Differences in Perceived Stress, Locus of Control, and Coping Styles Used by Male and Female STEM and Human Service Majors

<p>The current study sought to determine if program type along with gender could predict the type of coping styles students are more likely to use. Secondly, it endeavored to uncover whether a college student’s gender and program type might affect their locus of control and the amount of perceived stress reported. It was hypothesized that female students in Human Service programs would exhibit the most adaptive coping styles, while males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs utilize the most maladaptive coping styles. Moreover, it was postulated that females in Human Service programs would report a more internalized locus of control while males in STEM programs would report a more external locus of control. Additionally, it was believed that females in Human Service programs would report less perceived stress than males in STEM programs. 122 students from Stephen F. Austin State University participated in the study. Participants completed a demographics survey, the Perceived Stress Scale, Brief COPE, and Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale by way of Qualtrics.com. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted, and the final results indicated that there is not a significant effect of gender and program type on the amount of perceived stress, reported coping style, and locus of control. There was a reported significant effect of gender on each of the dependent variables.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts - School Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Services

Year dc:date.available

2018

Author dc:creator

• Lowe, Dawn M

Contributors dc:contributor

• Nina Ellis-Hervey, Ph.D.
• Frankie Clark, Ph.D.
• Luis E. Aguerrevere, Ph.D.

• School Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/324

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1207