What coping tells about personality

Coping Humor of Entrepreneurs: Interaction Between Social Culture and Entrepreneurial Experience

It is feasible to deal with the high pressures in entrepreneurship using humor. This paper studies the effect of interaction between entrepreneurs' perception of social culture and entrepreneurial experience (including experience with entrepreneurial failure and current company performance) on coping humor of entrepreneurs with a sample of 171 entrepreneurs from Bohai Rim in China. Regression analysis revealed that entrepreneurs would be more likely to adopt coping humor when they perceived supportive social culture to entrepreneurship and had experienced entrepreneurial failure or when they perceived supportive social culture to entrepreneurship and had good current business. This study contributes to the literature of the theory of humor, the culture of entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial failure.

Sexual dysfunctions and related variables with sexual function in patients who undergo dialysis for chronic renal failure

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To evaluate personality characteristics and psychological symptoms believed to have an effect on the sexual functions and performances of patients undergoing dialysis treatment.

BACKGROUND

Chronic renal failure is a life-threatening condition which can often have a poor prognosis. The loss of vital kidney function and other complications can affect almost all age groups.

DESIGN

A quantitative descriptive study.

METHODS

The study sample included 225 patients selected randomly from patients who have undergone dialysis treatment for at least 3 months at a dialysis centre in a university hospital. In this study, the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS), the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were used.

RESULTS

In the correlation test, made to investigate the relation between the patients' sexual satisfaction and their personalities, a significant positive relation was found between the communication subscale of the GRISS and the Lie dimension of the EPI, and a significant negative relation was found between the Communication subscale of the GRISS and the Lie dimension of the EPI, and between the Vaginismus and Orgasm subscales of the GRISS and the Extroversion dimension of the EPI.

CONCLUSION

Results showed that sexual problems, in the areas of nonsensuality, anorgasmia, avoidance and communication, are associated with extroversion and psychological symptoms.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Sexual health and the psychological well-being of patients with renal failure is an important issue that should be considered in nursing practice. Nurses should take the psychological problems of patients and their relations with partners into account and consider these problems in a holistic manner within the framework of nursing practice. They would then be able to play an effective role in intervening at an early stage and would be better equipped to help and control the psychological and sexual problems that some patients may experience.

Personality dimensions, positive emotions and coping strategies in the caregivers of people living with HIV in Lahore, Pakistan

The aim of this research was to study the relationship between personality dimensions, positive emotions and coping mechanisms of caregivers of patients living with HIV. This study used a cross-sectional research design. A sample comprising 56 caregivers was recruited from HIV/AIDS clinics in three teaching hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected between February and July 2010. Most caregivers were men, and of low socio-economic status. Individuals with both high and low extraversion used problem-focused coping, self-control and accepting responsibility, but those with low extraversion used more escape-avoidance coping, and they had also high levels of negative emotions. Those high in neuroticism used more tension-reduction coping than problem-focused coping, and experienced fewer positive emotions. Regression analysis findings revealed neuroticism as a significant predictor of negative emotions as well as emotion-focused coping, and only extraversion significantly predicted negative emotions. This research could help in devising psychological management plans for caregivers of patients living with HIV in order to assist them in coping with the burden of care.

No Occasion for Pleasure: The Self-Worth Contingency of a Setback and Coping With Humor

Whether or not one uses humor to cope with a setback may depend on the idiosyncratic relation of the setback to feeling of self-worth. All people pursue the higher order goal of self-validation, but people differ in what domains of life their self-worth is contingent upon and to what extent. In this article based on an incongruity theory of humor we argue that the use of humor in coping with a highly self-worth-contingent setback may be impeded by two cognitive-motivational processes: goal-driven activation and goal shielding. From the outlined theory we derived the hypothesis that the more a domain is contingent upon self-worth, the less likely a person will be to use humor to deal with a setback in that domain. We tested this hypothesis in two studies employing two forms of self-report, i.e., ratings of reaction likelihood to setbacks described at an abstract domain level (Study 1), and ranking of reaction likelihood to concrete setbacks from different domains (Study 2). The hypothesis was affirmed in different domains of self-worth contingency controlling for the influence of habitual coping with humor, coping by disengagement, and global self-esteem.

Effects of habitual anger on employees' behavior during organizational change

Organizational change is a particularly emotional event for those being confronted with it. Anger is a frequently experienced emotion under these conditions. This study analyses the influence of employees' habitual anger reactions on their reported behavior during organizational change. It was explored whether anger reactions conducive to recovering or increasing individual well-being will enhance the likelihood of functional change behavior. Dysfunctional regulation strategies in terms of individual well-being are expected to decrease the likelihood of functional change behavior-mediated by the commitment to change. Four hundred and twelve employees of different organizations in Luxembourg undergoing organizational change participated in the study. Findings indicate that the anger regulation strategy venting, and humor increase the likelihood of deviant resistance to change. Downplaying the incident's negative impact and feedback increase the likelihood of active support for change. The mediating effect of commitment to change has been found for humor and submission. The empirical findings suggest that a differentiated conceptualization of resistance to change is required. Specific implications for practical change management and for future research are discussed.

Improving quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease: influence of acceptance and personality

BACKGROUND

A low health-related quality of life (HQL) is associated with the evolution of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and mortality in patients in end-stage of the disease. Therefore research on psychological determinants of HQL is emerging. We investigate whether acceptance of the disease contributes to a better physical and mental health-related quality of life (PHQL and MHQL). We also examine the impact of personality characteristics on acceptance, PHQL and MHQL.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients from an outpatient clinic of nephrology completed self-report questionnaires on quality of life, acceptance and personality characteristics. We performed correlations, regression analyses and a path analysis.

RESULTS

Our sample of 99 patients had a mean duration of CKD of 10.81 years and a mean estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD)-formula of 34.49 ml/min (SD 21.66). Regression analyses revealed that acceptance had a significant positive contribution to the prediction of PHQL and MHQL. Neuroticism was negatively associated with acceptance and MHQL. Path analysis showed that 37% of the total effect of neuroticism on MHQL was mediated by acceptance.

CONCLUSIONS

Acceptance is an important positive variable in accounting for HQL, however, clinicians must be aware that if patients have a high level of neuroticism they are likely to have more difficulties with this coping strategy. These results provide a better understanding of psychological determinants of HQL in CKD, which can initiate another approach of these patients by nephrologists, specific psychological interventions, or other supporting public health services.

Habitual Goals and Strategies in Anger Regulation

The article presents two studies done with the Anger-Related Reactions and Goals Inventory (ARGI) combining the assessment of functional and dysfunctional anger-related reactions with the goals that people pursue in regulating interpersonal anger. Study 1 (N = 756) corroborated the questionnaire’s psychometric properties and factorial structure. Correlations with indicators for psychosocial well-being, trait anger, and the Big Five dimensions were largely in line with our predictions. Study 2 documented the convergence between self-reports (N = 104) and reports of two knowledgeable informants (N = 188), in particular for the dysfunctional reactions. We conclude that the ARGI is a reliable and valid questionnaire that taps into facets of anger regulation that are of high relevance for research on the consequences of anger for health and well-being.