1. Quantifying insufficient coping behavior under chronic stress: a cross-cultural study of 1,303 students from Italy, Spain and Argentina
- Author
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Christine Mohr, Hans H. Stassen, Erich Seifritz, Costanza Papagno, René Bridler, Carla Soler, Susana Sanchez, Verónica L. Chafrat, E Camussi, Juan P Delfino, Silke Braun, Inés Moragrega, Cristina Botella, Elena Barragan, Petra Lott, University of Zurich, Delfino, J, Barragán, E, Botella, C, Braun, S, Bridler, R, Camussi, E, Chafrat, V, Lott, P, Mohr, C, Moragrega, I, Papagno, C, Sanchez, S, Seifritz, E, Soler, C, and Stassen, H
- Subjects
Cross-Cultural Comparison ,Male ,Chronic stre ,Argentina ,610 Medicine & health ,Insufficient coping skill ,Affect (psychology) ,Affective disorder ,Developmental psychology ,Insufficient coping skills ,2738 Psychiatry and Mental Health ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Stress (linguistics) ,Adaptation, Psychological ,Cross-cultural ,Humans ,Big Five personality traits ,Students ,Consumption (economics) ,4. Education ,3203 Clinical Psychology ,Cognition ,Early detection ,Mental health ,Cross-cultural studies ,3. Good health ,Affective disorders ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Clinical Psychology ,Early Diagnosis ,Italy ,Spain ,10054 Clinic for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics ,8. Economic growth ,Chronic stress ,Female ,Student ,Psychology ,Stress, Psychological ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
The question of how to quantify insufficient coping behavior under chronic stress is of major clinical relevance. In fact, chronic stress increasingly dominates modern work conditions and can affect nearly every system of the human body, as suggested by physical, cognitive, affective and behavioral symptoms. Since freshmen students experience constantly high levels of stress due to tight schedules and frequent examinations, we carried out a 3-center study of 1,303 students from Italy, Spain and Argentina in order to develop socioculturally independent means for quantifying coping behavior. The data analysis relied on 2 self-report questionnaires: the Coping Strategies Inventory (COPE) for the assessment of coping behavior and the Zurich Health Questionnaire which assesses consumption behavior and general health dimensions. A neural network approach was used to determine the structural properties inherent in the COPE instrument. Our analyses revealed 2 highly stable, socioculturally independent scales that reflected basic coping behavior in terms of the personality traits activity-passivity and defeatism-resilience. This replicated previous results based on Swiss and US-American data. The percentage of students exhibiting insufficient coping behavior was very similar across the study sites (11.5-18.0%). Given their stability and validity, the newly developed scales enable the quantification of basic coping behavior in a cost-efficient and reliable way, thus clearing the way for the early detection of subjects with insufficient coping skills under chronic stress who may be at risk of physical or mental health problems. This project was funded in part through the Seventh EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (grant 248544; OPTIMI).
- Published
- 2015