Stress e strategie di coping in pronto soccorso.

[Autom. eng. transl.] The present study aims to investigate the existence of a link between the level of perceived stress and the use of particular coping styles, starting from the hypothesis that the use of specific types of coping is more functional, or can induce the perception of a lower level of stress. A sample of 70 doctors (41 males and 29 females; average age = 40.8 years) operating in the emergency medicine emergency departments of some hospitals in Northern Italy were given a questionnaire to detect the level of perceived stress ( Job Stress Questionnaire: Harris et al., 1999) and a questionnaire on the use of coping strategies (Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, CISS: Endler & Parker, 1990). The results of the study show that emergency physicians tend to adopt, in the majority of cases, a coping style focused on the problem and then implement a strategy to directly address the stressful situation that is effective and functional for reducing the level of perceived stress. A lower number of doctors, on the other hand, tend to use the emotionally focused style of coping, which represents the attempt to manage and contain one's own negative emotional experience, and which is associated with the perception of a stress level significantly higher than the coping style focused on the problem. Finally, a decidedly lower number of doctors adopts a style of avoiding coping, moving away from the stressful situation, which does not appear to be significantly associated with the level of stress perceived by emergency physicians.