Most research on professional women has focused on their stress experience as opposed to their coping and adjustment. In addition, there is a paucity of South African research on coping in general, and on coping and adjustment among medical professional women in particular. This study accordingly investigated the biopsychosocial coping and adjustment of medical professional women in South Africa, by means of an exploratory, descriptive research design. The relationship between participants' scores on coping and adjustment measures was also explored. Three measures were used, namely, a biographical questionnaire, the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI) and the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF). These were administered to 66 medical professional women in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The results indicated that the participants perceived themselves as having an average level of coping resources and adjustment. A significant positive relationship was found to exist between coping resources and adjustment. These results are discussed in terms of their relevance to future research and their practical applicability in terms of support structures for medical professional women.
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