CLAUDINO, Adelaide D.; MOREIRA, João M.    COELHO, Vera. Hardiness, social support and physical symptoms in the stress process. []. , 10, 1, pp.115-125. ISSN 1645-0086.

This study examined the role of hardiness and perceived social support in the relationship between physical symptoms and perceived stress, measuring these variables with the help of self-report questionnaires in a sample of 102 college students. We found that the number of symptoms was significantly related to perceived stress. Health-related hardiness, in its aspect of Commitment/Challenge and, to an even greater extent, absence of Alienation, showed a protective effect against the impact of physical symptoms and illnesses upon perceived stress. These results support not only the validity of the scale employed to measure health-related hardiness, but also the importance of the concept for health psychology.

: Hardiness; physical symptoms; social support; stress.

        · |     · |     · ( pdf )