Does stressor evaluation mediate sociocultural influence on coping selection? An investigation using Japanese employees

The present study empirically examined previously inconsistent findings between Aldwin (Aldwin, C. M., 1994. Stress, coping, and development. New York, NY: The Guilford Press) and Slavin, Rainer, McCreary, and Gowda's (Slavin, L. A., Rainer, K. L., McCreary, M. L., & Gowda, K. K., 1991. Toward a multicultural model of the stress process. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70, 156-163) models regarding sociocultural influence on coping selection. In particular, we examined whether stressor evaluation serves as a mediating factor in the relationship between sociocultural beliefs concerning coping and coping selection among a sample of Japanese employees (n = 1,087). Results showed that although stressor evaluation significantly mediated the relationship between sociocultural beliefs concerning coping and coping selection, this mediating effect was small. These results did not support Aldwin's model, but did support Slavin et al.'s model, suggesting that merely managing how individuals evaluate stressors might be insufficient for regulating the influence of sociocultural beliefs concerning coping on coping selection