Emotion-focused coping, social support and active coping among University students: gender differences

Abstract

The present study investigated the strategies used by Greek students to cope with stress-inducing situations. The Greek adaptation of Echelle Toulousaine de Coping (ETC) was employed to assess coping strategies as well as various aspects of coping, including action, information-seeking and seeking support from family and friends. Results showed that female students tended to report significantly higher levels of coping than male students, both positive and negative. Although students did not significantly differ in terms of particular coping styles, significant gender differences were found for individual aspects of coping. Interestingly, women showed preference to emotion-focused strategies, such as seeking social support or engaging in activities to distract themselves from stressors. It was concluded that providing students with effective ways of managing stress is important for targeting counselling interventions