Coping with daily stressors: Strategies of Caucasian and Asian school-aged children in Australia

Abstract

The current study identifies and evaluates coping strategies and their effectiveness as used by Caucasian and Asian children (in Australia) dealing with everyday stress. A total of 217 children aged 6-7 (35 Caucasians and 36 Asians), 8-10 (38 Caucasians and 36 Asians) and 11-12 years (36 Caucasians and 36 Asians) were individually interviewed using the Australian Daily Stressor Questionnaire. Childrena??s responses to 4 stressors; a??conflict with parentsa??, a??conflict with peersa??, a??physical harma?? and a??conflict with siblingsa?? were coded into primary coping, secondary coping or relinquished categories. Results showed a significant difference in secondary coping style between Caucasian and Asian children at the age of 11-12 years. Styles differed with age: primary coping declining and secondary coping increasing under certain scenarios. The joint use of primary and secondary coping effectively accounted for variance in emotional well-being in both cultures and across all ages. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive growth and cultural influence on childrena??s coping.