Coping Strategies in Cross-Cultural Comparison

Ching Mey See & Cecilia A. Essau

1 Introduction

Among other aspects, cultures may differ with regard to the relation between the
individual and his/her environment. The most prominent dichotomy in cross-
cultural research is known as individualism/collectivism. These concepts are
related to questions regarding the position of the human being to the universe or
the relationship of the individual to the society. The person may feel as an inte-
gral part of the world, of nature, of the family or the group, or as independent
and as separate from the world and other people or even in conflict with them.
The person may want to maintain this position or change it by changing the envi-
ronment or by changing own needs and beliefs (Trommsdorff, 2007). Accord-
ingly, these different ways to deal with problems should be related to the ways of
dealing with stress, loss, or disappointments. In other words, these cultural char-
acteristics are related to different coping strategies. In this paper, we give a brief
overview of selected conceptions of coping and discuss cross-cultural differences
in coping strategies by reviewing examples of selected cross-cultural empirical
studies on coping strategies.
Coping is a human approach to solving problems. For problems that are
readily solved, for example fixing a flat car tire, we cope by taking direct and
effective action on the problem. In this case we decide how best to repair the tire,
we repair or change the tire, and go on our way. The work is primarily external
to our self. There are some problems that are prolonged or unsolvable, perhaps
because they involve a permanent loss, chronic illness, or a death. In this case,
the focus of our coping is emotional. This may involve grieving or reappraisal or
simply taking time to accept and integrate the change and restore ourselves to a
new equilibrium. In this case, the focus of our activity is internal to our self.
According to Frydenberg and Lewis (1991), the notion of “coping” as de-
veloped by psychologists has a variety of meanings which are often used inter-
changeably with concepts such as mastery, defense and adaptation. Richard
Lazarus and colleagues defined coping as:
“….. efforts, both action oriented and intra psychic, to manage (i.e. master,
tolerate, reduce, minimize) environmental and internal demands and conflicts”
(Lazarus & Launier, 1978, p. 311).
This was built on an earlier definition of coping:
162 Ching Mey See & Cecilia A. Essau

“… the problem-solving efforts made by an individual when the demands

he faces are highly relevant to his welfare (that is a situation of considerable
jeopardy or promise), and when these demands tax his adaptive resources”
(Lazarus et al., 1974).
In short, coping may be defined as the process of managing stressful events
and difficult circumstances by applying efforts to master, minimize, reduce or
tolerate stress or conflict.

2 Coping Strategies

Coping strategies refer to the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological,
that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize stressful events (John
& MacArthur, 1998). Meanwhile, Folkman and Moskowitz (2004) defined cop-
ing strategies as the dynamic efforts, which involve “the thoughts and behaviors
used to manage the internal and external demands of situations that are appraised
as stressful”. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) in their ways-of-coping model, differ-
entiated between two types of coping strategies: problem-focused and emotion-
focused coping. In problem-focused coping, efforts are made to change the
stressful situation through problem solving, decision making, and/or direct ac-
tion. In emotion-focused coping, attempts are made to regulate distressing emo-
tions, sometimes by changing the meaning of the stressful situation cognitively
without actually changing the situation. Praying and doing physical exercise to
get one’s mind off the problem are examples of emotion-focused coping strate-
gies. Problem- and emotion-focused coping are not mutually exclusive; they can
be used simultaneously or sequentially. Indeed, several studies have indicated
that people use both types of strategies to handle stressful events (Folkman &
Lazarus, 1980). The predominance of one type of strategy over another is deter-
mined, in part, by personal style and also by the type of stressful event. For ex-
ample, people typically employ problem-focused coping to deal with potential
controllable problems such as work-related problems and family-related prob-
lems, whereas stressors perceived as less controllable, such as certain kinds of
physical health problems, prompt more emotion-focused coping because the
person feels that the stressor ought to be resisted.
According to Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub (1989) a differentiation between
active and passive coping is theoretically useful. Active coping is taking steps to
actively improve the circumstances surrounding the stress or at least to minimize
its effects. The individual plans a method of confronting the stressor, including the
creation of plans of action, and thinking about the necessary steps and the best way
to manage the problem. The search for social support comes into play when the
Coping Strategies in Cross-Cultural Comparison 163

individual is in need of advice, help, information, emotional support, empathy or

