Perceived Stress And Coping In Part-Time Graduate Students: A Quantitative Examination On The Gender Differences
Keywords:
Perceived Stress, Coping Strategies, Gender Differences, Graduate Students, Counselling Students, Emotion-Oriented Coping, Avoidance-Oriented Coping, Distraction Coping, Locus of Control, Perceived Social Support, Psychological Well-Being, Stress Management.Abstract
The present quantitative study explored the gender differences in perceived stress and coping
strategies used by part-time graduate students in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.
Besides, relationships between total stress and difference orientation on coping were also
areas of investigation. 194 postgraduate counselling students, 125 from Hong Kong, 43 from
Singapore and 24 from Australia, were volunteered to answer an anonymous questionnaire
during class. A questionnaire consisting of four instruments, namely, the Student-Life Stress
Inventory Scores (SLSI), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations Score (CISS), the
Nowickie-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale (ANS-IE) Short Form and Perceived
Social Support, was administered to explore stress, coping and locus of control of the
students. Reliability coefficients were found to be satisfactory for the four instruments.
Results showed the hypotheses that total stress was positively correlated with emotion
orientation, avoidance orientation and distraction coping. Moreover, female students
employed significantly more of the above three coping methods in facing stress when
comparing to the male. However, the hypothesis that average total stress score in female was
higher than male was not found in this study. Variables including differences in individual
personality, cultures, age, education, social role, social support, counselling skills and past
major life events might be some of the essential components in determining the overall stress
of the students other than gender and coping used. Implications of the results urged more
specific and comprehensive measures on stress and coping for this specific population who
complete demands in different roles simultaneously. In addition, although stress can be either
negative (distress) or positive (eustress), it is suggested to reduce stress to prevent impaired
task performance, burnout, psychological problems, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD)
or even crisis.
