Coping Strategies in Women Whose Husbands Work on a Rotational Basis

Background. Shift work is quite common in different regions of Russia. this method of work is most often chosen by men. In the scientific literature, there are few investigations devoted to the study of couples or families with one of the spouses working on a shift basis. Interest in studying the coping behaviour of women whose husbands work on a shift basis is caused by scientific studies into the manifestation of stress in the families of shift workers. Objective. The article focuses on identifying specifics of coping behaviour in women whose husbands work on a rotational basis. Study Participants. The study involved 103 women with marital experience ranging from 5 to 10 years, including: 51 women whose husbands work on a rotational basis and 52 women living permanently with their spouses (control group). Methods. The study of coping strategies is carried out with the Coping with Stress Questionnaire COPE. The Mann-Whitney U-test is used to process quantitative data. Results. The results of the study revealed the specifics of coping with stress in women whose husbands work in shifts. They are characterized by the strategy “mental disengagement” to a greater extent as compared to the women who live with their spouses permanently. The presence of children in the families of shift workers also has a certain impact on the choice of coping strategies by women. Women with children have higher rates of productive strategies: “positive reinterpretation and personal growth”, “acceptance” and “humor”, it helps them cope with the stress of periodic separation from their husbands. In separation from their husbands, women without children are more likely to use the following strategies: “active coping”, “denial”, “religious coping” and “mental disengagement”. Conclusions. Taking into account two aspects in the course of the study (the mode of living with a spouse and the presence of children) made it possible to identify the specifics of coping behaviour of women whose husbands work in shifts. This will allow psychologists to better organize psychological assistance and support for families in this category.