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The Effects of Conscientiousness on the Appraisals of Daily Stressors
Author(s) -
Gartland Nicola,
O'Connor Daryl B,
Lawton Rebecca
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
stress and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1532-2998
pISSN - 1532-3005
DOI - 10.1002/smi.1404
Subject(s) - conscientiousness , stressor , psychology , clinical psychology , personality , big five personality traits , developmental psychology , social psychology , extraversion and introversion
Conscientiousness (C) is positively associated with health and longevity although the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not fully understood. Stress may play a role in explaining the C–longevity relationship. This study investigated whether C predicted the cognitive appraisals of daily stressors/hassles. Participants ( N = 102) completed measures of C and cognitive appraisal in relation to the most stressful hassle they had experienced in the last 7 days. Correlational analysis revealed that Total C, Order and Industriousness were positively correlated with primary appraisals, and Responsibility was positively correlated with secondary appraisals. The facets of C were then entered into hierarchical regression models, controlling for age and gender. This demonstrated that Order ( β = 0.27, p < 0.05) and Industriousness ( β = 0.28, p < 0.05) significantly predicted primary appraisals, accounting for 15.8% of the variance. Responsibility significantly predicted secondary appraisals ( β = 0.44, p < 0.01), accounting for 16.3% of the variance. These findings indicate that higher Order and Industriousness are related to having a greater stake in daily stressors, whereas higher Responsibility is related to greater confidence in one's ability to deal with daily stressors. These results are the first demonstration that C is related to the appraisals of daily hassles and suggest that C may moderate the experience of stress in daily life. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.