Coping with university-related problems : a cross-cultural comparison

The main aims of the present study were (a) to compare problem- and emotion focused coping in students from North America (Canada and the United States), Germany, and Malaysia, and Cb) to examine the association between coping and physical symptoms. A total of 365 undergraduates, 143 males and 222 females, participated in the study. The subjects' mean age was 22 years, and most were not married. In dealing with academicrelated problems, Malaysians used substantially more emotion-focused coping than did North Americans and Germans. North American and German students who had high scores on, emotion-focused coping experienced fewer symptoms, whereas the reverse relationship was found in the Malaysian group. The data on culturalpreferences in coping and control behavior are discussed