Unwanted pursuit : perceived social support and its impacts on coping

The characteristics of unwanted pursuit behaviors and associated negative consequences are often researched and well documented in the literature. Nevertheless, how individuals deal with the victimization and whether their choice of managing the trauma will have impacts on consequences remains unclear. A majority of existing research examines the role of social support and coping techniques using non-college populations. Moreover, less is understood on the relationships among perceived social supports and available coping techniques on the trauma symptoms associated with the victimization. The purpose of this project was to explore aforementioned associations. The current study examined (a) the prevalence of use of different coping techniques and how the use of coping differed by sex, (b) the associations among the unwanted pursuit experiences, perceived social support and coping techniques, as well as traumatic symptoms resulted from the victimization, and (c) how perceived social support and available coping techniques have impact on alleviating trauma symptoms. College-aged participants (N = 202) responded to a series of online questionnaires. The data collected from this project answered research questions and hypotheses and they were consistent with the preceding research and their findings. The study found that unwanted pursuit victimization is a gendered phenomenon, victimization yields more trauma symptoms as well as seeking more coping behaviors, and the use of social support and coping techniques have positive associations, and social support and coping techniques were served as a significant moderator and mediator in certain conditions. The use of coping strategies mediated the relationship between unwanted pursuit experience and the trauma symptoms, but this did not significantly vary by perceived social support. Altogether, the current study supports existing research in unwanted pursuit and highlights some insightful information on the relationships among perceived social support, coping, and trauma symptoms from the victimization.