Coping Strategies among Swedish Female and Male Managers in an International Context

This work was part of the Collaborative International Study of Managerial Stress. Swedish managers (N=288) from the 3 highest levels in the organizations were included. Swedish results were compared with managerial coping data from 4 other nations. Cross-national differences in support and control coping were found. Covert coping seemed to be a predominantly female strategy. In general, however, female and male managers are more alike with regard to coping patterns than men and women in the population. Some of the coping behavior of managers was associated with health risks. These data imply that coping strategies should be improved in organizational settings, particularly for females