Stress and coping processes among Chinese American and Hispanic American high school students

Guided by the transactional theories developed by Lazaurs and Folkman (1984), the investigator conducted this study to examine the influences of ethnicity and gender on stress and coping processes among Chinese American and Hispanic American adolescents, to identify the predictors of internalizing and externalizing problems, and to describe differences between effective and ineffective copers. During Phase 1, 359 participants completed the demographic questionnaire, Adolescent Stress and Coping Processes Inventory Youth Self-report, and Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale. During Phase 2, the investigator interviewed 30 participants individually to explore their stress and coping experiences.; Results indicated the following significant ethnic and gender effects. Chinese students reported more accumulative stress and less sufficient coping resources than Hispanic students. Chinese students also reported having more fears and worries about seeking outside help than Hispanic students. Nevertheless, Chinese students reported fewer externalizing problems than Hispanic students. Across ethnic groups, females reported more negative affects and fewer positive affects toward stress, and engaged in more interpersonal and cognitive coping efforts than males. Females also reported more internalizing problems than males.; Additionally, results showed significant predictors of internalizing problems: (a) greater accumulative stress, (b) greater severity of the major stressor, (c) more frequency of the major stressor, and (d) being female. Significant predictors of externalizing problems included: (a)greater severity of the major stressor, (b) more frequency of the major stressor, (c) more accumulative stress, (d) Hispanic ethnicity, and (e) more utilized social resources. As compared with ineffective copers, effective copers had more optimistic appraisals of stress and resources and more positive affects toward stress. While using fewer coping strategies and social resources, effective copers felt more satisfied with their social resources than ineffective copers.; Both stress responses and coping responses are crucial to explain students' vulnerability or resilience to stress. The application of the transactional concepts of stress and coping onto the study of Chinese and Hispanic youths was fruitful. Future researchers in this domain will benefit from using multi-methods with multiple sources.