Personality characteristics and coping strategies in actors

Background. The specific character of actors’ professional activity, assuming high competition, public character of the profession, constant involvement of the emotional and communicative skills in the process of scenic transformation in combination with the peculiarity of the actor’s personality and the importance of personal qualities for the professional success determine the relevance of the study of stress coping strategies used by actors. Objective. Authors aim to reveal the interrelation between personal features and stress coping strategies in actors. Methods. The research involved psychodiagnostic methods: Cattell’s 16 PF questionnaire, Folkman and Lazarus’ questionnaire of coping strategies adapted by T.L. Kryukova. The correlation analysis revealed the interrelation of personal characteristics and coping-strategies used by the respondents. Results. It was shown that the frequency of appeal to all coping-strategies by actors is on the average level, the problem-oriented strategies are used less often in comparison to the strategies of separating oneself from the problem, and restoring the emotional balance. Personality traits as recorded by Cattell E scale (dominance) and L scale (suspiciousness) showed negative correlation with the use of strategies of “planning the solution of problems” (r = –0,63, p = 0,01 for the E scale) and “seeking social support” (r = –0,55, p = 0,01 for the L scale). Conclusion. Comparison of the results obtained in the study with the data of similar works of previous years allowed us to identify the dynamics of personal characteristics peculiar to actors. In current conditions striving for domination, leadership, readiness for publicity become particularly relevant for the representatives of the acting profession. It was found that personal characteristics of suspiciousness and diplomacy play an important role in actors’ choice of coping-strategies in stressful situations. The results obtained point to the need for a special development of a system of psychological support and accompaniment not only for beginners but also for experienced actors.