Self-Reflection as a Strategy for Coping with Workplace Stressors: A Study of Hindrance and Challenge Stressors and the Effects of Gender

Lattemann, Maja (2025) Self-Reflection as a Strategy for Coping with Workplace Stressors: A Study of Hindrance and Challenge Stressors and the Effects of Gender. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Work-related stress has become a significant global health concern. This study examined whether self-reflection differentially affects the appraisal of workplace stressors as hindering or challenging, and whether gender moderates this relationship. Based on the challenge- hindrance stressor framework and the systematic self-reflection model, it was hypothesized that self-reflection reduces hindrance stressor appraisal while having minimal effect on challenge stressors, with stronger effects for women. A two-week daily diary study was conducted with 84 working adults randomly assigned to either a self-reflection intervention group or a control group. Participants completed survey in the afternoon and evening, measuring hindrance stressors and challenge stressors. The self-reflection group engaged in structured evening reflection exercises about daily work stressors. Results showed no significant effects of the self-reflection intervention on either hindrance or challenge stressor appraisal. Gender did not moderate these relationships. These findings highlight the complexity of self-reflection as a coping strategy and suggest that brief interventions may be insufficient to alter stressor appraisal processes. The study's non-significant results challenge the initial theoretical assumptions about self-reflection's direct impact on stressor appraisal. While the challenge-hindrance stressor framework suggests that introspection might facilitate reinterpretation of hindrance stressors as more manageable, the findings of this study indicate that this relationship may be more multifaceted than anticipated.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Schmitt, A.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	10 Jul 2025 10:09
Last Modified:	10 Jul 2025 15:40
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5440

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