期刊
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
卷 47, 期 4, 页码 235-243出版社
KARGER
DOI: 10.1159/000356398
关键词
Chronic stress; Insufficient coping skills; Affective disorders; Early detection; Students
类别
资金
- 7th EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (OPTIMI) [248544]
Background: Epidemiological data indicate that 75% of subjects with major psychiatric disorders have their onset of illness in the age range of 17-24 years. An estimated 35-50% of college and university students drop out prematurely due to insufficient coping skills under chronic stress, while 85% of students receiving a psychiatric diagnosis withdraw from college/university prior to the completion of their education. In this study, we aimed at developing standardized means of identifying students with insufficient coping skills under chronic stress and at risk for mental health problems. Sampling and Methods: A sample of 1,217 college students from 3 different sites in the USA and Switzerland completed 2 self-report questionnaires:the Coping Strategies Inventory (COPE) and the Zurich Health Questionnaire (ZHQ), which assesses 'regular exercises', 'consumption behavior', 'impaired physical health', 'psychosomatic disturbances' and 'impaired mental health'. The data were subjected to structure analyses by means of a neural network approach. We found 2 highly stable and reproducible COPE scales that explained the observed interindividual variation in coping behavior sufficiently well and in a socioculturally independent way. The scales reflected basic coping behavior in terms of 'activity-passivity' and 'defeatism-resilience', and in the sense of stable, socioculturally independent personality traits. Results: Correlation analyses carried out for external validation revealed a close relationship between high scores on the defeatism scale and impaired physical and mental health. This underlined the role of insufficient coping behavior as a risk factor for physical and mental health problems. Conclusion: The combined COPE and ZHQ instruments appear to constitute powerful screening tools for insufficient coping skills under chronic stress and for risks of mental health problems. (C) 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据