Mayer, J. D. & Cobb, C. D. (2000). Educational policy on emotional intelligence: Does it make sense?

Educational Psychology Review, 12, 163-183.

Mayer, J. D. & Mitchell, D. C. (1998). Intelligence as a subsystem of personality: From Spearman’s g to

contemporary models of hot processing. In W. Tomic & J. Kingma (Eds.), Advances in Cognition

and Educational Practice, 5, pp. 43-75. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Mayer, J. D. & Salovey, P. (1993). The intelligence of emotional intelligence. Intelligence, 17, 433-442.

Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2004). Emotional intelligence: Theory, findings, and

implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 197-215.

Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., Caruso, D. R., & Sitarenios, G. (2003). Measuring emotional intelligence with

the MSCEIT V2.0. Emotion, 3, 97-105.

Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2002). Test Manual for the Mayer, Salovey, Causo Emotional

Intelligence Test. Toronto, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.

193

Meaney, M. (1995, September 23). Deadly stress: It’s not that there’s more stress in our lives, but we’re

not coping well. It’s making us sick. The Gazette. p. B6.

Menaghan, G., & Merves, S. (1984). Coping with occupational problems: the limits of individual efforts,

Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 25, 406-423. doi: 2307/2136379

Mental Health Works (2004). Stress linked to mental distress and physical illness: Statistics Canada.

Mental Health Works News Review. http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/facts/why_it_matters.asp.

Mental Health Works (2005). Working women over 40 more likely to report high stress, EAP finds.

Mental Health Works News Review. http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/facts/why_it_matters.asp.

Micceri, T. (1989). The unicorn, the normal curve, and other improbable creatures. Psychological

Bulletin, 105, 156-166.

Monat, A. & Lazarus, R. S. (Eds). (1991). Stress and Coping: An Anthology. New York: Columbia

University Press.

Moskowitz, J. T. (2001). Emotion and coping. In T. J. Mayne & Bonanno, G. A., (Eds.) Emotions:

Current Issues and Future Directions. New York: The Guilford Press.

Neter, J., Kutner, M.H., Nachtsheim, C.J., & Wasserman, W. (1996). Applied Linear Statistical Models

(4th Ed.). Chicago: Irwin.

Nikolaou, I & Tsaousis, I. (2002). Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: Exploring its effects on

Occupational Stress and Organisational Commitment. International Journal of Organizational

Analysis. Special Issue on Emotional Intelligence, 10, 327-342. Retrieved from:

http://test.imp.lodz.pl/upload/oficyna/artykuly/pdf/full/Ogi8-02-05.pdf

Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Parker, L. E. & Larson, J. (1994). Ruminative coping with depressed mood

following loss. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 92-105. doi: 10.1037/0022-

3514.67.1.92

Oatley, K. (2004). Emotional intelligence and the intelligence of emotions. Psychological Inquiry, 15,

216-238.

194

O’Connor, R. M. & Little, I. S. (2003). Revisiting the predictive validity of emotional intelligence: self-

report versus ability-based measures. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 1893-1902.

O’Neil, J. (2003, February 1). Men flee, women call their friends when under stress. The Ottawa Citizen.

p. E5.

Ones, D. S. & Viswesvaran, C. (1998). The effects of social desirability and faking on personality and

integrity assessment for personnel selection. Human Performance, 11, 245-271.

Parasuraman, S., & Cleek, M. A. (1984). Coping behaviour and managers affective reactions to role

stressors, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 24, 179-183. doi: 10.1016/0001-8791(84)90005-8

Park, C. L., Edmondson, D., Fenster, J. R., & Blank, T. O. (2008). Positive and Negative Health Behavior

Changes in Cancer Survivors: A Stress and Coping Perspective. Journal of Health Psychology,

13, 1198-1206. doi: 10.1177/1359105308095978

Parker, S. K. (1998). Enhancing role breadth self-efficacy: The roles of job enrichment and other

organizational interventions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 835–852. doi: 10.1037/0021-

9010.83.6.835

Parker, J. D., Taylor, G. J. & Bagby, R. M. (2001). The relationship between emotional intelligence and

alexithymia. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 107-115.

Parkes, K. R. (1990). Coping, negative affectivity and the work environment: Addictive and interactive

predictors of mental health. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 399-409.

Paulhus, D.L. (1998). Interpersonal and intrapsychic adaptiveness and trait self-enhancement: A mixed

blessing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1197-1208. doi: 10.1037/0022-

3514.74.5.1197

Paulhus, D. L. (1991). Measurement and control of response bias. In J.P. Robinson, P.R. Shaver & L.S.

Wrightsman (Eds.), Measures of Personality and Social-Psychological Attitudes. (pp 17-59). San

Diego, CA: Academic Press.

195

Paulhus, D. L. (1984). Two-component models of social desirable responding. Journal of Personality and

Social Psychology, 46, 598-609.

Paulhus, D.L. & Reid, D. (1991). Enhancement and denial in socially desirable responding. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 307-317. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.60.2.307

Payne, W. L. (1986). A Study of Emotion: Developing EI; Self-Integration; Relating to Fear, Pain and

Desire. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. The Union for Experimenting Colleges and

Universities. Dissertation Abstracts International.

Pearlin, L.I. & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19,

2-21.

Pennebaker, J. (Ed). (1995). Emotion, Disclosure & Health. Washington, DC: American Psychological

Association.

Pennebaker, J. (1997). Opening up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions – revised. New York:

The Guilford Press.

Petrides, K. V. & Furnham, A. (2003). Trait emotional intelligence: Behavioural validation in two studies

of emotion recognition and reactivity to mood induction. European Journal of Personality, 17,

39-57. doi: 10.1002/per.466

Petrides, K. V. & Furnham, A. (2000a). On the dimensional structure of emotional intelligence.

Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 313-320.

Petrides, K. V. & Furnham, A. (2000b). Gender differences in measured and self-estimated trait

emotional intelligence. Sex Roles, 42, 449-461.

Pienaar, J., Rothmann, S., Van De Vijver, F. J. R. (2006). Occupational stress, personality traits, coping

strategies, and suicide ideation in the South African police service. Criminal Justice and

Behavior, 33, 1-19. doi: 10.1177/0093854806288708

Planalp, S. & Fitness, J. (1999). Thinking/feeling about social and personal relationships. Journal of

Social and Personal Relationships, 16, 731-750. doi: 10.1177/0265407599166004

196

Quayhagen, M. P. & Quayhagen, M. (1982). Coping with Conflict: Measurement of Age-Related

Patterns. Research on Aging, 4, 364-377. doi: 10.1177/0164027582004003006

Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general

population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.

Rider, E. A. (2000). Our Voices: Psychology of Women. Scarborough, ON: Wadsworth.

Rincover, A. Feb 4, 1995. Social factors are variables in heart disease. The Windsor Star. Pg. F7

Rivera Cruz, B. V. (2004). Across contexts comparison of emotional intelligence competencies: A

discovery of gender differences. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Case Western Reserve

University.

Roberts, R. D., Zeidner, M. & Matthews, G. (2001). Does emotional intelligence meet traditional

standards for an intelligence? Some new data and conclusions. Emotion, 1, 196-231.

Rosch, P. J. (1984). The Health Effects of Job Stress. Business & Health Magazine. 1, 5-8.

Roskies, E., (1991). Stress management: A new approach to treatment. In A. Monat & Lazarus, R. S.

Stress and Coping: An Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press.

Roth, P.L., Switzer, F.S. III, & Switzer, D. (1999). Missing data in multi-item scales: A Monte Carlo

Analysis of missing data techniques. Organizational Research Methods, 2, 211-232. doi:

10.1177/109442819923001

Rowe, J. & Kahn, R. (1997). Successful Aging. New York: Pantheon Books.

