Abstract
Significance of boredom experience for personal development and possible consequences of its' longterm malcoping have been still neglected although there exist research findings documenting relationship between boredom and various negative phenomena (depression, somatization, gambling, hostility, risk driving etc.). Boredom is covertly present in number of everyday situations, especially those at school and work.
Therefore, school environment seems to be the place where effective boredom coping could be cultivated. So far, school boredom interventions have been focused mainly on changing teaching methods, but students themselves have not been involved in the process at all.
The aim of this study was to explore different ways of boredom experience and coping in secondary school students (N=460), evaluate the effectiveness of different types of coping strategies employed by students and examine the relationship between the preference of certain types of coping strategies and students' motivational, volitional and attitudinal characteristics that could be addressed within educational interventions to cultivate boredom coping skills. Data were obtained using the Boredom Coping Scale, Multidimensional State Boredom Scale, Coping with Boredom Scale, Learning Motivation Inventory, Volitional Components Inventory and Subjects Attitude Inventory methods and closed questions.
Quantitative methodology was used at various levels of analysis. The most effective boredom coping strategies were those of reminding the importance of the topic with facilitating factors such as cognitional and positive achievement needs actualisation, subject importance, motivation, interest, diligence and sense of dutifulness, whereas less effective strategies were those including tendencies to avoid the situation either by cognitive or behavioral escape and the need of interaction with others.
As most risk malcoping factors seem to be high levels of volition inhibiting components (e.g. external control need, emotional disturbance and attention intrusion) rather than low levels of volition facilitating components (e.g. initiation control). Presented results have implications both for educational practise and further research.