This study has examined the validation of the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a criterion for a sample of Chinese university students in Hong Kong, which consists of one hundred and ninety-four freshmen from the local universities. The relationship between freshmen’s coping efforts and adjustment to university life in the Hong Kong context has been investigated, using the CSI as the measure of coping and the GHQ-12 as the screening instrument for mental health. The results indicate high internal consistency of the three CSI coping scales, implying that the CSI can be a valid instrument to assess the coping efforts of university students of Hong Kong. Moreover, the samples of freshmen are found to prefer positive coping strategies, and female students are more willing to seek social support than males in coping with stress.
KeywordsStressCoping StrategiesAvoidanceProblem SolvingSeek Social SupportUniversity FreshmenCSIGHQ-12
Alfeld-Liro, C., & Sigelman, C. K. (1998). Sex Differences in Self-Concept and Symptoms of Depression during the Transition to College. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 27, 219-243. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021667813858
Amirkhan, J. H. (1990). A Factor Analytically Derived Measure of Coping: The Coping Strategy Indicator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1066-1074. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.5.1066
Arthur, N., & Hiebert, B. (1996). Coping with the Transition to Post-Secondary Education. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 30, 93-103.
Aspinwall, L. G., & Taylor, S. E. (1992). Modeling Cognitive Adaptation: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Impact of Individual Differences and Coping on College Adjustment and Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 989-1003. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.63.6.989
Baker, R. W., & Siryk, B. (1989). Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire Manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
Bakhla, A. K., Verma, V., Hembram, M., Praharaj, S. K., & Sinha, V. K. (2013). Internal Consistency and Factor Structure of 12-Item General Health Questionnaire in Visually Impaired Students. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 22, 109-113. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-6748.132918
Beck, R., Taylor, C., & Robbins, M. (2003). Missing Home: Sociology and Autonomy and Their Relationship to Psychological Distress and Homesickness in College Freshmen. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 16, 155-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2003.10382970
Brissette, I., Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (2002). The Role of Optimism in Social Network Development, Coping and Psychological Adjustment during a Life Transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 102-111. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.102
Cheung, E. (2017). After 71 Student Suicides Since 2013, Education Chief Told Hong Kong Schools Are Like a “Prison”. South China Morning Post, January 7.
Cheung, E., & Chiu, P. (2016). Twenty-Two Young People Have Taken Their Lives so far This Academic Year. Is the City’s Pressure-Cooker Education System Solely to Blame— Or Is It More Complex? South China Morning Post, March 12.
Del Pilar Sánchez-López, M., & Dresch, V. (2008). The 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12): Reliability, External Validity and Factor Structure in the Spanish Population. Psicothema, 20, 839-843.
Desmond, D. M., Shevlin, M., & MacLachlan, M. (2006). Dimensional Analysis of the Coping Strategy Indicator in a Sample of Elderly Veterans with Acquired Limb Amputations. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 249-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.04.015
Dyson, R., & Renk, K. (2006). Freshmen Adaptation to University Life: Depressive Symptoms, Stress and Coping. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 1231-1244. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20295
Erickson, A. (2017). What’s behind the Student Suicides Sweeping Hong Kong? The Washington Post, February 25.
Fisher, S., & Hood, B. (1988). Vulnerability Factors in the Transition to University: Self-Reported Mobility History and Sex Differences as Factors in Psychological Disturbance. British Journal of Psychology, 79, 309-320. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1988.tb02290.x
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). Manual for the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Folkman, S., Chesney, M., Mckusick, L., Ironson, G., Johnson, D. S., & Coates, T. J. (1991). Translating Coping Theory into an Intervention. In D. J. Eckenrode (Ed.), The Social Context of Coping (pp. 239-260). New York: Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3740-7_11
Fontana, A. M., Hyra, D., Godfrey, L., & Cermak, L. (1999). Impact of a Peer-Led Stress Inoculation Training Intervention on State Anxiety and Heart Rate in College Students. Journal of Applied Biobehavioural Research, 4, 45-63. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9861.1999.tb00054.x
Gerdes, H., & Mallinckrodt, B. (1994). Emotional, Social, and Academic Adjustment of College Students: A Longitudinal Study of Retention. Journal of Counseling & Development, 72, 281-288. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1994.tb00935.x
Gerdes, L. C. (1988). The Developing Adult (2nd ed.). Durban: Butterworths.
Goldberg, D. P., & Williams, J. E. (1992). A User’s Guide to the General Health Questionnaire. London: NFER-Nelson.
Goldberg, D. P., Gater, R., Sartorius, N., Ustun, T. B., Piccinelli, M., Gureje, O., & Rutter, C. (1997). The Validity of Two Versions of the GHQ in the WHO Study of Mental Illness in General Health Care. Psychological Medicine, 27, 191-197. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291796004242
Goldberg, D. P., Oldehinkel, T., & Ormel, J. (1998). Why GHQ Threshold Varies From One Place to Another. Psychological Medicine, 28, 915-921. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291798006874
Guest, K. (2000). Introducing Critical Thinking to “Non-Standard” Entry Students. The Use of a Catalyst to Spark Debate. Teaching in Higher Education, 5, 289-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/713699139
Hager, P., Sleet, R., Logan, P., & Hooper, M. (2003). Teaching Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Science Courses. Science and Education, 12, 303-313. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024043708461
Halamandaris, K. F., & Power, K. G. (1999). Individual Differences, Social Support and Coping with the Examination Stress: A Study of the Psychosocial and Academic Adjustment of First Year Home Students. Personality and Individual Differences, 26, 665-685. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(98)00172-X
Hankins, M. (2008). The Reliability of the Twelve-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) under Realistic Assumptions.BMC Public Health, 8, 355, 7 p. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-355
Hirokawa, K., Yagi, A., & Miyata, Y. (2002). An Examination of the Effects of Stress Management Training for Japanese College Students of Social Work. International Journal of Stress Management, 9, 113-123. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014906820573
Jeglic, E. L., Pepper, C. M., Vanderhoff, H. A., & Ryabchenko, K. A. (2007). An Analysis of Suicidal Ideation in a College Sample. Archives of Suicide Research, 11, 41-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811110600897176
Kantanis, T. (2000). The Role of Social Transition in Students’ Adjustment to the First-Year of University. Journal of Institutional Research, 9, 100-110.