Rubin, D. B., & Schenker, N. (1986). Multiple imputation for interval estimation from simple random

samples with ignorable nonresponse. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 81, 366-

374. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/stable/2289225

Russo, M. S. (2000). Introduction to Stoic Ethics. Molloy College, Department of Philosophy.

http://www.molloy.edu/academic/philosophy/sophia/Seneca/stoicism_txt.htm.

197

Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (2000). Interpersonal flourishing: A positive health agenda for the new

millennium. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4, 30-44. doi:

10.1207/S15327957PSPR0401_4

Saklofske, D. H., Austin, E. J., & Minski, P. S. (2003). Factor structure and validity of a trait emotional

intelligence measure. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 707-721. doi: 10.1016/S0191-

8869(02)00056-9

Salovey, P., Bedell, B.T., Detweiler, J.B., & Mayer, J.D. (1999). Coping intelligently: Emotional

intelligence and the coping process. In C.R. Snyder (Ed.), Coping: The psychology of what works

(pp. 141-164). New York: Oxford University Press.

Salovey, P. & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional Intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9,

185-211.

Salovey, P., Mayer, J.D., & Caruso, D. (2002). The positive psychology of emotional intelligence. In

C.R. Snyder & S.J. Lopez (Eds.), The Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 159-171). New

York: Oxford University Press.

Salovey, P., Mayer, J. D., Goldman, S. L., Turvey, C. & Palfai, T. P. (1995). Emotional attention, clarity,

and repair: exploring emotional intelligence using the trait meta mood scale. In J. W. Pennebaker

(Ed). Emotion, Disclosure & Health. Washington: American Psychological Association.

Salovey, P., Stroud, L. R., Woolery, A. & Epel, E. S. (2002). Perceived emotional intelligence, stress

reactivity and symptom reports: Further explorations using the trait meta-mood scale.

Psychology& Health, 17, pp. 611-627.

Schafer, J.L. (1997) Analysis of Incomplete Multivariate Data. Chapman & Hall, London.

Schafer, J. L., & Graham, J. W., (2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological

Methods, 7(2), 147–177. Retrieved from: http://resolver.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.

utoronto.ca/resolve/1082989x/v07i0002/147_md

198

Schafer, J. L., & Olsen, M. K. (1998). Multiple imputation for multivariate missing-data problems: A data

analyst’s perspective. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 33(4), 545-571. doi:

10.1207/s15327906mbr3304_5

Schlomer, G. L., Bauman, S., & Card, N.A. (2010). Best practices for missing data management in

counselling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 57, 1-10. doi: 10.1037/a0018082

Schutte, N.S., & Malouff, J.M. (1999). Measuring emotional intelligence and related constructs.

Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.

Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Bobik, C., Coston, T. D., Greeson, C., Jedlicka, C. Rhodes, E. & Wendorf,

G. (2001). Emotional intelligence and interpersonal relations. The Journal of Social Psychology,

141, 523-536. doi: 10.1080/00224540109600569

Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M. Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., & Dornheim, L

(1998). Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence. Personality and

Individual Differences, 25, 167-177.

Schwartz, J. E., Neale, J., Marco, C., Shiffman, S. S., & Stone, A. A. (1999). Does trait coping exist? A

momentary assessment approach to the evaluation of traits. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 77, 360-369. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.77.2.360

Seeman, T. E., Berkman, L. F., Blazer, D., & Rowe, J. W. (1994). Social ties and support and

neuronendocrine function: The MacArthur studies of successful aging. Annals of Behavioral

Medicine, 16, 95-106.

Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death. San Francisco: W.H.

Freeman.

Selye, H. (1991). History and the Present Status of the Stress Concept. In A. Monat & R. S. Lazarus

(Eds.) (1991) Stress and Coping: An Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press.

Seraganian, P. (Ed). (1993). Exercise Psychology: The Influence of Physical Exercise on Psychological

Processes. New York: John Wiley.

199

Shete, S., Beasley T. M., Etzel, C. J., Fernández, J,R., Chen, J., Allison, D.B., Amos, C.I. (2004). Effect

of winsorization on power and type 1 error of variance components and related methods of QTL

detection. Behavior Genetics, 34, 153-9. doi: 10.1023/B:BEGE.0000013729.26354.da

Shields, S. A. (1995). The role of emotion beliefs and values in gender development. In N. Eisenberg

(Ed.), Review of Personality and Social Psychology. (vol. 15, pp. 212-232). Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage.

Shinn, M., Rosario, M., Morch, H., & Chestnut, D., E., (1984). Coping with job stress and burnout in the

human services. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 864-876.

Skoe, E. E. A., Cumberland, A., Eisenberg, N., Hansen, K. & Peny, J. (2002). The influences of sex and

gender-role identity on moral cognition and prosocial personality traits. Sex Roles, 46, 295-309.

doi: 10.1023/A:1020224512888

Slaski, M., & Cartwright, S. (2002). Health, performance and emotional intelligence: An exploratory

study of retail managers. Stress & Health, 18, 63-68. doi: 10.1002/smi.926

Snyder, C. R. (Ed.). (1999). Coping: The psychology of what works. New York: Oxford University Press.

Solomon, R. C. (1976). The Passions. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.

Spector, P. E., & O’Connell, B. J. (1994). The contribution of personality traits, negative affectivity,

locus of control and Type A to the subsequent perceptions of job stressors and job strains.

Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 67, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-

8325.1994.tb00545.x

Spence, J.T., & Helmreich, R.L. (1978). Masculinity and femininity: Their psychological dimensions,

correlates, and antecedents. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

Spence, J. T., Helmreich, R. L., & Stapp, J. (1975). Ratings of self and peers on sex role attributes and

their relations to self-esteem and conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 29-39. doi: 10.1037/h0076857

200

Stanton, A. L., Danoff-Burg, S., Cameron, C. L., Bishop, M., Collins, C. A. (2000). Emotionally

expressive coping predicts psychological and physical adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of

Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 875-882. doi: 10.1037//0022-006X.68.5.875

Statistics Canada (2006). Stress and depression in the employed population. Health Reports, 17(4).

http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/061017/d061017a.htm.

Swinkels, A. & Guiliano, T. A. (1995). The measurement and conceptualization of mood awareness:

Monitoring and labeling one’s mood states. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 9, 934-

949. doi: 10.1177/0146167295219008

Sy, T., Tram, S. & O’Hara, L. (2006). Relation of employee and manager emotional intelligence to job

satisfaction and performance. Journal of Vocational Behaviour. 461 – 473. doi:

10.1016/j.jvb.2005.10.003

Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using Multivariate Statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and

Bacon.

Tamres, L. K., Janicki, D., & Helgeson, V. S. (2002). Sex differences in coping behaviour: A meta-

analytic review and an examination of relative coping. Personality and Social Psychology

Review, 6, 2-30. doi: 10.1207/S15327957PSPR0601_1

Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand. New York: Knopf.

Taylor, G. J., Parker, J. D. A., & Bagby, R. M. (1999). Emotional intelligence and the emotional brain:

points of convergence and implications for psychoanalysis. Journal of the American Academy of

Psychoanalysis, 27, 339-354.

Taylor, G. J., Ryan, D. P., & Bagby, R. M. (1985). Toward the development of a new self-report

alexithymia scale. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 44, 191-199.

Toneguzzi, M. (2004, October 26). On-job stress increases heart risk: Spouse, co-workers can ease

danger. The Gazette. Montreal: Quebec. P. A18

201

Twenge, J. M. (1997). Changes in masculine and feminine traits over time: A meta-analysis. Sex Roles,

36, 305-325. doi: 10.1007/BF02766650

Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support

and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and

implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 488-531. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.3.488

Van Rooy, D. L. & Viswesvaran, C. (2004). Emotional intelligence: A meta-analytic investigation of

predictive validity and nomological net. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 71-95. doi:

10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00076-9

Viswesvaran, C., & Ones, D. S. (1999). Meta-analyses of fakability estimates: Implications for

personality measurement. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59, 197-210. doi:

10.1177/00131649921969802

Vitaliano, P. P., Maiuro, R. D., Russo, J., Katon, W., DeWolfe, D., & Hall, G., (1990). Coping Profiles

Associated With Psychiatric, Physical Health, Work, and Family Problems. Health Psychology,

9, 348-376. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.9.3.348

Wahler, R. G. (1980). The insular mother: Her problems in parent-child treatment. Journal of Applied

Behavior Analysis, 13, 207-219. doi: 10.1901

Walach, H., Nord, E., Zier, C., Dietz-Waschkowski, B., Kersig, S. & Schupbach, H. (2007). Mindfulness-

Based Stress Reduction as a Method for Personnel Development: A Pilot Evaluation.

