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Call for papers: Future-oriented coping: New insights and future research
directions

Article in International Journal of Stress Management · September 2023

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Xi Wen (Carys) Chan Paula Brough

Griffith University Griffith University
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Call for papers: Future-oriented coping:

New insights and future research
directions
Submission deadline: July 31, 2024

Guest editors
Xi Wen (Carys) Chan, PhD, Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing (WOW), Griffith University, Australia

Paula Brough, PhD, Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing (WOW), Griffith University, Australia

Background and rationale

The majority of research on coping continues to focus on how individuals cope in the presence of a past or present
stressor, rather than an anticipated future stressor or event (Drummond & Brough, 2016a). As the COVID-19 pandemic
has shown, the future is often uncertain and contains many known and unknown stressors (Chang et al., 2021;
Drummond & Brough, 2016b). Correspondingly, investigating and understanding coping efforts aimed at managing
potential future stressors is a valuable area of research that has received emerging interest (see Miao & Gan, 2020;
Niessen et al., 2018; Raper& Brough, 2020; Stiglbauer & Batinic, 2015).

In general terms, future-oriented coping occurs in relation to potential threats or stressors prior to or early in its
development (Aspinwall, 2011; Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997). It can be broadly classified into two categories: (1) proactive
coping refers to the effort to build up resources that facilitate promotion towards challenging goals and personal
growth, while (2) preventive coping refers to the effort to build up resistance resources that result in less strain, less
severe consequences of stress, and lower likelihood of occurrence of stressful events in the future (Gan et al., 2007;
Reuter & Schwarzer, 2009). Both proactive coping and preventive coping, and collectively, future-oriented coping, have
been considered personal resources which are proximate to the self and can be utilized when needed (Searle & Lee,
2015).

Prior studies on proactive coping have found that it enables students to perceive demanding situations in college life as
positive challenges to overcome (Gan et al., 2007), assists workers to regard COVID-19 workplace challenges as
opportunities for growth (Chang et al., 2021), and buffers the stress associated with job insecurity for employees with
high work involvement (Stiglbauer & Batinic, 2015). Similarly, studies have also demonstrated that preventive coping
assists frequent business travellers to achieve better work–life balance and experience less emotional exhaustion, more
work engagement, and higher relationship satisfaction (Niessen et al., 2018), and helps undergraduates to reduce the
impacts of impeding threats through increased planning and prevention of potential risks associated with their
assignments (Raper & Brough, 2020). However, the pace of scholarly research on future-oriented coping has not kept
up with the massive changes (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, mass shift to remote working, workplace automation, etc.) that
have swept through workplaces and societies. We lack systematic theoretical and empirical understanding of how
workers engage in future-oriented coping, and the individual, team/organisational-level, and macro-economic/cultural
factors, resources, and conditions that influence future-oriented coping.

Therefore, the overarching aims of this special issue are to take stock of existing research, advance this body of
knowledge, and provide clear and actionable recommendations to guide future scholarship on future-oriented coping.
Specifically, we invite scholars from various disciplines (psychology, organisational behaviour, human resource
management, and other social sciences disciplines) to submit empirical (e.g., field, experimental, meta-analytic

https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/str/future-oriented-coping?fbclid=IwAR0VSWXHPxihP6BU1wcwA5VIQ6msphKgrMTr5iT6S2s3JbiLtQX-CgVwU… 1/4
19/09/2023, 13:02 Call for papers: Future-oriented coping: New insights and future research directions

reviews, and qualitative) and conceptual (e.g., theory development and integrative reviews) papers that will address
one or more of the following questions and topics:

1. What do we currently know and what do we still need to learn about future-oriented coping, its key components,
and its effects on individuals, teams, organisations, and countries?

2. What are some unique individual, team/organisational-level, and macro-economic/cultural factors, resources, and
conditions that influence proactive coping and/or preventive coping?

3. What are some unique individual, team-level, and organisational-level outcomes of proactive coping and/or
preventive coping?

4. Does future-oriented coping evolve throughout a person’s career and/or lifespan? What are the methodological
implications for research on future-oriented coping?

5. How can individuals acquire future-oriented coping resources and skills? What are some effective, evidence-based
future-oriented coping strategies? What are some unique individual, team/organisational-level, and macro-
economic/cultural factors, resources, and conditions that influence the effectiveness of future-oriented coping
strategies?

