Coping styles, affective responses and examination performance of university undergraduates

Coping styles, affective responses and examination performance of university undergraduates

Previous research has shown that emotional intelligence has an indirect beneficial influence on exam performance among university students by reducing psychological distress and negative mood states. The present study sought
to extend this line of investigation by assessing
whether the coping styles of students also influenced the impact of affective responses on examination performance. A sample of 329 undergraduate students from an Australian
university completed the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief COPE) to establish coping styles. They then completed the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) on three
occasions during a university semester to monitor affective responses. Examination performance at the end of semester was recorded. Affective responses showed that
participants found university study to be stressful. They reported high levels of psychological distress throughout the semester, with mean values for all subscales above the
ninetieth percentile. Similarly, mood responses were above the norm for negative mood dimensions. Exploratory factor analysis identified four coping factors, termed approach,
avoidance, reframing and problem disengagement. Regression analysis showed that high scores for avoidance and problem
disengagement predicted psychological distress and negative mood states over the three testing occasions. Psychological distress mediated relationships between coping styles and negative mood states at mid-semester and preexamination. Coping styles and mood responses predicted examination performance, whereas psychological distress did not. Use of problem disengagement as a coping strategy was associated with poor exam performance, whereas higher mid-semester and pre-exam tension, higher pre-exam vigour, and higher midsemester fatigue were all associated with good exam performance. Results showed that coping styles of university students predicted psychological distress, mood responses and exam performance during the course of a
semester of study, and highlighted the negative effects of avoidance and problem disengagement coping. This raises the possibility of implementing programs for undergraduate
students to encourage their use of adaptive rather than maladaptive coping strategies.

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