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Stress and Coping in Education

Vol. 1 No. 1___________________________________________________May, 1996

Table of Contents for this issue:

  • Announcements
  • Abstracts from the recent presentations at the AERA Conference

    • Announcements

    Congratulations to Walter H. Gmelch, of Washington State University, on receiving the Award for Distinguished Scholar, presented at the SIG: Stress in Education Membership Meeting, April, 1996.

    AERA Abstracts

    The following abstracts are from papers presented at the April, 1996 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference in New York.

    Relationship of the BASIS-A Inventory to Stress Coping

    Curlette, William L., Kern, Roy M., Matheny, Kenneth B., Gfroerer, Kelly, Summers, Yancey. Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA., USA

    Abstract
    The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationships between personality styles and coping resources. Adlerian psychology provides a theory which is well accepted by practitioners in education particularly in the areas of school counseling and parental education. A presentation of Adler's ideas can be found in Ansbacher and Ansbacher (1956) or in a recent biography of Adler by Hoffman (1994). Adlerian theory emphasizes early childhood recollections as a fundamental way of identifying a person's personality. The unique aspect of this study is that it relates personality variables based on early childhood recollections to a battery of coping resources.

    Recent research (Kern, Gfroerer, Summers, Curlette, and Matheny, 1996) has clearly shown relationships between people's perceptions of early childhood based on Adlerian theory and their stress coping resources. Pearson correlations showing the association between the overall Coping Resource Effectiveness scale as well as the twelve primary coping resource scales from the CRIS to the ten scales from the BASIS-A Inventory yielded the following results:

    1. A global measure of seeing your childhood in a favorable light, the Softness scale on the BASIS-A Inventory, statistically significant (p<.01) with every one of the 12 primary scales on the CRIS.

    2. Belonging-Social Interest is statistically significant (p<.05) with 11 of the 12 coping resources.

    Multiple regression analyses were used to relate the BASIS-A Inventory scales as the independent variables to the CRE as the dependent variable. A model for Softness, Striving for Perfection, and Taking Charge explained 32% of the variability in coping resources (F=27.78, p<.001), as measured by adjusted R squared.

    The results of the high point code research suggest new findings which may be helpful to the clinician relating personality variables to coping resources. For example, one of these findings is the two point code of being High on Being Cautious and Low on Taking Charge. Our research shows that these variables from early childhood are associated with very low stress coping as measured by the CRIS.

    When working with students, teachers, or administrators regarding stress coping, it is important to take into account personality characteristics as they contribute to coping resources of the individual. This research describes how 10 personality variables from Adlerian Psychology relate to 15 different coping resources as well as the overall coping resource effectiveness score. These results contribute to further developing stress theories as well as counseling individuals in educational settings.

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    Sources of Stress in the Science Classroom

    Jones, Russell W., University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Austrailia

    email: R.Jones@edfac.unimelb.edu.au

    Abstract
    This study sought to investigate the factors contributing to academic stress within an adolescent population of science students in years 8 through 12, and whether these factors vary across ethnicity, sex and grade. The Academic Pressure Scale for Adolescents was administered to 550 science students and four significant factors were found to contribute to academic stress: peer pressure, parental pressure, importance of school and fear of failure. Peer pressure was found to vary across ethnicity and grade, but not across sex. Parental pressure was found to be consistent across all variables. Importance of school and fear of failure were found to vary across ethnicity, sex and grade. These variations are discussed in relation to ethnic, grade and gender influences. Implications for education are considered.

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    Teacher Satisfaction, Motivation and Health: Phase One of the Teacher 2000 Project

    Dinham, Steve, Faculty of Education, University of Western Sydney, Nepean

    email: s.dinham@uws.edu.au

    Scott, Catherine, Faculty of Education, University of Western Sydney, Nepean

    email: c.scott@uws.edu.au

    Abstract
    This paper describes the first phase of a study of teachers and school executive in Western Sydney, Australia. A survey to measure teacher satisfaction, motivation and health was designed based on findings from earlier research. Participants were 529 teachers and school executive at 47 primary, secondary, and special purpose schools. The project is ongoing.

    Major satisfiers were found to be rewards intrinsic to the task of teaching, while major dissatisfiers were found to be mainly matters militating against teacher and executive effectiveness. Control was found to be a key issue, in that matters largely outside teacher and school control caused greatest dissatisfaction, particularly imposed educational responsibilities and change and societal expectations and criticisms.

    Position held was found to predict satisfaction, change in satisfaction, and to an extent, mental distress, in that those with the lowest levels of satisfaction, the greatest decline in satisfaction since beginning teaching, and the highest levels of mental stress, were found in 'middle management' positions in schools.

    Contradictory to previous research on job satisfaction, increased age did not predict greater satisfaction. Rather, higher current dissatisfaction and greater decline in satisfaction were both predicted by length of service at current school.

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    Coping with Computer-Stress*

    Hudiburg, Richard A., University of North Alabama, USA

    Necessary, James R., Ball State University, USA

    Abstract
    This research investigated coping strategies used by computer users who experienced varying degrees of computer-stress. A research questionnaire was constructed and given to 90 students (83 provided complete replies) enrolled in college courses where computer use was part of the course requirements. The questionnaire contained questions about computer use information, ratings of computer knowledge and abilities (self-rating, and Computer Self-Efficacy Scale), the Computer Hassles Scale (a measure of computer-stress), measures of somatization and anxiety (SCL-90), and Rosenberger's Self-Esteem Scale. The participants were asked to describe and rate the stressfulness of a computer problem and to complete the Ways of Coping Scale (a measure of coping strategies). A Severity of Hassles score was determined for each participant from the Computer Hassles Scale. The Severity of Hassles score was used to identify high computer-stress users and low computer-stress users. Within the range of the research participant's Severity of Hassles scores, high computer-stress users were those who scored in the upper 25% of the range and low computer-stress users were those who scored in the lower 25% of the range.

    Statistical analyses of differences between high computer-stress users and low computer-stress users revealed that high computer-stress users had lower self-rated computer abilities, lower self-esteem, and reported higher levels of somatization and anxiety. High computer-stress users, in contrast to low computer-stress users, significantly employed at higher levels confrontive, self-controlling, accepting responsibility, and positive reappraisal coping strategies in dealing with computer problems. The coping strategies employed by high computer-stress users were primarily emotional-focused coping strategies. The low computer-stress group tended to adopt a problem-solving coping strategy in dealing with computer problems.

    *This research was supported by research grants from the University of north Alabama and Ball State University.

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    Newsletter Editor: William L. Curlette, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303

    Please send comments or questions to: epswlc@panther.gsu.edu

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