| Abstract: | In this cross-cultural study of stress and coping, 198 students in India and 344 in Canada (all Ss aged 16–25 yrs) were compared with respect to stress, coping, and selected psychosocial variables namely, locus of control, self-esteem, life orientation (optimism-pessimism), and social support. The 2 main hypotheses postulated that, compared to the Canadian students, Indian students would experience more stress and would prefer emotion-focused coping strategies for dealing with stress. It was also predicted that the Indian students would have an external locus of control, low self-esteem, pessimistic life orientation, and greater social support satisfaction. The results reveal instead that the Indian students report less stress than the Canadian students and prefer emotion-focused coping strategies. The Indian students score higher on chance control, but are similar to the Canadian students on powerful others and internal control. The Indian students are less satisfied with social support than are their Canadian counterparts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