International Journal of Stress Management, 14(2), 188–198. doi: 10.1037/1072-5245.14.2.188

Watson, D., Clark, L. A. & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of

positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

54, 1063-1070.

202

Watson, J. C., Gordon, L. B., Stermac, L., Kalogerakos, F., & Steckley, P. (2003). Comparing the

Effectiveness of Process-Experiential With Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy in the Treatment

of Depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 773-781. doi: 10.1037/0022-

006X.71.4.773

Werner, E. E. (1999). Risk and protective factors in the lives of children with high-incidence disabilities.

In R. Gallimore, L. P. Bernheimer, D. L. MacMillan, D. L. Speece, & S. Vaughn (Eds.),

Developmental perspectives on children with high-incidence disabilities (pp. 15-31). Mahwah,

NJ: Erlbaum.

Wester, S. R., Vogel, D. L., Pressly, P. K., & Heesacker, M. (2002). Sex differences in emotion: A

critical review of the literature and implications for counseling psychology. The Counselling

Psychologist, 30, 630-652. doi: 10.1177/00100002030004008

Wilson, M., Joffe, R., & Wilkerson, B. (2002). The unheralded business crisis in Canada: Depression at

work. Toronto: Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, p. 4,

18. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthroundtable.ca/aug_round_pdfs/

Roundtable%20report_Jul20.pdf

Wong, C. & Law, K.S. (2002). The effects of leader and follower EI on performance and attitude: An

exploratory study. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 243-274. doi: 10.1016/S1048-9843(02)00099-1

Xia, N. (2009). Family Factors and Student Outcomes. Published Doctoral Dissertation. Santa Monica,

CA: RAND Corporation.

Yucel, R. M., and Zaslavsky, A. (2004). Practical Suggestions on Rounding in Multiple Imputation. In

JSM Proceedings, Survey Research Methods Section. Toronto, ON: American Statistical

Association. 4679-4683. Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35,

151-175.

203

Zeidner, M. (2005). Emotional intelligence and coping with occupational stress. In A. Antoniou and C.

Cooper (Eds.). Research companion to organizational health psychology. New horizons in

management. (pp. 218-239). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Zeidner, M. & Endler, N. (Eds.). (1996). Handbook of coping: Theory, Research, Applications. New

York: John Wiley.

Zeidner, M., Matthews, G., & Roberts, R. (2004). Emotional intelligence in the workplace: a critical

review, Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53, 371-399. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-

0597.2004.00176.x

Zeidner, M. Roberts, R. & Matthews, G. (2004). The emotional intelligence bandwagon: Too fast to live,

too young to die? Psychological Inquiry, 15, 239-248.

Zeidner, M., Roberts, R., & Matthews, G. (2002). Can emotional intelligence be schooled? A critical

review. Educational Psychologist, 37, 215-231. doi: 10.1207/S15326985EP3704_2

Zeidner, M., Matthews, G., & Roberts, R. D. (2001). Slow down, you move too fast: Emotional

intelligence remains an “elusive” intelligence. Emotion, 1, 265-275.

Zeidner, M. & Saklofske D. (1996). Adaptive and maladaptive coping. In M. Zeidner & N.S. Endler

(Eds), Handbook of Coping: Theory, Research, Applications. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp.

505-531.

Zomer, L. (2003). Coping … With Wisdom: An Analysis of Gender, Emotional Intelligence and Coping

Styles. Unpublished master’s independent research project. University of Western Ontario,

London.

Zomer, L. (2001). Passion, Reason and Action: Exploring Emotional Intelligence, Personal Projects and

Well-Being. Unpublished master’s thesis. Carleton University, Ottawa.

204

Appendix A: Consents and Recruitment

205

University of Toronto Recruitment Email Dear Students, My name is Limor Zomer and I am a Ph.D. student in Counselling Psychology at the University of Toronto working under the supervision of Dr. Jeanne Watson, Professor, OISE/UT. I am conducting an internet-based study on the emotional processes involved in coping with conflict in relationships and dealing with work stress. In appreciation of your participation, an anonymous donation of $5.00 will be made to your choice of six charities for each participant completing this survey. The charities are: (1) Sick Kids Hospital (2) Canadian Cancer Society (3) The Arthritis Society (4) Heart & Stroke Foundation (5) Canadian Women’s Foundation (6) The United Way. All you need to do is answer a survey that will take you about 30 minutes to complete. The survey may also help you reflect on how you deal with the stresses in your life. The survey does not require your name and so you will remain anonymous. To have more information about the study, and become a participant, please click on the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=z8SxZclm9_2fFI7EGP_2f8JAHA_3d_3d Please contact L. Zomer, M.A., M.Ed., Ph.D. candidate, for further information at:

206

Facebook Recruitment Email Friends, I'm running a survey study over the Internet that investigates the emotional processes involved in coping with conflict in relationships and dealing with work stress. First, I would REALLY appreciate it if you would participate in the research yourself. In appreciation of your participation, I will make an anonymous donation of $5.00 to your choice of six charities for each participant completing this survey. The charities are: (1) Sick Kids Hospital; (2) Canadian Cancer Society; (3) The Arthritis Society; (4) Heart & Stroke Foundation; (5) Canadian Women’s Foundation; and (6) The United Way. All you need to do is answer a survey that will take you about 30 minutes to complete. The survey may also be helpful in reflecting on how you deal with the stresses in your life. And, have NO worries … I will not know it is your responses since the survey does not require your name, and so you will remain anonymous. Second, I would appreciate it if you forward, or otherwise try to recruit one or two more (or a few more) people that you know who might like to participate in an experiment of this kind and tell them they can tell others of the experiment. The website address for the experiment is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=z8SxZclm9_2fFI7EGP_2f8JAHA_3d_3d If you have any comments or questions post them here or contact me at: [email protected] Thanks for your participation. Limor Zomer

207

Information and Consent Thank you for your interest in participating in this study! My name is Limor Zomer and I am a Ph.D. student in Counselling Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT) working under the supervision of Dr. Jeanne Watson, Associate Professor, OISE/UT. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the emotional processes involved in coping with conflict in relationships and work stress. It is our hope that the results of this study will contribute to the understanding of the factors involved in coping to help inform and guide psychological practice, and increase well-being. Task Requirements: Anyone between the ages of 18 to 65 is invited to take part in this study. You also need to (1) be fluent in English and (2) have been working part-time or full-time within the past year. You will be asked to respond to general background questions and other questionnaires that require you to rate your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Right to Withdraw: Your participation is completely voluntary and you may refuse to participate. If you decide to participate, you may withdraw from the study at any time, without negative consequences. You may also decline to answer any question or to complete any parts of the procedures/tasks by pressing the appropriate buttons on the bottom of your screen. Because of the nature of the computer software, your responses can only be submitted when you reach the final screen of the questionnaire protocol and click the button to submit your responses. Benefits/Risks: In appreciation of your participation, an anonymous donation of $5.00 will be made to your choice of six charities for each participant completing this survey. The charities are: (1) Sick Kids Hospital; (2) Canadian Cancer Society; (3) The Arthritis Society; (4) Heart & Stroke Foundation; (5) Canadian Women’s Foundation; and (6) The United Way. As a result of participating, it may help you reflect on your emotions, and how you deal with interpersonal and workplace stress. However, there are no direct benefits or risks for participating in this study. Should you experience increased levels of distress from your reflections on the stressful events, you are strongly encouraged to seek follow-up evaluation and therapeutic services and/or speak with your family doctor about your concerns. In Canada, you may wish to contact Family Service Canada (www.familyservicecanada.org) or Catholic Family Services (Toll free: 1-877-282-8932; Toronto: 416-222-0048) for information regarding therapeutic services. You will need to find a location near you, and services are provided to clients on a sliding scale. Anonymity/Confidentiality: There is no identifying information requested, thus all information collected from you will remain anonymous. There is some degree of risk involved with recruiting over the Internet in terms of privacy and confidentiality such as the viewing or tracking of online activity by another party. However, every possible precaution has been taken to eliminate this risk and ensure privacy and confidentiality. All survey responses on this website are secure, using SSL encryption to ensure unwanted access by other Internet users. After completing the survey, responses are downloaded automatically to a fire-walled, secure, continuously-monitored location and no online records will be kept. In addition to the above precautions, some additional steps you could take include, completing the survey in a private place and erasing the history and temporary Internet files on the browser (these actions can usually be found under the “Tools” then “Options” menu of your browser).