Kim, M. R., & Han, S. J. (2015). A Study of Emotional Intelligence and Coping Strategies in Baccalaureate Nursing Students. International Journal of Bio-Science and Bio-Technology, 7, 275-282. https://doi.org/10.14257/ijbsbt.2015.7.3.29
Kim, Y. J., Cho, M. J., Park, S., Hong, J. P., Sohn, J. H., Bae, J.N., Jeon, H. J., Chang, S. M., Lee, H. W., & Park, J. I. (2013). The 12-Item General Health Questionnaire as an Effective Mental Health Screening Tool for General Korean Adult Population. Psychiatry Investigation, 10, 352-358. https://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2013.10.4.352
Krause, K., Hartley, R., James, R., & McInnis, C. (2005). The First Year Experience in Australian Universities: Findings from a Decade of National Studies. Canberra: Australian Department of Education, Science and Training.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. New York: Springer.
Leong, F. T. L., Bonz, M. H., & Zachar, P. (1997). Coping Styles as Predictors of College Adjustment among Freshmen. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 10, 211-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515079708254173
Li, M. H. (2014). Effect of Stress, Perception-Related Traits, and Motivation on Different Coping Strategies. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4, 7-16.
Liang, Y., Wang, L., & Yin, X. (2016). The Factor Structure of the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Young Chinese civil Servants. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 14, 136, 9 p. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-016-0539-y
Lillis, T., & Turner, J. (2001). Student Writing in Higher Education: Contemporary Confusion, Traditional Concerns. Teaching in Higher Education, 6, 57-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510020029608
Luyckx, K., Klimstra, T. A., Duriez, B., Schwartz, S. J., & Vanhalst, J. (2012). Identity Processes and Coping Strategies in College Students: Short-Term Longitudinal Dynamics and the Role of Personality. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 41, 1226-1239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9753-z
McNamara, S. (2000). Stress in Young People: What’s New and What Can We Do? New York: Continuum.
Nicholson, T., Belcastro, P. A., & Duncan, D. F. (1989). An Evaluation of a University Stress Management Program. College Student Journal, 23, 76-81.
Oppenheimer, B. T. (1984). Short-Term Small Group Intervention for College Freshmen. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 45-53. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.31.1.45
Park, C. L., & Adler, N. E. (2003). Coping Style as a Predictor of Health and Well-Being across the First Year of Medical School. Health Psychology, 22, 627-631. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.22.6.627
Patiniotis, J., & Holdsworth, C. (2005). 'Seize That Chance!' Leaving Home and Transitions to Higher Education. Journal of Youth Studies, 8, 81-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676260500063710
Quinn, B. P. (1997). The Depression Sourcebook. Los Angeles: Lowell House.
Rich, A. R., & Scovel, M. (1987). Causes of Depression in College Students: A Cross-Lagged Panel Correlation Analysis. Psychological Reports, 60, 27-30. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1987.60.1.27
Rickinson, B., & Rutherford, D. (1995). Increasing Undergraduate Student Retention Rates. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 23, 161-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069889508253002
Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (1999). Abnormal Psychology: The Problem of Maladaptive Behaviour (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Sasaki, M., & Yamasaki, K. (2007). Stress Coping and the Adjustment Process among University Freshmen. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 20, 51-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070701219943
Scanlon, L., Rowling, L., & Weber, Z. (2007). “You Don’t Have Like an Identity…You Are Just Lost in a Crowd”: Forming a Student Identity in the First Year Transition to University. Journal of Youth Studies, 10, 223-242. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676260600983684
Shaver, P. R., Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Transition to College: Network Changes, Social Skills, and Loneliness. In S. Duck & D. Perlman (Eds.), Understanding Personal Relationships: An Interdisciplinary Approach (pp. 193-219). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Simmons, N., & Hay, I. (2010). Early Adolescents’ Friendship Patterns in Middle School: Social-Emotional and Academic Implications. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 27, 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1375/aedp.27.2.59
Sinclair, A., Barkham, M., Evans, C., Connell, J., & Audin, K. (2005). Rationale and Development of a General Population Well-Being Measure: Psychometric Status of the GP-CORE in A Student Sample. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 33, 153-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069880500132581
Spangenberg, J. J., & Orpen-Lyall, M. R. (2000). Stress and Coping Strategies in a Sample of South African Managers Involved in Post-Graduate Managerial Studies. Journal of Industrial Psychology, 26, 6-10. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v26i1.692
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Vivona, J. M. (2000). Parental Attachment Styles of Late Adolescents: Qualities of Attachment Relationships and Consequences for Adjustment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47, 316-329. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.47.3.316
Wankowski, J. (1991). Increasing Students’ Power for Self-Teaching. In K. Raaheim, J. Wankowski, & J. Radford (Eds.), Helping Students Learn. Buckingham: SRHE and OUP.
Wong, C. (2017). Hong Kong’s Wave of Student Suicides. The Diplomat, March 1.
Zulkefly, N. S., & Baharudin, R. (2010). Using the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to Assess the Psychological Health of Malaysian College Students. Global Journal of Health Science, 2, 71-80. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v2n1p73