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    The relationships between body image, activity levels and coping styles in women : in fulfillment of the requirements for masterate thesis
    (Massey University, 2001) Gordon, Fiona
    This study investigated whether any relationship exists between Activity, Body Image Dissatisfaction and Coping Skills. Three questionnaires were combined to investigate Activity, Body Image Dissatisfaction and Coping Skills. They were presented to participants as a world wide website. Usable answers were submitted by 214 women, aged 18-65. The study did not identify a psychological factor that correlates with exercise non-adherence. Body Image Dissatisfaction and Coping Skills were found to be related. Women's level of exercise was not affected by their body image or coping style. Poor body image is correlated with maladaptive and emotion-focused coping skills. Therefore training in adaptive coping skills might reduce poor body image in women.
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    A study of the career commitment, stress levels, and coping resources of musicians, and the influence of personality : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Langley, Sarah T
    The present study is an attempt to explore the career commitment, stress, and coping resource issues of musicians, and possible relationships between them. The personality profiles of the musicians are also examined to determine possible interactions with experiences of stress and coping, and career commitment. These areas have not been previously explored within New Zealand, and international research pertaining to the career commitment, stress, coping and personality of musicians is limited. The present study utilised quantitative data, collected through a survey. A questionnaire was distributed to all members of the Auckland Symphony Orchestra and all employees of the Music Education Centre. There were 52 respondents. The questionnaire consisted of three scales, including a commitment scale, the Occupational Stress inventory (OSI), and the NEO PI-R. The participants were grouped according to whether they were a fulltime performer or music teacher, both a teacher and performer, or in one of those groups, but earning their primary income from other work. Results indicated that this sample of musicians were committed to their musical careers. Overall, the musicians did not experience high levels of occupational stress or personal strain, and had good coping resources. It was found that female musicians had significantly greater rational/cognitive coping skills and experienced less vocational strain than did the male musicians. Musicians with a teachers or performers diploma were found to experience significantly less psychological strain than musicians with grade 8. In terms of personality profiles, male musicians were significantly less agreeable and less conscientious than female musicians were, and divorced musicians were found to be significantly more agreeable than single musicians. Individuals with a grade 8 qualification were more neurotic than individuals who have a performers or teachers diploma. The results suggest that this sample of musicians differ from those previously researched in terms of stress, coping, and personality. The key implication of the present study is that analysing musicians in terms of how they structure music into their lives produced the differing results, which given the arguments in the literature, may be more reflective of reality.
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    Personality styles and coping strategies : the relationships between sociotropy/autonomy, coping, and mood : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2000) Parkhill, Gillian Mary
    Beck's (1983) personality-event congruence hypothesis proposes that individuals high in the personality constructs of sociotropy and autonomy are vulnerable to the development of depression when facing stressful life events that are congruent with their personality dimension. The present study investigated if the stronger empirical support for Beck's hypothesis for sociotropy, than for autonomy, is due to differences in coping strategies used by sociotropic and autonomous people. Using a cross-sectional retrospective research design, with a non-clinical student sample, the present study tested the hypotheses that people with different levels of sociotropy/autonomy use different coping strategies, and that coping mediates the relationship between sociotropy/autonomy and mood in the face of stressful events. The roles of gender and social support in that relationship were also explored. While sociotropy/autonomy levels did not affect coping patterns found between interpersonal and achievement events, sociotropy/autonomy was found to influence coping in general. Participants with low levels of sociotropy and autonomy showed decreased use of self-control, accepting responsibility, and escape-avoidance coping. The coping strategies of self-control and escape-avoidance mediated the relationship between sociotropy/autonomy and positive affect, while escape-avoidance mediated the relationship between sociotropy/autonomy and negative affect. Women had higher sociotropy scores than men, and although participants low in both sociotropy and autonomy reported higher levels of social support, no gender differences in social support were found. Social support had a positive influence on positive affect and a negative influence on negative affect. Men used more planful problem-solving than women, but the gender differences in coping were unrelated to coping differences found between the different sociotropy and autonomy levels. These findings are discussed within the framework of the personality-event congruence hypothesis.
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    How transsexuals cope with discrimination : a grounded theory : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Roskilly, Bronwen Avis
    The coping strategies of transsexuals who experience discrimination have previously received little research attention. The primary objective of the present study was to generate a grounded theory to explain how transsexuals cope with discrimination. Eight transsexual individuals were interviewed and each interview was audio taped and transcribed in verbatim. The data was qualitatively analysed utilising the grounded theory methodology. Participants collectively described experiencing numerous instances of discrimination and described using a variety of coping strategies to help alleviate anxiety caused by discrimination. The core category of'understanding discrimination to be an anxiety-provoking phenomenon' emerged from the data. It was determined that the core category was established by three pre-existing conditions. The first of these was an awareness of the self to be vulnerable to discrimination. The second condition was an awareness of discrimination to impact negatively on the self, and the third entailed an understanding of why discrimination occurs. The coping strategies were broken into three selective codes. Participants adopted constructive strategies which were primarily rational and realistic. Cognitive coping strategies addressed anxiety caused by discrimination by changing the appraisal of cognitions pertaining to the discriminatory experience. Direct action strategies were behavioural approaches which entailed the altering of the situation. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to clinicians working with transgendered people, with emphasis on the common occurrence of discrimination and its detrimental impact on the transsexual.
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    Psychosocial factors relating to adaptive capacity in a New Zealand District Health Board : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Ellis, Debra Elizabeth
    The purpose of the current research was to examine how factors identified in the Organisational Health Framework (Hart & Cooper, 2001) may relate to stress and wellbeing in a sample of the New Zealand health workforce. It was anticipated that the findings would provide information as to what adaptive strategies may be utilised in the health sector in both routine and emergency management contexts. The research focusses on the individual and situational factors identified as having the potential to contribute to positive outcomes. Salutogenesis (Antonovsky, 1979) is used as an overarching paradigm for the context of the research to understand mechanisms which promote adaptive capacity between individuals, teams and their organisation in relation to predictors of stress and growth in a large New Zealand District Health Board (DHB). Two New Zealand national emergency response exercises took place shortly before data collection for the studies. The exercises provided examples of realistic contexts within which to assess the individual and situational factors associated with positive outcomes and adaptive capacity given that the health sector will have a large part to play in the response and recovery to such emergency events. The methodology applied self-report surveys. The first study comprised 155 participants across clinical, medical and nursing professions and management and administration roles. Study 2 comprised 199 participants from the same role categories as Study 1. In both studies, stress and growth were related to both individual and situational factors but individual factors such as personality and coping strategies appeared to play a more significant role than situational factors. The emotion–focussed coping strategies adopted by these groups were positive rather than maladaptive. Results show that emotion–focussed coping strategies may contribute to adaptive capacity by successfully neutralising stressors in the sample. Implications of these findings are discussed.