Relationship between Stylistic Characteristics of Humor and Types of Coping Behavior in Students

Background. Today, the development of adaptive coping behavior is extremely relevant. Some studies show that humor is an indicator of psychological adaptation. However, the relation between different styles of humor and different styles of coping behavior has not been studied. Objective. The study aims to identify the relationship between the stylistic characteristics of humor and the types of coping behavior among students. Methods. The study was conducted with the use of two diagnostic methods. The first is a questionnaire of humor styles by R. Martin (adapted in Russian by Ivanov et al., 2013). The second one is a coping test by R. Lazarus (adapted in Russian by Kryukov, Kuftyak, 2007). Sample. The study involved 120 students of Moscow universities aged from 17 to 30 years (78.3% are female). Results. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 groups of coping behavior strategies among students. These were strategies focused on the person (1), on interacting with society (2), on changing the situation (3) in stress. It was found that the strategy groups (1) and (2) correlated with the affiliation style of humor. Group (3) correlated with a self-supporting style of humor (Ro-Spearman, p < 0,05). Clustering by K-means method identified 3 groups of respondents. In each group, respondents used different coping strategies. We compare the groups (ANOVA) and got that the affiliation style of humor is less expressed among students who often use coping strategies focused on changing the situation (p < 0.001). Conclusion. Coping behavior among students is rather associated with supportive humor styles than with destructive humor styles. These results are of scientific significance, complementing the current knowledge about coping behavior. They can also be used in psychological trainings for students.