This study explores the use of non-strenuous movement, such as stretching and fidgeting, as a coping mechanism for stress. Prominent sources such as American Psychological Association (APA) recommend the use of movement to manage stress (APA, 2017a). While there are many assessment tools for coping techniques, non-strenuous movement has not been included in the assessments and is not widely studied. In an online survey, participants (n=69) reported their stress level and their use of coping strategies, as measured by the Stress in General Scale (Yankelevich et al., 2012), the Brief Cope Survey (Carver, 1997) and items created by the author to assess the use of movement to cope with stress. The majority of participants (99%) reported using some type of non-strenuous movement to cope with stress at least "a little bit" and 43% reported using some type of non-strenuous movement "a lot". Participants reported using movement at similar rates to other coping strategies. From the movement items, there emerged an internally consistent movement-based coping strategy scale (Cronbach’s α=.79) and two potential subscales. The movement-based scale did not show any significant relationship to stress, similar to most other coping strategy scales. Findings indicate that individuals are using non-strenuous movements to manage stress, justifying further research into the application and effectiveness of non-strenuous movement as a coping strategy for stress. Findings also provide preliminary support of the psychometric properties of the newly created movement-based coping scale, supporting the inclusion of such a scale in measures assessing coping strategies for stress.
