A Short-term Longitudinal Analysis of Leisure Coping Used by Police and Emergency Response Service Workers

Abstract

Despite the growth of leisure coping research, an important yet neglected idea is whether or not and how leisure contributes to coping with stress above and beyond the effects of general coping; that is, coping not directly associated with leisure (e.g., problem-focused coping). The purpose of the present study was to examine the contributions of leisure to coping with stress and maintaining good physical and mental health among workers of police and emergency response services when the effects of general coping were taken into account. According to hierarchical regression analyses, leisure coping showed a positive relationship with both short-term and longer-term outcomes of stress and coping above and beyond the contributions of general coping. It is worth emphasizing that mental health was significantly predicted only by leisure coping, not by general coping. The use of leisure for enhancing mood and facilitating palliative coping was found to significantly predict coping effectiveness, satisfaction with coping, and stress reduction. The facilitation of palliative coping and companionship through leisure was related to good mental health, whereas high leisure empowerment was associated with better physical health. Implications of the findings and future research perspectives on leisure coping are discussed.