Relationships between Personality and Coping with Stress: An Investigation in Swedish Police Trainees

Jörg Richter, Lars Erik Lauritz, Elizabeth du Preez, Nafisa Cassimjee, Mehdi Ghazinour

Basic Training Program for Police Officers, University of Ume?, Ume?, Sweden.
Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, Norway.
Department of Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, RSA.
Department of Social Work, University of Ume?, Ume?, Sweden.
Division of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, School of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2013.42012                

Abstract

The aim was to investigate relationships between personality characteristics derived from Cloninger’s personality theory and ways of coping. We investigated 103 police trainees by the Temperament and Character Inventory and Ways of Coping Checklist. There were several particularities characterising trainees within various personality profiles relating to coping. Each WoC scale was significantly predicted by varying personality subscales with temperament subscales mainly contributing to the prediction. Only personality domains harm avoidance, reward dependence, and self directedness could significantly be predicted by coping scales. Some coping behaviours often jointly occur depending on the specific stressful situation; and these combinations are related to particular personality trait constellations.

Keywords

Ways of Coping; Psychobiological Theory of Personality; Temperament; Character; Police Trainees

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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