INVESTIGATION OF INTROSPECTION AND COPING EFFORTS AS MEDIATORS BETWEEN DAILY STRESS AND PERCEIVED HEALTH STATUS IN MIDDLE-ADOLESCENT GIRLS.
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 121
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Mental and physical health are related to how adolescents assess and cope with the daily stresses of living. In this study, a model based on Lazarus' transactional cognitive theory of stress was tested. Perceived health status was the adaptational outcome postulated in this model. Two mediating variables--introspection and coping efforts were examined in relationship to perceived health status.

Respondents consisted of 159 middle-adolescent girls between the ages of 14 to 16 who attended a suburban high school. Data were generated through five questionnaires and were analyzed using correlational and path analysis techniques.

The hypotheses were: (1) Daily stresses will have an indirect effect on perceived health status by a path through introspectiveness such that: (a) the intensity of stress will have an indirect path through introspectiveness, and (b) the frequency of stress will have an indirect path through introspectiveness; (2) daily stresses will have an indirect effect on perceived health status by a path through coping efforts such that: (a) the intensity of stress will have an indirect path through coping efforts, and (b) the frequency of stress will have an indirect path through coping efforts; (3) introspectiveness will have a direct effect on perceived health status, and (4) coping efforts will have a direct effect on perceived health status.

Findings in relation to each hypothesis were as follows: (a) There was a significant path between daily stress and perceived health status mediated by introspectiveness; (b) there was a significant path between daily stress and perceived health status mediated by problem-oriented coping efforts but there was no significant path mediated by emotion-regulation coping efforts; (c) there was a significant direct effect on perceived health status from introspectiveness; and (d) there was a significant direct effect on perceived health status from problem-oriented coping efforts but no significant direct effect from emotion-regulation coping efforts.

Path analysis revealed that the hypothesized model fit the data with this sample of adolescent girls. Additional findings included a significant relationship between a positive perception of health and not using medications. There were also significant inverse relationships between the frequency and intensity of daily stress and perceived health status.

Based on the results of the study, implications were discussed and recommendations for future research were suggested.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-10, Section: B, page: 4229.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1988.

School code: 0146.