Sense of Humor as a Mediator of the Effects of Stress on Physical Health and Psychological Well-Being

This paper explores the role of sense of humor as a mediator of the effects of stress on physical health and psychological well-being. One hundred subjects, selected from a population of hospital employees, were administered two measures of sense of humor. In addition, they completed a personal data form, and instruments assessing stressors, perceived stress, physical health and psychological well-being.\nResults were evaluated using simple correlations and multiple regression analysis in order to determine whether or not knowledge of a subject's sense of humor enables prediction of their levels of physical health, psychological well-being and perceived stress. Analysis of the data revealed a modest relationship between sense of humor, as measured by the Coping Humor Scale (Lefcourt & Martin, 1986), and psychological well-being. No evidence was found to support a relationship between sense of humor and either perceived stress or health.