The study investigated the differential effects of coping styles on anxiety, wellbeing, and psychological distress of sociotropic and autonomous individuals. One hundred and seventy five college students responded to the Chinese sociotropy-autonomy scale (SAS), state-anxiety inventory, index of well-being, the Chinese general health questionnaire (C-GHQ), and the Adolescent coping orientation for problem experiences in a two-wave prospective design. Moderating effects of sociotropy-autonomy were investigated by examining the significance of the interactions of SAS. and coping styles in hierarchical regression analyses. The results show that the self-reliant problem solving and seeking family support predict lowered anxiety for highly autonomous individuals, but heightened anxiety for highly sociotropic ones. Effects of coping styles on well-being and GHQ, however, were not moderated by sociotropy and autonomy.

Key words: sociotropy, autonomy, coping