Stressors, stress levels and coping patterns of grade VI children of both sexes and different socio-economic groups

This study intended to find out the stressors, stress levels, and coping patterns of grade six pupils of both sexes and different socio-economic groups. It also sought to determine whether sex and socio-economic grouping of the respondents have any influence on stress levels and coping patterns. The design of the study was descriptive survey using 500 grade six students (244 males and 256 females) as subjects. They were enrolled in two co-educational schools in Metro-Manila for the school year 1988-89. Three instruments were used to gather the necessary data. The checklist of stressful events in children was used to determine the different stressors affecting children. It is made up of 40 items classified into 8 major types namely: a. lack of resources b. personal threat/harm c. family crisis d. change in lifestyle e. school f. family relations g. environment h. social/peer relations. The children manifest anxiety scale (CMAS) developed by Castaneda, McCandless, and Palermo measures anxiety in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade children. The scale is made up of 42 anxiety items and 11 additional items designed to provide an index of the subjects\u27 tendency to falsify his responses to the anxiety items. The coping patterns questionnaire determines the coping patterns of the respondents. It consisted of 16 hypothetical situations classified into 8 major groups namely: a. lack of resources b. personal threat/harm c. family crisis d. change in lifestyle e. school f. family relations g. environment h. social/peer relations. Data were treated by determining frequencies and percentages. Major types of stressors were ranked accordingly. Likewise, frequencies and percentages were used to find out the stress level of the respondents. Chi-square was computed to determine significant difference in the stress level of the subjects according to sex and socio-economic grouping. Furthermore, characteristics of the subject\u27s coping patterns were tabulated according to categories. Frequencies of responses were tallied and then converted to percentages. Findings of the study revealed that the common major types of stressors encountered by the respondents according to their intensity are as follows: 1. personal threat/harm 2. social/peer relations 3. school 4. lack of resources 5. family crisis 6. environment 7. family relations 8. change in lifestyle. Characteristics of the subject\u27s coping patterns were tabulated according to categories namely: a. immediate, active and self-reliant approach b. less immediate, active self-effort but with some support from others c. with some degree of dependence on others d. passive dependence on others with little or no effort on ones part. e. no effort to deal with the problem or simple resignation. f. irrelevant responses. Generally, more female respondents employed coping patterns which are immediate, active and self-reliant approaches. Significant differences in the predominant coping patterns of the respondents according to sex and socio-economic groups were tested using the statistical method of finding the significant differences between percentages. The results obtained show that generally, significant differences were found in the predominant coping patterns of the respondents according to socio-economic groups but no significant differences were found in the predominant coping patterns of the respondents according to sex