The mediating role of coping styles in the relationship between temperament and stress-related variables

Abstract

Both temperament and coping are established predictors of stress-related outcomes. While these associations are well documented in classical frameworks, such as the Regulatory Theory of Temperament (RTT), research providing a comprehensive perspective on these relationships through modern integrative models remains limited. Using recently developed integrative models, this study examined the predictive power of temperament and coping for well-being, per-ceived stress, and PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, it evaluated the mediating role of coping in the relationship between temperament and these variables. To ensure the robustness of the results, two studies were conducted: one with a Polish sample during the COVID-19 pan-demic (N = 336, age range 17-65) and another with a sample of Ukrainian refugees affected by the war in Ukraine (N = 329, age range 17-76). Temperament was assessed using the Temperament Metadimensions Questionnaire (TMQ), coping with the Coping Circumplex Inventory (CCI), stress with the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), PTSD symptoms with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and well-being with the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form (MHC-SF). We found that (1) both coping and temperament explain stress-related variables, but coping dimensions have greater pre-dictive power than temperament; (2) Reactivity rather than Activity was the dimension of temperament that explained these outcomes; (3) Emotional coping and Optimistic acting mediated the relationship between Reactivity and stress-related variables. Stress and well-being appear to depend more on coping styles, which are characterized by greater plasticity and can be actively modified throughout the lifespan, than on temperament, which is relatively stable and partly innate. Moreover, coping partially mediates the relationship between temperament and stress-related variables.