Testing the indirect effects of somatic and parental effort on stress: the roles of worldviews and coping strategies
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Testing the indirect effects of somatic and parental effort on stress: the roles of worldviews and coping strategies Andrzej Łukasik 1
&
Anna Wołpiuk-Ochocińska 1 & Dominik Borawski 2
# The Author(s) 2018
Abstract Life history theory (LHT) is a mid-level theory from evolutionary biology. LHT, adapted to humans, assumes that individuals can be placed along a single continuum of LH strategies referred to as the slow-to-fast LH continuum: faster life history strategists score higher on mating effort and lower on somatic and parental effort. In the present study we examine the hypothesis that worldview and coping strategies are mediators between somatic and parental effort (SPE) and current perceived stress. 226 participants completed a set of instruments: Mini-K, the World Assumptions Scale, Brief COPE, and the Perceived Stress Scale. In order to test the hypotheses about mediators, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used. The results from the current study showed that individuals allocating their own resources to SPE experienced lower current stress, and felt positive about the benevolence and meaningfulness of the world as well as the worthiness of the self. A more complex linkage was also revealed: individuals displaying SPE endorsed stronger beliefs about self-worth, which in turn was associated with a lower tendency to use disengagement coping and which again translated into a lower level of perceived stress. Furthermore, females investing in SPE maintained a higher level of belief in the meaningfulness of the world, which translated into a higher tendency to use external support for coping. Keywords Life history strategy . Somatic and parental effort . Stress . Coping strategies . Self-worth . Worldviews
Introduction According to many researchers psychosocial stress experienced in early childhood determines the type of an individual’s reproductive strategy (e.g. Belsky 2014; Cabeza de Baca Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-0065-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Andrzej Łukasik [email protected] Anna Wołpiuk-Ochocińska [email protected] Dominik Borawski [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of Rzeszow, ul. ks Jalowego 24, 35-010, Rzeszow, Poland
2
Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology, Department of Psychology, The Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, ul. Krakowska 11, 25-029 Kielce, Poland
and Ellis 2017; Del Giudice and Belsky 2011; Ellis 2004; Ellis et al. 2016b; Mell et al. 2017). The original prediction about this was made in the theory of socialization by Belsky and others (Belsky et al. 1991), which emphasized that early exposure to family stressors (marital discord, single parenthood, unstable employment) leads to harsh parenthood and therefore to insecure attachment, accelerated puberty, earlier sexual activity, short-term pair bonding and limited parental investment. Recently, this theory in a much more generalized and complex form has been named
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