Gender differences in Appraisal and Coping: An examination of the situational and dispositional hypothesis

This study investigated gender differences in appraisal and coping among a sample of male and female soccer players. Two hundred and seventy-one participants (male n = 138; female n = 133; M age = 20.16 years, SD = 2.97) rated stress intensity and perceived control, and completed the MCOPE (Crocker & Graham, 1995) in response to three different experimenter defined stress scenarios. Results revealed that the females rated two scenarios with less perceived control and one scenario with higher stress intensity. Gender differences in coping, after controlling for stress intensity and control, were found across the three scenarios. This finding provides tentative support for the dispositional hypothesis. The results suggest that males and females differ in their preference for the use of certain coping strategies and that gender is a moderator in the stress appraisal and coping process