RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COPING STYLE AND PA1 PROFILES IN A COMMUNITY SAMPLE JULIE A. DEISMGER zyxwv Governors Srate University JEFFREY E. CASSISI Jackson State University SANDRA L. WHITAKER Governors State University Relationships between coping style and psychological functioning were exam- ined in a heterogeneous community sample zyxwv (N zyxwv = 168). Psychological function- ing was categorized with the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991). Subjects were assigned to PA1 configural profile clusters, using T-scores from PA1 clinical scales. Three PA1 clusters were prominent in this sample: normal, anxious, and eccentric. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that these clusters differed significantly in coping style, as measured by the dispositional format of the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Normals coped through avoidance significantly less than anxious or eccentric subjects. Also, normals engaged in seeking social support and venting more than eccentric but less than anxious subjects. Gender differences also were noted, with women more likely to cope by seeking social support and men more likely to cope through hedonistic escapism. zyxwvu 0 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The relationship between coping style and psychological functioning has received con- siderable attention in past research. An early study (Pearlin & Schooler, 1978) found that using adaptive coping strategies, such as self-reliance or positive comparisons, affected emo- tional well-being by reducing stress. Pearlin and Schooler (1978) concluded that effective coping was predictive of good psychological health. Other studies also have supported the premise that adaptive coping was negatively as- sociated with psychopathology (e.g., McCrae & Costa, 1986; Mitchell, Cronkite, & Moos, 1983; Petrosky & Birkimer, 1991). Furthermore, several studies indicated that the use of maladaptive coping behaviors was positively associated with psychological dysfunction (e.g., Billings & Moos, 1981; Menaghan, 1982; Nowack, 1989). Variation in relationships between coping and psychopathology may depend on the type of dysfunction in question (Wheaton, 1983). For instance, depressed individuals may cope through avoidance (Coyne & Downey, 1991), emotional discharge (Billings & Moos, 1984; Coyne & Downey, 1991; Folkman & Lazarus, 1988), seeking instrumental or emotional social support (Coyne & Downey, 1991), or engaging in wishful thinking (Coyne, Aldwin, & Lazarus, 1981), while highly anxious individuals may cope through seeking information and ruminating about their problems (Fuller & Conner, 1990). Currently, the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) includes behavioral descriptors in its diagnostic criteria, but provides almost no information regarding coping This article is based on a thesis by Julie zyxwvu A. Deisinger, submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the master’s degree in psychology at Governors State University. We thank David Suddick and Carolyn Cutrona for their suggestions on earlier drafts of this study. Requests for reprints should be sent to Jeffrey E. Cassisi, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Jackson State University, P.O. Box 17550, Jackson, MS 39217. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol. 52(3) 303-310 (1996) 0 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0021-9762/96/030303-08 303