Hassles, coping, and psychological health among Hong Kong college students

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the relations between hassles, coping, and psychological health. Specifically, it investigated the moderating effect of coping strategies on the association between hassles and psychological health, and explored the effectiveness of the different coping strategy in reducing stress. It was hypothesized that (1) stress level will be associated with poor psychological health, and (2) coping strategies will moderate the effect of hassles on psychological health.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy-nine Hong Kong college students completed a questionnaire that assesses their hassles, coping strategies, and psychological health. Hassles were assessed by the College Students’ Inventory of Recent Life Experiences (CSIRLE), coping strategies were assessed by the adapted version of the COPE Scale, and psychological health was assessed by the General Health (GHQ-30).

Results: A principal component analysis extracted four factors from responses to the COPE Scale: they are Social Support, Turning to Religion, Active Coping & Positive Reinterpretation, and Mental Disengagement & Denial. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that hassle scores alone and the interaction of hassles and Active Coping & Positive Reinterpretation reliably predicted GHQ scores. That means college students who scored high, compared to those who scored low, in Active Coping & Positive Reinterpretation coped better when hassles stress level was high. However, the other three coping factors showed no significant moderating effect on the association between hassles and psychological health.

Discussion: The discrepancy between present findings and those reported in prior studies may be indicative of cultural differences between the East and the West. Therefore, further studies are warranted to address this issue.