Psychological Adjustment As A Function Of Coping With Daily Stressors

San Diego State University, San Diego CA

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Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The college environment presents risks for the development of mental and behavioral problems, alcohol and[unreadable] drug use, and nicotine dependence for those in late adolescence. The college[unreadable] experience is challenging because it can elicit a range of changes in physiological, emotional, and cognitive[unreadable] domains and can specifically elicit feelings of excitement, fear, and stress. This "new" environment can be[unreadable] especially challenging for individuals from underrepresented groups (i.e., ethnic minorities), who typically[unreadable] experience poorer mental health outcomes and increased drop-out rates. Very little research, however, has[unreadable] been conducted on ethnic minority individuals that explains or predicts mental health outcomes with[unreadable] psychosocial variables, such as coping, or personality characteristics, such as Neuroticism. Therefore, the[unreadable] goals of the proposed study are four-fold: (a) to develop a predictive model of the stress and coping process[unreadable] within each ethnic minority group, (b) to make between-ethnic group comparisons (including comparisons to[unreadable] Caucasians) to evaluate the similarities and differences of these predictive models, (c) to build and test a[unreadable] broader conceptualization of the stress and coping process by incorporating the dimensions of the Five-[unreadable] Factor model of Personality (FFM), a model referred to as the Behavioral Concordance Model (BCM); and[unreadable] (d) to test for within- and between-ethnic differences with respect to the predictions of the BCM. Using an[unreadable] internet-based daily diary approach, 300 ethnic minority (Mexican Americans, African Americans, Asian[unreadable] Americans) and 100 Caucasian participants will complete measures that assess the daily stressors they[unreadable] experience, the specific coping strategies that they employ to deal with these stressors, and indices of[unreadable] psychological health over the course of 5 consecutive days. In addition, participants will complete measures[unreadable] of the factors within the Five-Factor model of Personality and of cultural orientation (individualism,[unreadable] collectivism). Because of the nested nature of this data (repeated observations nested with individuals),[unreadable] hierarchical linear modeling will be employed to examine the proposed relations. The findings from the[unreadable] proposed research will have important clinical implications. Specifically, the predictive models will identify[unreadable] both maladaptive and adaptive coping repertoires within specific minority adolescent ethnic groups, thus[unreadable] informing both clinicians and intervention researchers who emphasize coping skills training. Moreover, the[unreadable] proposed research is also important because specific personality traits and cultural values (and their[unreadable] multiplicative combination) might identify individuals who are particularly prone to use maladaptive coping[unreadable] strategies.