The purpose of this study was to examine middle school students' level of stress according to their personalities (extroverted or introverted) and differences in the way of coping with stress.
This study surveyed 527 7th and 8th graders attending one...
The purpose of this study was to examine middle school students' level of stress according to their personalities (extroverted or introverted) and differences in the way of coping with stress.
This study surveyed 527 7th and 8th graders attending one of five middle schools located in suburban Daegu.
For the examination, 18 questionnaires on personality among the Korean version of Eysenck‘s Personality Questionnaire, the EPQ of Eysenck from 1975 which was translated and standardized by Hyun Soo Lee (1985) were used. However, four questions had been eliminated by result of factor analysis. For the measurement of stress, questionnaires used by Soon Sup Kim (1999) and factor-analyzed by Nan Yeong Ki (2006) were applied. Questionnaires on coping with stress used 68 questions developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1984) and factor-analyzed twice by Jung Hee Kim and Jang Ho Lee (1985), and Nan Yeong Ki (2006).
The following are the results:
1. Introverted students were more stressed by school life, family relations, interpersonal relations, and internally than outgoing students.
2. Extroverted students showed higher stress coping index than introverted students in problem-centered coping, social support coping, emotional coping, and wishful coping.
3. Both introverted and extroverted students lowered stress when they used problem-centered coping. Using less problem-centered coping, extroverted students were more stressed by introverted students.
4. Both introverted and extroverted students lowered stress when they used social support coping. Using less social support coping, introverted students were less stressed by extroverted students. However, using more social support coping, extroverted students were less stressed by extroverted students.
5. Introverted students were less stressed when using emotional coping more. Using less emotional coping, extroverted students were less stressed by introverted students, and using more emotional coping, introverted students were less stressed by extroverted students.
It is better that students can learn the active coping and help-seeking strategies because personality affect the stress coping strategies and the coping strategies are related very closely to the mental health.