208

Access to Information and Publication of Results: Data collected from your participation will only be used for this research study and no one, except my supervisor and myself, will have access to the data records. Data will be stored in a locked cabinet at OISE/UT for approximately 7 years at which point they will be destroyed. It is my intent to publish or make public presentations based on the compiled information collected in this research study. Contact Information for Research Personnel: Please feel free to contact my supervisor, Dr. Watson, or myself if you have any questions or concerns about the study, or if you would like information about the final results. Limor Zomer, M.A., M.Ed., Ph.D. (Cand.) Email: [email protected] Address: AECP, OISE/UT, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V6 Jeanne Watson, Ph.D., C. Psych., Professor Email: [email protected] Phone: 416-978-0705 Address: AECP, OISE/UT, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V6 In addition, should you have any additional questions about your rights as participants, you may contact the Ethics Review Office at [email protected] or 416-946-3273. Consent: Below you will be prompted to indicate if you consent to participating in this study by clicking on “I Consent.” Clicking “I Consent” will also indicate that you have read and understood the conditions under which you will participate in this study and that you agree that you are 1) over the age of 18, 2) fluent in English and; 3) working part-time or full-time within the past 12 months. Submission of the completed survey will be indication that you consent for your data to be used in this study. Please print this information and consent page for future reference. Thank you very much for your time!

209

Examples of Motivational Phrases

Good work! You have completed about a quarter of the survey so far. You are getting there!

You are half way through! Way to go!

You are almost there, just a few questions left.

Final Page Great work!!! You have reached the end of the survey! In appreciation of your participation in this survey, $5.00 will be donated to your choice of charities. Which of the following charities would you like to donate to? (1) Sick Kids Hospital (2) Canadian Cancer Society (3) The Arthritis Society (4) Heart & Stroke Foundation (5) Canadian Women’s Foundation (6) The United Way Please click on submit button below to complete the survey and submit your responses. Once you have clicked on submit you will automatically be directed to the SurveyMonkey homepage, which you can then close. Thank you very much for your participation! Questions and Comments: If you have any questions or comments about this research, or should you wish to have the results of this research, please feel free to contact L. Zomer, the principal investigator (email: [email protected]), or Dr. J. Watson (phone: 416-978-0705; email: [email protected]). In addition, should you have any additional questions about your rights as participants, you may contact the Ethics Review Office at [email protected] or 416-946-3273. Should you experience increased levels of distress from your reflections on the stressful events, you are strongly encouraged to seek follow-up evaluation and therapeutic services and/or speak with your family doctor about your concerns. In Canada, you may wish to contact Family Service Canada (www.familyservicecanada.org) or Catholic Family Services (Toll free: 1-877-282-8932; Toronto: 416-222-0048) for information regarding therapeutic services. You will need to find a location near you, and services are provided to clients on a sliding scale.

210

Appendix B: Multiple Mediation

Table B-1: Mediation on Relationship Data Across Five Imputations (m = 6 to 10)

Table B-2: Mediation on Occupational Data Across Five Imputations (m = 6 to 10)

211

Table B-1 Mediation on Relationship Data Across Five Imputations (m = 6 to 10) M = 6 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .1994 .0259 7.6852 .0000 RelF2Oth .1100 .0324 3.3995 .0008 RelF3EmP .2531 .0262 9.6724 .0000 RelF4VentSB -.1007 .0264 -3.8076 .0002 RelF5Act .0994 .0272 3.6522 .0003 RelF6Acc .0475 .0275 1.7288 .0849 RelF7Den -.0748 .0230 -3.2494 .0013 RelF8Alc -.0908 .0274 -3.3079 .0011 RelF9Rel .1140 .0301 3.7831 .0002 RelF10Hu -.0482 .0313 -1.5397 .1247 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .0220 .0496 .4448 .6568 RelF2Oth .0936 .0377 2.4858 .0135 RelF3EmP .0106 .0494 .2145 .8303 RelF4VentSB -.2916 .0454 -6.4310 .0000 RelF5Act .0089 .0433 .2062 .8368 RelF6Acc -.0717 .0398 -1.8043 .0722 RelF7Den -.0479 .0510 -.9387 .3486 RelF8Alc -.1133 .0406 -2.7908 .0056 RelF9Rel .0221 .0374 .5905 .5554 RelF10Hu .0619 .0367 1.6861 .0929 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2848 .0200 14.2379 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2272 .0230 9.8715 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5301 .5122 29.5394 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0576 .0167 3.4466 .0006 RelF1EmE .0044 .0097 .4525 .6509 RelF2Oth .0103 .0051 2.0323 .0421 RelF3EmP .0027 .0123 .2185 .8270 RelF4VentSB .0294 .0089 3.2962 .0010 RelF5Act .0009 .0042 .2097 .8339

212

RelF6Acc -.0034 .0027 -1.2606 .2075 RelF7Den .0036 .0039 .9177 .3588 RelF8Alc .0103 .0048 2.1579 .0309 RelF9Rel .0025 .0042 .5942 .5524 RelF10Hu -.0030 .0026 -1.1477 .2511 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0576 .0584 .0008 .0173 RelF1EmE .0044 .0048 .0005 .0089 RelF2Oth .0103 .0102 -.0001 .0056 RelF3EmP .0027 .0018 -.0008 .0141 RelF4VentSB .0294 .0299 .0005 .0087 RelF5Act .0009 .0011 .0003 .0043 RelF6Acc -.0034 -.0033 .0002 .0029 RelF7Den .0036 .0035 .0000 .0043 RelF8Alc .0103 .0106 .0003 .0052 RelF9Rel .0025 .0026 .0001 .0044 RelF10Hu -.0030 -.0029 .0000 .0028 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper TOTAL .0232 .0931 RelF1EmE -.0116 .0231 RelF2Oth .0021 .0254 RelF3EmP -.0258 .0312 RelF4VentSB .0132 .0476 RelF5Act -.0079 .0097 RelF6Acc -.0124 .0001 RelF7Den -.0034 .0145 RelF8Alc .0029 .0224 RelF9Rel -.0056 .0116 RelF10Hu -.0130 .0002 ***************************************************************** m = 7 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .2096 .0264 7.9552 .0000 RelF2Oth .1183 .0325 3.6457 .0003 RelF3EmP .2672 .0261 10.2512 .0000 RelF4VentSB -.0833 .0260 -3.2042 .0015 RelF5Act .1112 .0273 4.0792 .0001 RelF6Acc .0615 .0272 2.2565 .0248 RelF7Den -.0687 .0231 -2.9745 .0032 RelF8Alc -.0749 .0276 -2.7119 .0071 RelF9Rel .1319 .0304 4.3357 .0000 RelF10Hu -.0320 .0307 -1.0440 .2973 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths)

