Date Available

4-28-2022

Year of Publication

2022

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Family Sciences

First Advisor

Dr. Alexander T. Vazsonyi

Abstract

Intimate dating violence is a common occurrence, especially among women (CDC, 2019). Because this type of trauma is so prevalent, it is important to explore how experiences of it impact women and how they cope with its effects. This study explored how individual differences impact the ways in which young women cope with trauma, as well as whether the type of trauma moderate the link between individual differences and coping strategies. Participants were 304 college-age women from a large university in the southeastern United States. Trauma was select items from the Trauma History Questionnaire, while coping was measured using the Coping Strategies Inventory, short form. Lastly, personality was assessed using the Big Five Inventory. Hypotheses were tested using regression analyses in SPSS and the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Findings revealed positive associations between extraversion and problem-focused engagement coping as well as between openness and problem-focused engagement coping. A positive association between neuroticism and emotion-focused disengagement (i.e., avoidant) coping strategies was also supported. No empirical support was found for the hypothesized moderation effects by physical and sexual trauma on the links between personality traits and coping styles were not found.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2022.72

Download

Share

COinS