The social and cultural context of coping: action, gender and symptoms in a southern black community.

Research was conducted on the relationships of coping styles, chronic economic stressors and symptoms of distress in a black community in the rural South. It was found that the effect of an active coping style in moderating the effects of stressors was different for males and females. For females, active coping buffered the effects of stressors; for males, active coping exacerbated the effects of stressors. These results are consistent with the social and cultural context of the community, and with cultural norms governing gender roles within the community. This study demonstrates the need to systematically incorporate cultural and social structural factors in models of the stress process. Cultural norms and structural constraints interact to systematically alter the meaning of different factors in the stress process and in turn alter the effects of those factors on health.