213

Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .0474 .0495 .9579 .3389 RelF2Oth .0812 .0382 2.1234 .0346 RelF3EmP .0209 .0501 .4183 .6760 RelF4VentSB -.3378 .0459 -7.3599 .0000 RelF5Act .0207 .0443 .4677 .6404 RelF6Acc -.0485 .0402 -1.2068 .2285 RelF7Den -.0863 .0506 -1.7056 .0892 RelF8Alc -.1154 .0410 -2.8150 .0052 RelF9Rel .0011 .0377 .0303 .9758 RelF10Hu .0194 .0370 .5227 .6016 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2808 .0206 13.6173 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2141 .0231 9.2593 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5348 .5170 30.0948 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0667 .0173 3.8576 .0001 RelF1EmE .0099 .0103 .9688 .3326 RelF2Oth .0096 .0052 1.8614 .0627 RelF3EmP .0056 .0131 .4259 .6702 RelF4VentSB .0281 .0095 2.9507 .0032 RelF5Act .0023 .0049 .4733 .6360 RelF6Acc -.0030 .0028 -1.0801 .2801 RelF7Den .0059 .0039 1.5012 .1333 RelF8Alc .0087 .0044 1.9723 .0486 RelF9Rel .0002 .0049 .0309 .9753 RelF10Hu -.0006 .0013 -.4746 .6351 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0667 .0671 .0004 .0181 RelF1EmE .0099 .0104 .0004 .0102 RelF2Oth .0096 .0093 -.0003 .0057 RelF3EmP .0056 .0049 -.0007 .0152 RelF4VentSB .0281 .0285 .0003 .0096 RelF5Act .0023 .0023 .0000 .0048 RelF6Acc -.0030 -.0027 .0003 .0030

214

RelF7Den .0059 .0062 .0003 .0043 RelF8Alc .0087 .0087 .0000 .0048 RelF9Rel .0002 .0003 .0001 .0048 RelF10Hu -.0006 -.0007 -.0001 .0017 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper TOTAL .0338 .1046 RelF1EmE -.0110 .0303 RelF2Oth .0014 .0260 RelF3EmP -.0244 .0354 RelF4VentSB .0116 .0498 RelF5Act -.0068 .0125 RelF6Acc -.0109 .0012 RelF7Den -.0003 .0175 RelF8Alc .0019 .0216 RelF9Rel -.0105 .0092 RelF10Hu -.0060 .0016 ***************************************************************** m = 8 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .1868 .0272 6.8784 .0000 RelF2Oth .0741 .0329 2.2527 .0250 RelF3EmP .2378 .0266 8.9258 .0000 RelF4VentSB -.0903 .0260 -3.4753 .0006 RelF5Act .0968 .0272 3.5539 .0004 RelF6Acc .0505 .0267 1.8919 .0595 RelF7Den -.0720 .0228 -3.1530 .0018 RelF8Alc -.0810 .0275 -2.9451 .0035 RelF9Rel .1239 .0299 4.1478 .0000 RelF10Hu -.0346 .0306 -1.1330 .2581 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .0014 .0480 .0282 .9775 RelF2Oth .0681 .0363 1.8759 .0617 RelF3EmP .0269 .0477 .5629 .5739 RelF4VentSB -.2968 .0442 -6.7110 .0000 RelF5Act .0476 .0427 1.1153 .2656 RelF6Acc -.0773 .0399 -1.9354 .0539 RelF7Den -.0758 .0492 -1.5415 .1243 RelF8Alc -.0954 .0395 -2.4166 .0163 RelF9Rel .0402 .0366 1.0994 .2725 RelF10Hu .0831 .0359 2.3136 .0214 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2843 .0197 14.4372 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p

215

EI_TOT_W .2298 .0218 10.5299 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5399 .5224 30.7278 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0545 .0155 3.5095 .0004 RelF1EmE .0003 .0088 .0287 .9771 RelF2Oth .0050 .0035 1.4585 .1447 RelF3EmP .0064 .0112 .5724 .5671 RelF4VentSB .0268 .0086 3.1022 .0019 RelF5Act .0046 .0043 1.0826 .2790 RelF6Acc -.0039 .0029 -1.3664 .1718 RelF7Den .0055 .0039 1.4063 .1596 RelF8Alc .0077 .0041 1.8903 .0587 RelF9Rel .0050 .0046 1.0815 .2795 RelF10Hu -.0029 .0028 -1.0226 .3065 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0545 .0553 .0008 .0169 RelF1EmE .0003 .0009 .0006 .0084 RelF2Oth .0050 .0049 -.0002 .0039 RelF3EmP .0064 .0065 .0001 .0123 RelF4VentSB .0268 .0269 .0001 .0088 RelF5Act .0046 .0045 -.0001 .0045 RelF6Acc -.0039 -.0038 .0001 .0032 RelF7Den .0055 .0058 .0003 .0045 RelF8Alc .0077 .0078 .0001 .0042 RelF9Rel .0050 .0046 -.0004 .0046 RelF10Hu -.0029 -.0029 .0000 .0030 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper TOTAL .0199 .0869 RelF1EmE -.0163 .0163 RelF2Oth -.0001 .0156 RelF3EmP -.0192 .0308 RelF4VentSB .0113 .0466 RelF5Act -.0031 .0152 RelF6Acc -.0142 .0000 RelF7Den -.0010 .0167 RelF8Alc .0019 .0194 RelF9Rel -.0029 .0158 RelF10Hu -.0113 .0013

216

***************************************************************** M =9 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .2109 .0265 7.9557 .0000 RelF2Oth .1031 .0329 3.1368 .0019 RelF3EmP .2419 .0263 9.2023 .0000 RelF4VentSB -.0945 .0264 -3.5770 .0004 RelF5Act .1011 .0273 3.7003 .0003 RelF6Acc .0439 .0269 1.6351 .1031 RelF7Den -.0794 .0232 -3.4231 .0007 RelF8Alc -.0783 .0277 -2.8295 .0050 RelF9Rel .1179 .0299 3.9475 .0001 RelF10Hu -.0325 .0309 -1.0522 .2936 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .0781 .0491 1.5905 .1128 RelF2Oth .0723 .0370 1.9564 .0514 RelF3EmP -.0247 .0499 -.4939 .6217 RelF4VentSB -.3289 .0446 -7.3753 .0000 RelF5Act .0597 .0440 1.3575 .1757 RelF6Acc -.0972 .0408 -2.3809 .0179 RelF7Den -.0805 .0499 -1.6143 .1076 RelF8Alc -.0684 .0405 -1.6879 .0925 RelF9Rel .0255 .0375 .6805 .4967 RelF10Hu .0618 .0367 1.6827 .0935 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2852 .0203 14.0249 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2217 .0226 9.8130 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5386 .5210 30.5628 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0636 .0165 3.8527 .0001 RelF1EmE .0165 .0104 1.5880 .1123 RelF2Oth .0075 .0044 1.6832 .0923 RelF3EmP -.0060 .0119 -.5025 .6153 RelF4VentSB .0311 .0096 3.2342 .0012

