Cognitive appraisal of dissertation stress among undergraduate students

The present study examined changes in primary and secondary
appraisal, and coping strategies utilized in the final weeks leading to
dissertation submission. Sixty volunteer Sports Studies dissertation
students (male: n = 29; female: n = 31) completed an adapted
Cognitive Appraisal of Health Scale (CAHS: Kessler, 1998), and
Brief COPE (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989) on 4 occasions
over the 6 weeks before dissertation submission. Repeated
measures multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant
main effect for gender, with no main effect for changes over time and
no significant interaction effect. Results demonstrated that males
perceived the dissertation to be significantly more threatening and
less challenging than females. With regard to coping, males used
more active coping, positive reframing, planning, and acceptance
of the stressor, with lower scores for self-blame, venting of
emotions, and behavioral disengagement. The results suggest
that, for this student population, the dissertation did not become
increasingly stressful in the period before submission. Clear
relationships were also evidenced between primary appraisal,
secondary appraisal, and coping. Future research should seek to
identify factors that moderate the influence of situational stressors
on coping responses among undergraduate students.