This study was to investigate differences between problem types and coping styles among college students according to locus of control, sex, and subject to determine to seperate relation after relation had be seperated.
The hypotheses for this study ...
This study was to investigate differences between problem types and coping styles among college students according to locus of control, sex, and subject to determine to seperate relation after relation had be seperated.
The hypotheses for this study are as follows.
1. The problem types (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problem types) and the coping styles (problem-oriented coping, seeking social support coping, hopeful thinking coping and emotion-oriented coping) may be different by the differences according to locus of control (internal-external control).
2. The problem types and the coping styles may be different by sex.
3. The problem type and the coping styles may be different by the subject who suggests to breakup with his/her partner.
4. The coping styles may differs with according to the problem types after breakup.
For this study, 114 students who have had breakup experiences were selected samples in two universities. Among them, male participants were 69 (60.5%) and female were 45 (39.5%). Their average age was about 23 years old. As the measurement instruments, Folkman & Lazarus's The Ways of Coping Checkist, Rotter's The Internal-External Scale, and The Problem Types of Researcher's Own Making were used. The collected data was analyzed by the SPSS 10.0 version computer program: Frequency analysis, T-test, ANOVA, Scheffe test, Cronbach's α.
The results of analyses are :
1. The difference of problem types and coping styles according to internal-external control
In the respect of the measurements of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problem types, 'external control' is statistically meaningful higher than 'internal control'. Besides, in the respect of coping style (seeking social support coping and emotion-oriented coping), the persons who have the external control are significantly related with the seeking social support coping style and the emotion-focused coping style: statistically meaningful. They use both coping styles more frequently than the person who are controlled by the internal control.
2. The difference of the problem types and coping styles according to sex
In the respect of the problem types, sex isn't statistically meaningful. But in the respect of seeking social support coping style, females are statistically meaningful. She uses the seeking social support coping style more frequently than him.
3. The difference of the problem types and the coping styles according to subject who suggests to breakup their relationship
In the respect of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problem types, the group who were broken their relationship by their partner, not broken by themselves is statistically meaningful. They have more serious problem than the other groups who decided to break with their partner or who did not know who first decided or suggested to break.
Also in the respect of hopeful thinking coping style, the group broken by their partner is statistically meaningful. They use the hopeful thinking coping style more frequently than the others.
4. The difference of coping style according to problem type
The difference of coping style according to problem type is almost nothing, but only in the respect of problem-oriented coping style, the cognitive problem type is statistically meaningful. The persons who have more serious cognitive problems use the problem-oriented coping style more frequently than the others.
I hope that this study can help persons who want to cope their suffering after breakup and who want to develop their interpersonal relationship. I wish that this study will contribute to counselors when they counsel clients to cope problems and enlarge the clients' self-awareness. Also, it is necessary to offer courses to develop the self-awareness in interpersonal relation and the ways of coping skills to overcome or reduce the prolems and their sufferings raised by breakup experiences.
At last, thanks a lot many students for answering a questionnaire.