Self-selection for Stressful Experiences

Studies of self-selection for stressful experiences have employed different models advocating variables specific to those models. These investigations typically utilize personal resource or psychological distress measures to predict occurrences of life events and daily hassles. The purpose of this investigation was to combine both types of measures to estimate the occurrence of life events and daily hassles prospectively. Using hierarchical multiple regression, occurrences of stressful experiences were regressed on personal resource variables (mastery, self-esteem, conscientiousness and neuroticism), perceived social support, avoidance coping, gender and psychological distress assessed 10 weeks prior. Results indicated that depressive symptoms and avoidance coping were consistent estimators for both types of stressor. The influence of mastery, self-esteem, neuroticism, social support and gender varied across stressor categories. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.