GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN PREFERENCES FOR COPING WITH STRESS
Keywords:
adaptation, coping, generationsAbstract
There is research in the scientific literature on the coping strategies preferred by a particular age group for coping with stress, and comparisons have been made between different age groups on their preferred coping strategies. The focus of the present study is a comparison between Generations X, Y, Z, and Baby Boomers (the paper generation) on their preferred coping strategies. The BEFO26 questionnaire, authored by Heim, Augustiny, Blaser, and Schaffner (1991), was administered to allow for the examination of individual types of coping, grouped into cognitive, emotional, behavioral, adaptive, relatively adaptive, and maladaptive coping. The participants were 313 Bulgarians from Generation Z (approximately between 18 and 26 years old), 143 Bulgarians from Generation Y (approximately between 27 and 41 years old), 186 Bulgarians from Generation X (approximately between 42 and 56 years old), and 46 Bulgarians from the "paper generation" or Baby Boomers (approximately between 57 and 75 years old). It was found that the cognitive adaptive coping strategy Maintaining composure was significantly more preferred for coping with stress by Baby Boomers and Generation X compared to Generation Y and Generation Z, with the tendency for this coping strategy to be increasingly preferred as we grow older. The cognitive adaptive coping strategy Problem analysis was most preferred for coping with stress and difficulties by Generation Y compared to the other three generations. The cognitive relative adaptive coping strategy Making Sense was more preferred by Generation Z and Generation X compared to the other generations. The cognitive adaptive coping strategy Readjusting one’s value was more preferred by Generation Z and Generation Y compared to the other generations. The emotional relative adaptive coping strategy Dilution of Emotions/Emotional Relief was most preferred by the youngest generation among those surveyed, Generation Z. The emotional adaptive coping strategy Optimism was preferred by Generation Y and Generation X. The behavioral maladaptive coping strategy Withdrawal, or social withdrawal, was preferred by the youngest generation among those surveyed, Generation Z. The behavioral adaptive coping strategy Seeking advice was preferred by Generation Y and Generation X. These findings signal that people across generations differed primarily in the different adaptive coping strategies they preferred to use to cope with stress.
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