2011 Volume 19 Issue 3 Pages 255-266
The present study examined the roles of two kinds of optimism in an interpersonal stress process (Kato, 2001) based on Lazarus's psychological stress process model. A questionnaire was administered to 361 undergraduate, graduate, and junior-college students. The results revealed two causal processes. First, higher dispositional optimism was associated with higher coping efficacy, resulting in increased coping that was oriented toward positive relationships and postponed-solution coping. Second, a higher optimistic explanatory style was associated with lower perception of threat in events, resulting in reduced coping that was oriented toward negative relationships and postponed-solution coping. The role of each kind of optimism in an interpersonal stress process is discussed.
