Gender Differences in the Stress and Coping Experiences of First Year Postsecondary Students

ABSTRACT

Previous research on gender and coping has led lo a debate about whether a dispositional or a siluational perspective accounts lor the coping strategies used by females and males. In this study, methodology was used to investigate the coping responses of students within the context of perceived demands throughout their first year postsecondary experience. While academic demands remained central in the experience of all students, females had more relationship-based demands and demonstrated a wider repertoire of coping strategies in comparison to male students. Discussion focuses on the need for research on coping to consider the contexts in which coping responses are embedded.