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Stress Health. 2021 Oct;37(4):682-691. doi: 10.1002/smi.3028. Epub 2021 Feb 02.

Personality antecedents of challenge and threat appraisal.

Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress

Joe Tomaka, Dejan Magoc

Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.
  2. Department of Health Sciences, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida, USA.

PMID: 33440061 DOI: 10.1002/smi.3028

Abstract

It has been suggested in personality and emotion theories that traits can influence emotional states and behaviour through interpretive processes such as cognitive appraisals. The present study investigated the relationships between Big Five personality dimensions and the cognitive appraisal processes associated with challenge and threat states in a large sample of municipal firefighters. The study assessed the Big Five traits and cognitive appraisal tendencies using a new measure of challenge-threat appraisal that measured appraisals directly and aggregated both across stressful situations and within six specific stressor domains. The results indicated that the Big Five traits related to overall challenge-threat appraisal and their accompanying primary and secondary components in unique and compelling ways, with some traits related more strongly to primary appraisals of situational demands and others related more to secondary appraisals of coping abilities. Overall, the results provide insights into how personality traits are associated with stress-related emotional experiences.

© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords: personality; psychosocial; stress appraisal

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