Personality and coping traits: A joint factor analysis

Objectives. The main objective of this paper is to explore the structural similarities between Eysenck's model of personality and the dimensions of the dispositional COPE. Costa et al. [Costa P., Somerfield, M., & McCrae, R. (1996). Personality and coping: A reconceptualisation. In (pp. 44-61) Handbook of coping: Theory, research and applications. New York: Wiley] suggest that personality and coping behaviour are part of a continuum based on adaptation. If this is the case, there should be structural similarities between measures of personality and coping behaviour. This is tested using a joint factor analysis of personality and coping measures. Design. Cross-sectional survey. Methods. The EPQ-R and the dispositional COPE were administered to 154 participants, and the data were analysed using joint factor analysis and bivariate associations. Results. The joint factor analysis indicated that these data were best explained by a four-factor model. One factor was primarily unrelated to personality. There was a COPE-neurotic-introvert factor (NI-COPE) containing coping behaviours such as denial, a COPE-extroversion (E-COPE) factor containing behaviours such as seeking social support and a COPE-psychoticism factor (P-COPE) containing behaviours such as alcohol use. This factor pattern, especially for NI- and E-COPE, was interpreted in terms of Gray's model of personality [Gray, J. A. (1987) The psychology of and fear and stress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press]. NI-, E-, and P-COPE were shown to be related, in a theoretically consistent manner, to perceived coping success and perceived coping functions. Conclusions. The results indicate that there are indeed conceptual links between models of personality and coping. It is argued that future research should focus on identifying coping 'trait complexes'. Implications for practice are discussed.