In an effort to explore the possible relationship between coping strategies and adjustment levels in stressed high school students, 174 male students were first administered the High School Social Readjustment Scale to identify the high stress subjects. High stress individuals were then given a Coping Style Questionnaire and two adjustment measures: the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Neuroticism Scale Questionnaire in order to establish typical strategies employed in dealing with stress for different adjustment levels. Problem-focused strategies, such as "Taking Positive Action" and "Seeking Information," were the most frequently reported strategies. Comparisons between better and more poorly adjusted students produced only modest relationships with a trend for the former to rely more on active strategies and the latter to rely more on dependent strategies of coping with stress.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bell, P.
, & Byrne, D. (1978). Repression-sensitization. In H. London & J. Exner (Eds.), Dimensions of personality (pp. 449-485). New York: Wiley.
2.
Billings, A.
, & Moos, R. H. (1981). The role of coping responses and social resources in attentuating the stress of life events. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 157-189.
3.
Chandler, L.
(1981). The Source of Stress Inventory. Psychology in the Schools, 18, 164-168.
4.
Coddington, R. D.
(1972). The significance of life events as etiological factors in disease in children. I-A survey of professional workers. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 16, 7-18.
5.
Curry, S. L.
, & Russ, S. W. (1985). Identifying coping strategies in children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 14, 61-69.
6.
Eysenck, H. J.
, & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1963). Manualfor the Eysenck Personality Inventory. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.
7.
Folkman, S.
(1984). Personal control and stress and coping processes: A theoretical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 839-852.
8.
Folkman, S.
, & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219-239.
9.
Holahan, C. J.
, & Moos, R. H. (1985). Life stress and health: Personality, coping, and family support in stress resistance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 739-747.
10.
Holmes, T. H.
, & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213-218.
11.
Horowitz, M.
(1976). Stress response syndromes. New York: Aronson.
12.
Horowitz, M.
(1979). Psychological response to serious life events. In V. Hamilton & D. M. Warburton (Eds.), Human stress and cognition: An information processing approach (pp. 237-265). Chichester, England: Wiley.
13.
Kobasa, S. C.
(1982). Commitment and coping in stress resistance among lawyers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 168-177.
14.
Lazarus, R. S.
, & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.
15.
Lazarus, R. S.
, & Launier, R. (1978). Stress related transactions between person and environment. In L.A. Pervin and M. Lewis (Eds.) Perspectives in interactional psychology. (pp. 287-327). New York: Plenum.
16.
Murphy, L. B.
(1962). The widening world of childhood: Paths toward mastery. New York: Basic Books.
17.
Roth, S.
, & Cohen, L. J. (1986). Approach, avoidance, and coping with stress. American Psychologist, 41, 813-819.
18.
Scheier, I.H.
, & Cattell, R.B. (1961). Handbook for the Neuroticism Scale Questionnaire: "The NSQ."Champaign, IL: Institute for Personality and Ability Testing.
19.
Shontz, F. C.
(1975). The psychological aspects of physical illness and disability. New York: MacMillian.
20.
Sidle, A.
, Moos, R., Adams, J., & Cady, P., (1969). Development of a coping scale: A preliminary study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 20, 226-232.
21.
Silber, E.
, Hamburg, D. A., Coelho, G. V., Murphey, E. B., Rosenberg, M., & Pearlin, L. I. (1961). Adaptive behavior in competent adolescents: Coping with the anticipation of college. Archives of General Psychiatry, 5, 354-365.
22.
Steinglass, P.
, De-Nour, A. K., & Shye, S. (1985). Factors influencing psychosocial adjustment to forced geographical relocation: The Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 55, 513-529.
23.
Tolor, A.
, Murphy, V. M., Wilson, L. T., & Clayton, J. (1983). The high school social readjustment scale: An attempt to quantify stressful events in young people. Research Communications in Psychology, Psychiatry and Behavior, 8, 85-111.
24.
Vaillant, G. E.
(1977). Adaptation to life. Boston: Little, Brown.
25.
Weisman, A.
(1984). The coping capacity: On the nature of being mortaLNew York: Human Science Press.
