Study coping and examination-taking coping strategies: the role of learning modalities among female graduate students

Coping strategies have been conceptualized as the cognitive and behavioral tactics that individuals utilize in order to control their environmental surroundings and to alleviate any stress that may occur when environmental demands surpass individuals’ resources. Study coping strategies and examination-taking coping strategies have been identified as two dimensions of this construct. Research suggests that both components predict academic performance. Thus, the present study was designed to determine antecedent correlates of coping strategies. Specifically, the goal was to identify a combination of learning modalities that might be correlated with the two dimensions of coping strategies. Participants were 82 female graduate students enrolled in several sections of a required quantitative-based educational research course at a southern university. A canonical correlation analysis revealed that study coping strategies and examination-taking coping strategies simultaneously were related statistically significantly to the following learning modalities: (a) motivated/unmotivated, (b) persistent, (c) responsible, (d) structure, (e) learning alone/peer-oriented learner, (f) auditory, (g) kinesthetic, (h) evening/morning, and (i) needs mobility. Implications are discussed.