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How Antisocial and Prosocial Coping Influence the Support Process Among Men and Women in the U.S. Postal Service

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Abstract

The influence of antisocial and prosocial copingon the acquisition of social support and on subsequentpsychological distress among 67 male and 47 femalepostal employees was examined allowing genderdifferences in coping to be studied in a single worksetting. Seventy seven percent of the respondents wereEuropean American, 18% were African American, and theremaining 5% were of varying ethnicities including:Asian American and Latin American. Employingstructural equation modeling, women were found to useprosocial coping as a coping response significantly morethan men, and men were found to use antisocial coping as a coping response significantly more thanwomen. Prosocial strategies were related to increasedworkplace social support in both the short-term andlong-term. Antisocial coping strategies were related to less support from co-workers in theshort-term. Contrary to predictions, antisocial copingstrategies were not related to decreased support acrosstime. Finally, increased social support was related to less psychological distress within eachassessment period.

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Authors
  1. Jeannine Monnier
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  2. Brenda K. Stone
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  3. Stevan E. Hobfoll
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  4. Robert J. Johnson
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Monnier, J., Stone, B.K., Hobfoll, S.E. et al. How Antisocial and Prosocial Coping Influence the Support Process Among Men and Women in the U.S. Postal Service. Sex Roles 39, 1–20 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018821631246

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