Job newcomers coping with stressful situations: A micro-analysis of adequate coping and well-being 1This article is based on the research project “Studying and enhancing coping of young adults entering the work force” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation within the Swiss Priority Program “Switzerland: Towards the Future” (Grant No. 5004-47900 to M. Reicherts); the project is part of the project network “Work Experience and Quality of Life in Switzerland: Work, Stress and Personality Development”; research assistants: Sandrine Pihet, Isabelle Carrard, Barbara Kuebel; student assistants: Patrick Bonvin, Catherine Ukelo; palmtop programming: dipl.ing. Ian Law. The authors thank the Wilsdorf Foundation, Geneva, for the support.

Aiming at a micro-analytic in-depth study of daily-life stress and coping and their effects on well-being, a new self-monitoring method combining event-based (stress episodes) and hourly time-based recordings (state monitoring of well-being indicators) has been developed and implemented on a palmtop computer. The study presents results of the first measures of a longitudinal design. N = 30 young adults entering the work force (nurses, cooks, electronic technicians, salesmen and bank clerks) are analyzed in this self-monitoring study, which includes training session, 15-day self-observation, and post-monitoring session. Subjects show good acceptance and compliance, and validity and reliability of the data are satisfying. Results reveal the stressful episodes recorded (compared to a student reference group) as less frequent but more “stressful”, the emotional stress reactions of the subjects as more anxious and angry. Coping behaviors evaluated through the behavior-rules approach (Reicherts, 1999) are rather functional. Agglutination of individual time series parameters reveals a marked, immediate impact of the stressful events on well-being indicators (e.g. mood, physical tension). Adequate coping has positive short-term effects in attenuating the stress impact on well-being and facilitates long-term adaptation (positive changes and well-being). Differences between occupational and non-occupational stress episodes are analyzed, and indications to enhance adequate coping of young adults are presented.