Communal coping and psychological well-being among graduate students: A test of the extended theoretical model of communal coping

This study tested the extended theoretical model of communal coping in a sample of 554 graduate students, examining both predictors and outcomes of communal coping. Communal coping occurs when individuals perceive stressors as shared and take collective action to manage them, thereby acting as a potential resource for graduate students. Results from an online survey demonstrated that graduate students’ academic stress was associated negatively with psychological well-being. Counter to our hypotheses, relational closeness did not moderate the relationship between academic stress and either communal coping dimension (shared appraisal or joint action). However, subsequent post hoc regression models suggested that shared appraisal was predicted by both academic stress and relational closeness, whereas joint action was predicted by relational closeness but not academic stress. A conditional process model positing that communal coping indirectly impacts psychological well-being through coping efficacy (contingent on openness to communicate about academic stressors and communication efficacy) was not supported. Alternative model testing revealed that although communal coping did not indirectly impact well-being through coping efficacy, joint action directly impacted psychological well-being above and beyond coping efficacy. Theoretical and practical implications for how graduate students cope with academic stress are discussed.