GESJ: Education Science and Psychology 2012 | No.3(22) ISSN 1512-1801 55 CONCEPTUALIZATION OF PERSONALITY AND COPING IN ADOLESCENTS 1 Arezou Asghari, 2 Rusnani Abdul Kadir, 3 Habibah Elias, 4 Maznah Baba 1234 Putra University, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract Adolescence is a transitional period, which is punctuated with a number of age-specific stressors. This paper reviews literature regarding the relationships between personality and coping efforts, adolescents and the stressors which they face, as well as definitions of personality and coping, theoretical relations and models that highlighted the association between personality and coping , and finally age and gender differences in personality and coping response. Key words: Personality, Coping, Adolescents, age and gender differences Introduction Many studies have confirmed the importance of personality traits in stress and coping processes (Bolger, 1990; Bolger & Zuckerman, 1995; Ferguson, 2001; Leandro & Castillo, 2010). Personality traits and coping strategies have been found as two significant factors, which affect subjective well- being (Malkoc, 2011). Subjective well-being longitudinal studies have shown that some individuals regularly perceive their lives in a more positive light and that this phenomenon’s can be explained by dispositional traits (Leandro & Castillo 2010). However, there have been many explanations offered as to why some people are better at adapting to potentially stressful situations. Simply put, certain personality traits can affect the way by which an individual experiences stressors (Kammeyer-Mueller, Judge, & Scott, 2009). Personality, in certain cases, can either limit or facilitate the utilization of particular strategies and therefore it could directly influence the type of coping strategy chosen. Personality can also indirectly affect the nature and undesirability of stressors encountered, as well as how efficiently these coping strategies are used (Bolger & Zuckerman, 1995; Connor-Smith & Flachsbart, 2007). The connection between the personality of adolescents and their coping mechanism may be related to health-risk behaviors, involving major risks especially when there are inadequate or inefficient coping abilities, like psychological anxiety and suicidal thoughts, smoking and substance abuse, and high-risk sexual behaviors (Rew, 2005).The foremost purpose of this study is to unravel several conceptual issues related to adolescent personality and their stress coping mechanisms. This review is oriented to focus on personality and coping in adolescents, and recent advances in the literature. Adolescents and Stressors Adolescence has been known to be a difficult time for most individuals as it is punctuated by various stress factors. This phase of growth often involves both physical and cognitive developments (Williams & McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 2000) and has been linked to heightened stress and applying inefficient coping responses (Rowely, Roesch, Jurica, & Vaugghn, 2005). Most certainly, many adolescents will encounter a number of social experiences, which are new and somewhat threatening or challenging. These experiences can potentially become more serious towards the later part of adolescence, which happens when an individual turns 21 or 22 and important social transitions take place, such as leaving home, finding satisfactory education or occupation, and starting close partner relationships. These difficult life experiences and a number of frequent adolescence’s