How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Seite 360

similarly revealed "small differences between women's and men's
coping strategies when studying individuals in similar situations."
In general, such differences as exist indicate that women tend to
employ emotion-focused coping and the "tend-and-befriend" response
to stress, whereas men tend to use problem-focused coping and the
"fight-or-flight" response, perhaps because societal standards
encourage men to be more individualistic, while women are often
expected to be interpersonal. It is however also important to note that
the strictly genetic component of these differences is still debated, and
that gender preferences for coping strategies are the result of social
conditioning and child-rearing: for instance, males are often
encouraged to be independent, while females are expected to comply,
which may influence each gender's choice of coping mechanism.
Maladaptive
Both men and women sometimes employ maladaptive mechanisms,
such as avoidance and self-punishment, to handle daily hassles. Stress
is often a primary factor in models of illness and disease; and research
has shown that people under extreme amounts of stress often exhibit
cognitive deficits, illness, increased levels of depression and anxiety,
lower self-esteem, bad health, and lack of sleep.
However, college students of both genders who employ problemsolving strategies have better health and increased self-esteem.
Hormones
Hormones also play a part in stress management. Cortisol, a stress
hormone, was found to be elevated in males during stressful situations.
In females, however, cortisol levels were decreased in stressful
situations, and instead, an increase in limbic activity was discovered.
Many researchers believe that these results underlie the reasons why
men administer a fight-or-flight reaction to stress; whereas, females
have a tend-and-befriend reaction. The "fight-or-flight" response
activates the sympathetic nervous system in the form of increased
focus levels, adrenaline, and epinephrine.
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