217

RelF5Act .0060 .0047 1.2959 .1950 RelF6Acc -.0043 .0031 -1.3575 .1746 RelF7Den .0064 .0043 1.4830 .1381 RelF8Alc .0054 .0036 1.4703 .1415 RelF9Rel .0030 .0044 .6829 .4946 RelF10Hu -.0020 .0022 -.8979 .3692 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0636 .0627 -.0008 .0174 RelF1EmE .0165 .0163 -.0001 .0102 RelF2Oth .0075 .0072 -.0002 .0047 RelF3EmP -.0060 -.0064 -.0004 .0130 RelF4VentSB .0311 .0308 -.0003 .0093 RelF5Act .0060 .0062 .0001 .0049 RelF6Acc -.0043 -.0042 .0001 .0034 RelF7Den .0064 .0066 .0002 .0052 RelF8Alc .0054 .0055 .0001 .0041 RelF9Rel .0030 .0027 -.0003 .0044 RelF10Hu -.0020 -.0020 .0001 .0024 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper TOTAL .0318 .1009 RelF1EmE -.0018 .0385 RelF2Oth .0001 .0200 RelF3EmP -.0329 .0188 RelF4VentSB .0140 .0513 RelF5Act -.0012 .0196 RelF6Acc -.0138 .0000 RelF7Den -.0026 .0182 RelF8Alc -.0002 .0176 RelF9Rel -.0048 .0129 RelF10Hu -.0091 .0010 ***************************************************************** M = 10 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .2142 .0266 8.0622 .0000 RelF2Oth .1094 .0318 3.4353 .0007 RelF3EmP .2450 .0263 9.3199 .0000 RelF4VentSB -.0963 .0258 -3.7391 .0002 RelF5Act .1050 .0273 3.8499 .0001 RelF6Acc .0447 .0264 1.6940 .0913 RelF7Den -.0707 .0232 -3.0414 .0026 RelF8Alc -.0685 .0276 -2.4800 .0137 RelF9Rel .1145 .0302 3.7904 .0002

218

RelF10Hu -.0286 .0301 -.9510 .3424 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p RelF1EmE .0425 .0508 .8363 .4037 RelF2Oth .0904 .0393 2.3005 .0221 RelF3EmP -.0216 .0505 -.4288 .6684 RelF4VentSB -.2845 .0459 -6.1916 .0000 RelF5Act -.0156 .0439 -.3556 .7224 RelF6Acc -.0688 .0421 -1.6337 .1034 RelF7Den -.0424 .0503 -.8423 .4003 RelF8Alc -.0741 .0404 -1.8334 .0678 RelF9Rel -.0105 .0385 -.2728 .7852 RelF10Hu .0210 .0383 .5482 .5840 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2947 .0200 14.7694 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2521 .0231 10.9334 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5264 .5083 29.1020 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0426 .0161 2.6562 .0079 RelF1EmE .0091 .0107 .8474 .3968 RelF2Oth .0099 .0051 1.9372 .0527 RelF3EmP -.0053 .0122 -.4364 .6625 RelF4VentSB .0274 .0085 3.2206 .0013 RelF5Act -.0016 .0045 -.3608 .7183 RelF6Acc -.0031 .0026 -1.1883 .2347 RelF7Den .0030 .0036 .8261 .4087 RelF8Alc .0051 .0034 1.4931 .1354 RelF9Rel -.0012 .0043 -.2772 .7816 RelF10Hu -.0006 .0012 -.4819 .6299 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0426 .0438 .0011 .0172 RelF1EmE .0091 .0097 .0006 .0095 RelF2Oth .0099 .0096 -.0003 .0051 RelF3EmP -.0053 -.0048 .0005 .0131

219

RelF4VentSB .0274 .0277 .0003 .0086 RelF5Act -.0016 -.0018 -.0001 .0045 RelF6Acc -.0031 -.0030 .0001 .0030 RelF7Den .0030 .0032 .0002 .0042 RelF8Alc .0051 .0053 .0002 .0037 RelF9Rel -.0012 -.0014 -.0002 .0041 RelF10Hu -.0006 -.0007 -.0001 .0017 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper TOTAL .0099 .0756 RelF1EmE -.0084 .0295 RelF2Oth .0021 .0226 RelF3EmP -.0322 .0204 RelF4VentSB .0126 .0474 RelF5Act -.0114 .0076 RelF6Acc -.0121 .0011 RelF7Den -.0038 .0130 RelF8Alc .0004 .0160 RelF9Rel -.0104 .0064 RelF10Hu -.0068 .0016 ***************************************************************** Note. RelF1EmE = Emotional Expression; RelF2Oth = Support from others; RelF3EmP = Emotional Processing; RelF4VentSB = Venting/Self-Blame; RelF5Act = Active Coping; RelF6Acc = Acceptance; RelF7Den = Denial; RelF8Alc = Alcohol/Drug Use; RelF9Rel = Religion; RelF10Hu = Humour Table B-2 Mediation on Occupational Data Across Five Imputations (m = 6 to 10) M = 6 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp .1561 .0292 5.3479 .0000 WF2OthSu .1282 .0310 4.1374 .0000 WF3EmPro .2327 .0258 9.0276 .0000 WF4VentSB -.1117 .0255 -4.3779 .0000 WF5Activ .1631 .0268 6.0818 .0000 WF6Accep .0454 .0265 1.7145 .0875 WF7Denia -.0935 .0225 -4.1579 .0000 WF8AlcAV -.1361 .0264 -5.1629 .0000 WF9Relig .0696 .0293 2.3712 .0184 WF10Humo .0508 .0349 1.4553 .1466 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp -.0082 .0477 -.1727 .8630 WF2OthSu .1821 .0375 4.8584 .0000 WF3EmPro -.0527 .0495 -1.0641 .2882 WF4VentSB -.3117 .0462 -6.7457 .0000 WF5Activ .0385 .0405 .9529 .3415 WF6Accep -.0909 .0416 -2.1877 .0295

220

WF7Denia -.0457 .0474 -.9638 .3360 WF8AlcAV -.0169 .0397 -.4247 .6713 WF9Relig -.0003 .0379 -.0091 .9927 WF10Humo .0274 .0299 .9188 .3590 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2825 .0191 14.8234 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2278 .0228 9.9970 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5557 .5387 32.7443 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0547 .0174 3.1409 .0017 WF1EmExp -.0013 .0073 -.1759 .8604 WF2OthSu .0233 .0073 3.1777 .0015 WF3EmPro -.0123 .0114 -1.0766 .2817 WF4VentS .0348 .0094 3.6969 .0002 WF5Activ .0063 .0066 .9588 .3377 WF6Accep -.0041 .0030 -1.3605 .1737 WF7Denia .0043 .0045 .9558 .3392 WF8AlcAV .0023 .0053 .4313 .6663 WF9Relig .0000 .0026 -.0093 .9926 WF10Humo .0014 .0018 .7877 .4308 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0547 .0559 .0012 .0175 WF1EmExp -.0013 -.0013 .0000 .0078 WF2OthSu .0233 .0235 .0001 .0075 WF3EmPro -.0123 -.0119 .0004 .0128 WF4VentSB .0348 .0350 .0002 .0098 WF5Activ .0063 .0066 .0003 .0065 WF6Accep -.0041 -.0039 .0002 .0031 WF7Denia .0043 .0041 -.0002 .0047 WF8AlcAV .0023 .0024 .0001 .0055 WF9Relig .0000 .0000 .0000 .0030 WF10Humo .0014 .0014 .0000 .0020 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper

221

TOTAL .0208 .0879 WF1EmExp -.0185 .0129 WF2OthSu .0108 .0396 WF3EmPro -.0372 .0137 WF4VentSB .0192 .0601 WF5Activ -.0060 .0196 WF6Accep -.0123 .0001 WF7Denia -.0045 .0150 WF8AlcAV -.0075 .0135 WF9Relig -.0078 .0052 WF10Humo -.0011 .0077 ***************************************************************** M = 7 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp .2002 .0280 7.1588 .0000 WF2OthSu .1379 .0307 4.4915 .0000 WF3EmPro .2450 .0256 9.5562 .0000 WF4VentSB -.1011 .0257 -3.9272 .0001 WF5Activ .1593 .0268 5.9425 .0000 WF6Accep .0669 .0258 2.5939 .0100 WF7Denia -.0800 .0232 -3.4489 .0006 WF8AlcAV -.1220 .0263 -4.6329 .0000 WF9Relig .0989 .0292 3.3858 .0008 WF10Humo .0428 .0354 1.2094 .2275 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp -.0198 .0477 -.4145 .6788 WF2OthSu .2029 .0373 5.4356 .0000 WF3EmPro .0000 .0489 .0006 .9995 WF4VentSB -.3495 .0452 -7.7387 .0000 WF5Activ .0203 .0407 .4993 .6180 WF6Accep -.1036 .0426 -2.4337 .0156 WF7Denia -.0291 .0458 -.6341 .5265 WF8AlcAV -.0105 .0401 -.2619 .7936 WF9Relig -.0079 .0371 -.2126 .8318 WF10Humo .0289 .0298 .9696 .3331 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2909 .0194 15.0096 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2312 .0228 10.1210 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5751 .5588 35.4332 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ******************************************************************

