DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN STRESS AND PERSONALITY IN COLLEGE STUDENTS
Abstract
The present research examined the development of the perception of stressors throughout the four years in college and the relationship of personality variables to the perception of stressors during the college years. Subjects included 176 college students who completed the Life Experiences Survey (Sarason et al., 1978); a modified version of the Hassles and Uplifts Scales (Kanner et al., 1981); the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence, Helmreich, and Stapp, 1974); and the Achievement, Play, and Autonomy Scales of the Personality Research Form (Jackson, 1984). Multiple regression analyses revealed that masculinity, play, autonomy, and achievement significantly predicted negative cumulated severity Hassles-Uplift scores, R('2)(4,171) = .07, p < .05, with masculinity being the strongest predictor. The same four predictor variables did not significantly predict major stressors. One explanation for this difference in the findings for major and minor stressors is that the items on the Hassles-Uplifts Scale were more applicable to college students than items on the LES. The developmental hypotheses that major and minor stressors would decrease and that autonomy and play would increase over the four years in college were not confirmed. The lack of developmental findings may be due to the large intragroup variation during the four years in college or perhaps to the specific sample employed. Results did not support the hypotheses that achievement would be positively related and that autonomy and play would be negatively related to the perception of stressors. Results did show that masculinity was positively related to minor stressors. Future research could investigate the relationship of gender-role orientation and sex, along with additional personality variables to the perception of stressors.
Subject Area
Developmental psychology
Recommended Citation
VERGOZ-REKIS, ELIZABETH, "DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN STRESS AND PERSONALITY IN COLLEGE STUDENTS" (1987). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8714585.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8714585
