ERIC Number: EJ760314
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 16
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-0343
EISSN: N/A
Assessing Adolescents' Understanding of and Reactions to Stress in Different Cultures: Results of a Mixed-Methods Approach
Nastasi, Bonnie K.; Hitchcock, John H.; Burkholder, Gary; Varjas, Kristen; Sarkar, Sreeroopa; Jayasena, Asoka
School Psychology International, v28 n2 p163-178 2007
This article expands on an emerging mixed-method approach for validating culturally-specific constructs (see Hitchcock et al., 2005). Previous work established an approach for dealing with cultural impacts when assessing psychological constructs and the current article extends these efforts into studying stress reactions among adolescents in Sri Lanka. Ethnographic data collection and analysis techniques were used to construct scenarios that are stressful to Sri Lankan youth, along with survey items that assess their related coping mechanisms. The data were factor analysed, results were triangulated with qualitative findings, and reliability estimates of resulting scales were obtained. This in turn generated a pilot assessment approach that can be used to measure stress and coping reactions in a distinct culture. Use of the procedures described here could be replicated to generate culturally-specific instruments in international contexts, or when working with ethnic minorities within a given nation. This should in turn generate information needed to develop culturally relevant intervention work. (Contains 6 tables and 4 notes.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Adolescents, Ethnography, Coping, Factor Analysis, Cultural Differences, Anxiety, Stress Variables, Mental Health, Cultural Relevance, Psychological Evaluation, Rating Scales
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Counselors
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sri Lanka
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A