Stressors of Thai graduate students in Metro Manila and their coping styles according to anxiety levels, gender and personality type

This research is a descriptive study of the predominant stressors, coping styles according to the anxiety levels and the personality type of Thai male and female graduate students in Metro Manila during the school year 1991 - 1992. The open-minded questionnaire, the IPAT Anxiety Scale and the Type A Personality Test were administered to 60 subjects. However, only 40 Thai graduate students responded, 21 of whom were males and 19 females. The predominant stressors were ranked according to the mean responses of the subjects in the open-minded questionnaire. The coping styles were categorized as flight, fight, face. The anxiety levels were classified as high, average and low in accordance with the manual. Likewise, the results of the personality test were categorized as type A1, A2, B1, B2, and AB following the guidelines set by Friedman and Rosenman. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. Language was the predominant stressor of both Thai males and females. 2. Majority of Thai male and female students face their problems squarely. 3. Majority of Thai male and female students who cope by facing their problems have average anxiety levels. 4. Majority of the students who face their problems have Type A2 personalities. It was concluded that both Thai male and female graduate students have similar predominant stressors, coping styles, anxiety levels and personality styles, and that gender is not a factor that differentiates the students\u27 stressors, coping styles, anxiety levels and personality types. The researcher recommended that more initiatives be undertaken by the Thai government and the Philippine educational institutions to assist the Thai graduate students in overcoming the language barrier that is experienced during their studies in the Philippines