6. In light of the multi-faceted work and non-work changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, how has future-
oriented coping assisted individuals, teams, organisations, and countries to cope with the effects of the pandemic?
What role does future-oriented coping play in a post-COVID world? (Here, we welcome submissions that are
speculative but evidence-based)

The topics above are by no means exhaustive. If you are unsure whether your topic is suitable for this special issue,
please contact the guest editors for more information.

Paper submission
Deadline for submitting papers to this special issue is July 31, 2024. Manuscripts will be handled by the Special Issue
guest editors and reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers who will be blind to the identity of the author(s).
Decisions on manuscripts are expected to be finalised in July 2025. Interested authors should submit their manuscripts
online to the International Journal of Stress Management (https://www.editorialmanager.com/ism/default2.aspx) . Please
ensure you select the correct special issue and article type when submitting your paper. Please refer to Instruction for
Authors before submission.

This call is open and competitive. Submitted papers must be based on original material not under consideration by any
other journal or outlet. Manuscripts deemed appropriate for the special issue will go through a full peer review process
and will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. the fit of the paper to the overall theme of the proposed special issue;

2. fresh insights on the topic of the special issue, in particular, theoretical and empirical contributions to enhance
understanding of future-oriented coping and/or its implications for individuals, teams, and organisations;

3. the use of rigorous data collection and analysis techniques (i.e., empirical papers);

4. consideration of the implications of findings to refine or improve coping strategies; and

5. and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, contextualising future-oriented coping to the current or future pandemic(s),
disaster(s), and other global changes.

Any questions with regard to this special issue, please address to Xi Wen (Carys) Chan (mailto:carys.chan@griffith.edu.au)
, PhD and/or Paula Brough (mailto:p.brough@griffith.edu.au) , PhD.

References
Aspinwall, L. G. (2011). Future-oriented thinking, proactive coping, and the management of potential threats to health and well-being.
In S. Folkman (Ed.), Oxford library of psychology. The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping (p. 334-365). Oxford University
Press.

https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/str/future-oriented-coping?fbclid=IwAR0VSWXHPxihP6BU1wcwA5VIQ6msphKgrMTr5iT6S2s3JbiLtQX-CgVwU… 2/4
19/09/2023, 13:02 Call for papers: Future-oriented coping: New insights and future research directions

Aspinwall, L. G., & Taylor, S. E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121(3), 417-436.

Chang, Y., Chien, C., & Shen, L. F. (2021). Telecommuting during the coronavirus pandemic: Future time orientation as a mediator
between proactive coping and perceived work productivity in two cultural samples. Personality and Individual Differences, 171,
110508.

Drummond, S., & Brough, P. (2016a). Proactive coping and preventive coping: Evidence for two distinct constructs?. Personality and
Individual Differences, 92, 123-127.

Drummond, S., & Brough, P. (2016b). Future-oriented coping and personality. In A. S. Antoniou & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Coping,
personality, and the workplace: Responding to psychological crisis and critical events (pp. 25-38). Routledge.

Gan, Y., Yang, M., Zhou, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2007). The two-factor structure of future-oriented coping and its mediating role in student
engagement. Personality and individual Differences, 43(4), 851-863.

Miao, M., & Gan, Y. (2020). The promotional role of meaning in life in future‐oriented coping: Positive affect as a mediator.
International Journal of Psychology, 55(1), 52-59.

Niessen, C., Müller, T., Hommelhoff, S., & Westman, M. (2018). The impact of preventive coping on business travelers' work and
private life. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(1), 113-127.

Raper, M. J., & Brough, P. (2021). Seeing into the future: The role of future‐oriented coping and daily stress appraisal in relation to a
future stressor. Stress and Health, 37(1), 186-197.

Reuter, T., & Schwarzer, R. (2009). Manage stress at work through preventive and proactive coping. In E. A. Locke (Ed.), Handbook of
principles of organizational behavior: Indispensable knowledge for evidence-based management (pp. 499-516). Wiley.

Searle, B. J., & Lee, L. (2015). Proactive coping as a personal resource in the expanded job demands‐resources model. International
Journal of Stress Management, 22(1), 46–69.

Stiglbauer, B., & Batinic, B. (2015). Proactive coping with job insecurity: Is it always beneficial to well-being?. Work & Stress, 29(3),
264-285.

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Date created: September 2023

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