222

NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0597 .0178 3.3478 .0008 WF1EmExp -.0040 .0094 -.4216 .6733 WF2OthSu .0280 .0080 3.4921 .0005 WF3EmPro .0000 .0118 .0006 .9995 WF4VentSB .0353 .0100 3.5201 .0004 WF5Activ .0032 .0064 .5069 .6123 WF6Accep -.0069 .0039 -1.7939 .0728 WF7Denia .0023 .0037 .6351 .5254 WF8AlcAV .0013 .0048 .2664 .7899 WF9Relig -.0008 .0036 -.2162 .8288 WF10Humo .0012 .0016 .7656 .4439 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0597 .0613 .0015 .0177 WF1EmExp -.0040 -.0033 .0006 .0097 WF2OthSu .0280 .0279 .0000 .0082 WF3EmPro .0000 -.0001 -.0001 .0130 WF4VentSB .0353 .0355 .0002 .0104 WF5Activ .0032 .0037 .0005 .0068 WF6Accep -.0069 -.0068 .0001 .0039 WF7Denia .0023 .0023 -.0001 .0040 WF8AlcAV .0013 .0014 .0001 .0048 WF9Relig -.0008 -.0007 .0001 .0040 WF10Humo .0012 .0013 .0001 .0021 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper TOTAL .0230 .0953 WF1EmExp -.0265 .0130 WF2OthSu .0138 .0457 WF3EmPro -.0235 .0303 WF4VentSB .0159 .0561 WF5Activ -.0086 .0194 WF6Accep -.0171 -.0012 WF7Denia -.0049 .0110 WF8AlcAV -.0083 .0116 WF9Relig -.0097 .0067 WF10Humo -.0009 .0089 ***************************************************************** M = 8 IV to Mediators (a paths)

223

Coeff se t p WF1EmExp .1960 .0281 6.9788 .0000 WF2OthSu .1090 .0309 3.5270 .0005 WF3EmPro .2326 .0255 9.1276 .0000 WF4VentSB -.1020 .0265 -3.8514 .0001 WF5Activ .1645 .0270 6.0879 .0000 WF6Accep .0589 .0266 2.2118 .0277 WF7Denia -.0923 .0229 -4.0240 .0001 WF8AlcAV -.1157 .0263 -4.3909 .0000 WF9Relig .0684 .0301 2.2716 .0238 WF10Humo .0354 .0365 .9716 .3320 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp -.0353 .0503 -.7007 .4841 WF2OthSu .1837 .0387 4.7471 .0000 WF3EmPro -.0013 .0523 -.0257 .9795 WF4VentSB -.3520 .0458 -7.6829 .0000 WF5Activ .0409 .0420 .9746 .3306 WF6Accep -.0873 .0427 -2.0463 .0416 WF7Denia -.0735 .0490 -1.5001 .1347 WF8AlcAV .0349 .0417 .8362 .4038 WF9Relig .0004 .0380 .0118 .9906 WF10Humo .0259 .0301 .8597 .3906 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2919 .0201 14.5099 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2380 .0236 10.0690 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5578 .5409 33.0238 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0540 .0182 2.9602 .0031 WF1EmExp -.0069 .0097 -.7102 .4776 WF2OthSu .0200 .0070 2.8529 .0043 WF3EmPro -.0003 .0119 -.0261 .9791 WF4VentSB .0359 .0104 3.4604 .0005 WF5Activ .0067 .0069 .9802 .3270 WF6Accep -.0051 .0034 -1.5184 .1289 WF7Denia .0068 .0047 1.4292 .1529 WF8AlcAV -.0040 .0048 -.8364 .4029 WF9Relig .0000 .0026 .0120 .9904 WF10Humo .0009 .0014 .6511 .5150

224

***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0540 .0548 .0008 .0167 WF1EmExp -.0069 -.0071 -.0002 .0104 WF2OthSu .0200 .0201 .0001 .0076 WF3EmPro -.0003 .0003 .0006 .0143 WF4VentSB .0359 .0359 .0000 .0102 WF5Activ .0067 .0067 -.0001 .0070 WF6Accep -.0051 -.0049 .0003 .0034 WF7Denia .0068 .0069 .0001 .0053 WF8AlcAV -.0040 -.0040 .0000 .0049 WF9Relig .0000 -.0001 -.0001 .0030 WF10Humo .0009 .0010 .0000 .0020 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals Lower Upper TOTAL .0200 .0882 WF1EmExp -.0298 .0117 WF2OthSu .0078 .0385 WF3EmPro -.0283 .0292 WF4VentSB .0172 .0563 WF5Activ -.0056 .0235 WF6Accep -.0140 -.0003 WF7Denia -.0012 .0194 WF8AlcAV -.0146 .0046 WF9Relig -.0068 .0057 WF10Humo -.0011 .0086 ***************************************************************** M = 9 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp .1882 .0281 6.6906 .0000 WF2OthSu .1391 .0304 4.5724 .0000 WF3EmPro .2328 .0261 8.9347 .0000 WF4VentSB -.0936 .0266 -3.5222 .0005 WF5Activ .1748 .0266 6.5648 .0000 WF6Accep .0768 .0263 2.9233 .0037 WF7Denia -.0992 .0228 -4.3543 .0000 WF8AlcAV -.1222 .0261 -4.6774 .0000 WF9Relig .0709 .0293 2.4210 .0161 WF10Humo .0231 .0358 .6454 .5191 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp -.0294 .0499 -.5882 .5569 WF2OthSu .2002 .0394 5.0824 .0000 WF3EmPro -.0259 .0512 -.5065 .6129

225

WF4VentSB -.3624 .0460 -7.8782 .0000 WF5Activ .0028 .0426 .0668 .9468 WF6Accep -.0993 .0432 -2.2995 .0222 WF7Denia -.0552 .0488 -1.1308 .2591 WF8AlcAV -.0117 .0412 -.2849 .7759 WF9Relig -.0137 .0385 -.3558 .7222 WF10Humo .0110 .0305 .3607 .7186 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2884 .0204 14.1528 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2391 .0234 10.2195 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5641 .5475 33.8821 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ****************************************************************** NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Effect se Z p TOTAL .0493 .0184 2.6809 .0073 WF1EmExp -.0055 .0093 -.5969 .5506 WF2OthSu .0279 .0081 3.4308 .0006 WF3EmPro -.0060 .0117 -.5153 .6064 WF4VentSB .0339 .0105 3.2299 .0012 WF5Activ .0005 .0073 .0680 .9457 WF6Accep -.0076 .0042 -1.8294 .0673 WF7Denia .0055 .0049 1.1139 .2653 WF8AlcAV .0014 .0050 .2898 .7720 WF9Relig -.0010 .0027 -.3586 .7199 WF10Humo .0003 .0008 .3195 .7493 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths) Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0493 .0494 .0001 .0177 WF1EmExp -.0055 -.0057 -.0001 .0095 WF2OthSu .0279 .0276 -.0002 .0086 WF3EmPro -.0060 -.0059 .0001 .0120 WF4VentSB .0339 .0343 .0004 .0111 WF5Activ .0005 .0006 .0001 .0074 WF6Accep -.0076 -.0072 .0004 .0041 WF7Denia .0055 .0051 -.0004 .0054 WF8AlcAV .0014 .0012 -.0002 .0050 WF9Relig -.0010 -.0009 .0001 .0032 WF10Humo .0003 .0003 .0000 .0015 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals

226

Lower Upper TOTAL .0151 .0849 WF1EmExp -.0264 .0121 WF2OthSu .0139 .0496 WF3EmPro -.0305 .0174 WF4VentSB .0145 .0602 WF5Activ -.0133 .0162 WF6Accep -.0191 -.0020 WF7Denia -.0036 .0187 WF8AlcAV -.0083 .0120 WF9Relig -.0098 .0044 WF10Humo -.0013 .0064 ***************************************************************** M = 10 IV to Mediators (a paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp .1862 .0285 6.5339 .0000 WF2OthSu .1284 .0305 4.2118 .0000 WF3EmPro .2379 .0255 9.3229 .0000 WF4VentSB -.1118 .0257 -4.3504 .0000 WF5Activ .1714 .0265 6.4697 .0000 WF6Accep .0839 .0259 3.2452 .0013 WF7Denia -.0944 .0225 -4.2018 .0000 WF8AlcAV -.1149 .0258 -4.4451 .0000 WF9Relig .0746 .0289 2.5803 .0103 WF10Humo .0287 .0356 .8064 .4207 Direct Effects of Mediators on DV (b paths) Coeff se t p WF1EmExp -.0212 .0503 -.4218 .6735 WF2OthSu .2146 .0399 5.3775 .0000 WF3EmPro -.0241 .0534 -.4508 .6525 WF4VentSB -.3754 .0483 -7.7712 .0000 WF5Activ .0233 .0432 .5392 .5902 WF6Accep -.0876 .0437 -2.0064 .0457 WF7Denia -.0608 .0500 -1.2164 .2248 WF8AlcAV -.0133 .0429 -.3112 .7559 WF9Relig -.0064 .0394 -.1616 .8717 WF10Humo .0311 .0313 .9951 .3205 Total Effect of IV on DV (c path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2930 .0207 14.1645 .0000 Direct Effect of IV on DV (c-prime path) Coeff se t p EI_TOT_W .2289 .0240 9.5232 .0000 Model Summary for DV Model R-sq Adj R-sq F df1 df2 p .5634 .5468 33.7898 11.0000 288.0000 .0000 ******************************************************************

227

NORMAL THEORY TESTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths)

Effect se Z p TOTAL .0642 .0190 3.3840 .0007 WF1EmExp -.0039 .0092 -.4288 .6680 WF2OthSu .0276 .0082 3.3428 .0008 WF3EmPro -.0057 .0125 -.4588 .6464 WF4VentSB .0420 .0110 3.8178 .0001 WF5Activ .0040 .0073 .5474 .5841 WF6Accep -.0074 .0043 -1.7306 .0835 WF7Denia .0057 .0048 1.1889 .2345 WF8AlcAV .0015 .0048 .3162 .7518 WF9Relig -.0005 .0029 -.1643 .8695 WF10Humo .0009 .0014 .6318 .5275 ***************************************************************** BOOTSTRAP RESULTS FOR INDIRECT EFFECTS Indirect Effects of IV on DV through Proposed Mediators (ab paths)

Data boot Bias SE TOTAL .0642 .0644 .0002 .0177 WF1EmExp -.0039 -.0041 -.0001 .0093 WF2OthSu .0276 .0277 .0001 .0084 WF3EmPro -.0057 -.0057 .0000 .0138 WF4VentSB .0420 .0423 .0003 .0110 WF5Activ .0040 .0038 -.0002 .0073 WF6Accep -.0074 -.0074 -.0001 .0042 WF7Denia .0057 .0054 -.0003 .0054 WF8AlcAV .0015 .0018 .0003 .0051 WF9Relig -.0005 -.0004 .0000 .0038 WF10Humo .0009 .0010 .0001 .0020 Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals

Lower Upper TOTAL .0298 .0974 WF1EmExp -.0240 .0144 WF2OthSu .0136 .0456 WF3EmPro -.0331 .0187 WF4VentSB .0227 .0660 WF5Activ -.0101 .0188 WF6Accep -.0177 -.0010 WF7Denia -.0037 .0184 WF8AlcAV -.0093 .0114 WF9Relig -.0109 .0061 WF10Humo -.0011 .0082 ***************************************************************** Note. WF1EmExp = Emotional Expression; WF2OthSu = Support from others; WF3EmPro = Emotional Processing; WF4VentSB = Venting/Self-Blame; WF5Activ = Active Coping; WF6Accep = Acceptance; WF7Denia = Denial; WF8AlcAV = Alcohol/Drug Use; WF9Relig = Religion; WF10Humo = Humour

228

Appendix C: Copyright Acknowledgements

229

Date:

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:56:44 -0000 [24/01/12 11:56:44 EDT]

From: "Peccia Galletto, Charlotte (ELS-PAR)" <[email protected]> To: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Obtain Permission Dear Miss Limor Zomer, We hereby grant you permission to reproduce the material detailed below at no charge in your thesis, in print and on the University of Toronto web site subject to the following conditions: 1. If any part of the material to be used (for example, figures) has appeared in our publication with credit or

acknowledgement to another source, permission must also be sought from that source. If such permission is not obtained then that material may not be included in your publication/copies.

2. Suitable acknowledgment to the source must be made, either as a footnote or in a reference list at the end

of your publication, as follows:

“This figure was published in Publication title, Vol number, Author(s), Title of article, Page Nos, Copyright Elsevier (or appropriate Society name) (Year).”

3. Your thesis may be submitted to your institution in either print or electronic form. 4. Reproduction of this material is confined to the purpose for which permission is hereby given. 5. This permission is granted for non-exclusive world rights only. Permission excludes use in an electronic

form other than as specified above. Should you have a specific electronic project in mind please reapply for permission.

6. This includes permission for UMI and for the National Library of Canada to supply single copies, on

demand, of the complete thesis. Should your thesis be published commercially, please reapply for permission.

Yours sincerely, Charlotte Peccia-Galletto Global Rights Department Elsevier +33 (0)1 71 16 53 14 (phone) -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 21 January 2012 22:15 To: Rights and Permissions (ELS) Subject: Obtain Permission This Email was sent from the Elsevier Corporate Web Site and is related to Obtain Permission form: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Product: Customer Support Component: Obtain Permission Web server: http://www.elsevier.com

230

Client: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7 Invoked from: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/obtainpermissionform.cws_home?isSubmitted=yes&navigateXmlFileName=/store/p65idstarget/act/framework_support/obtainpermission.xml Request From: Miss Limor Zomer University of Toronto Email Address: [email protected] Type Of Publication: Journal Journal Details: Title: Intelligence ISSN: 0160-2896 Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Year: 2000 Pages From: 267 Pages To: 298 Author: Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R. & Salovey, P. Article Title: Emotional Intelligence Meets Traditional Standards for an Intelligence Type Of Content: Figures(s) Quantity of Material Figures: Only one figure - Figure 1. Are you the author: Yes Author at institute: Yes Format of the requested material be used: Print_Electronic Will you be translating the material? No Languages to which the material is going to be translated : Information about your proposed use: thesis Reuse in a thesis/dissertation: My dissertation will be available via the University of Toronto Libraries in digital formats, for reference, study and/or copy for scholarly purposes. I will also be granting Library and Archives Canada and ProQuest/UMI a non-exclusive license to reproduce, loan, distribute, or sell single copies of my dissertation by any means and in any form or format. These rights will in no way restrict republication of the material in any other form by you or by others authorized by you. I would like permission to allow inclusion of Figure 1 from the source noted above, "Emotional Intelligence Meets Traditional Standards for an Intelligence". Please confirm that these arrangements meet with your approval. For further info regarding this automatic email, please contact: WEB APPLICATIONS TEAM ( [email protected] ) Elsevier Masson SAS, 62 rue Camille Desmoulins, 92130 Issy les Moulineaux, France, RCS Nanterre 542 037 031

THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, … · People with high levels of emotional...

Documents

Transcript of THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, … · People with high levels of emotional...