Abstract
The present study investigated how the relation between the stress process involved in fear of interpersonal stress and daily affect might be explained by coping and a hypothesized random effect, expressed in individual differences. Twice a day for 1 week, undergraduates (2 men, 80 women; average age, 19.3 years) recorded in a diary their daily events, perceived interpersonal stress, how they coped, and positive and negative affect. The results suggested that the stress process in those experiencing interpersonal stress was expressed in relation to individual differences in the intra-personal process in relation to personality traits and coping efficacy, and that active coping and avoidance thinking were associated with within-level adjustment as delayed and immediate effects respectively, whereas distancing was associated with within-level maladjustment as an immediate effect. Also, positive reappraisal was associated with within-level maladjustment as a negative reverse effect. Furthermore, coping efficacy and neuroticism appeared to moderate the choice of coping and the effects of coping. The discussion deals with random effects in relation to individual differences in the intra-personal process as an important viewpoint when studying human nature as well as for intervention studies.