understanding. Social support is instrumental in determining the style of coping
selected because the more social support one receives, the more likely he or she
uses active coping methods (Zaldivar, 1996). Passive coping strategies include
suppression (avoidance of competitive activities or channels of competition in
order to allow full concentration on the challenge) and restriction (awaiting the
appropriate opportunity to act instead of acting preemptively).
Rothbaum, Weisz, and Snyder (1982), in their primary-secondary model of
perceived control, differentiated between two types of coping: primary and sec-
ondary control. In primary control, people may pursue control by attempting to
change or influence existing realities so as to bring them into line with their
wishes. In secondary control, people attempt to gain control by accommodating
to existing realities, leaving them unchanged but exerting control over their psy-
chological impact. Primary and secondary control is both used to match personal
aspirations and objective controllability, but they differ in the way in which they
achieve this. In primary control, this is achieved by changing the existing reali-
ties through acts that involve personal agency, dominance, and aggression; these
acts are often regarded as a way to express, enhance or sustain individualism and
personal autonomy. Secondary control is achieved by changing the self through
submissiveness, conformity and passivity. It was argued that the “motivation to
feel ‘in control’ may be expressed not only in behavior that is blatantly control-
ling but also, subtly in behavior that is not” (Rothbaum et al., 1982, p. 7). There
are four classes of primary and secondary control: predictive, vicarious, illusory,
and interpretive control. Predictive control is an attempt to predict events in
order to succeed at them (primary control) or to minimize uncertainty and avoid
disappointment (secondary control). Vicarious control is an attempt to align
oneself with powerful force in order to gain control through powerful others
(primary control) or to share psychologically in the powerful other’s victories
and accomplishments (secondary control). Illusory control is an attempt to asso-
ciate oneself with chance either to influence chance-determined outcomes (pri-
mary control) or to enhance control with and acceptance of one’s fate (secondary
control). Interpretive control is an attempt to understand existing realities or
problems either in order to find the meaning of a problem so as to solve it (pri-
mary control) or to accept the problem as it is (secondary control).
According to some authors (e.g., Folkman, 1984; Weisz, 1990), emotion-
focused coping contains elements of secondary control because they are both
concerned with attempts to accommodate to existing realities, and problem-
focused coping contains elements of primary control since they focused on at-
tempts to change the existing realities. In fact, primary-secondary control and
ways of coping models have been studied (Band & Weisz, 1988) as two types of
164 Ching Mey See & Cecilia A. Essau

coping approaches, the former being a broad approach and the latter being rela-
tively specific in nature.

3 Coping Strategies in Different Cultures

Coping style is affected not only by the individual’s appraisal of the situation he
or she is faced with but also by the resources available, the use of which may be
approved of or prohibited by cultural values and norms (Lazarus & Folkman,
1984). Furthermore, cultures may differ with respect to environmental demands,
social structure, resources, and cultural norms, which may influence coping pat-
terns. Educational, political and economic systems may also influence coping
behavior (Kagitcibasi, 1986). However, research on coping has been conducted
predominantly in individualistic (Western) cultures and rarely in collectivistic
cultures so our understanding of coping is based mainly on Western views and
concepts. Only a handful of studies have compared coping behavior across dif-
ferent cultures, some of which are summarized in the following. These existing
studies have reported both cross-cultural variations, but also certain similarities
in coping behavior.
Marsella, Escudero, and Gordon (1972) were among the first to carry out
research on coping among adults in collectivistic cultures (i.e., in the Philippines,
Korea, Taiwan). The most common types of coping styles used in these countries
were “projection” (i.e., blame external forces), “acceptance” (i.e., accept one’s
plight as destiny or God’s will), “religion” (i.e., turn to prayer and other religious
rituals) and “perseverance” (i.e., endure and persevere in the face of problems).
All of these are related to emotion-focused coping and different sorts of secon-
dary control.
In the first study that directly investigated primary and secondary control at
the cross-cultural level Trommsdorff (1989) compared the mother-child relation-
ship in Germany and in Japan. As hypothesized, German mothers had conflicting
and less cooperative interactions with their child, and reacted negatively to their
child’s misbehavior. Japanese mothers, by contrast, had a harmonious and a
cooperative interaction with their child, and responded to their child’s misbehav-
ior with blame, shame and sadness. Trommsdorff (1989) argues that the way in
which the child is brought up, the related socialization goals, the parent-child
interaction, and the parent’s emotional reaction to the child are important for the
development of primary and secondary control orientations. More specifically,
primary control may be related to value orientations that stress the importance of
individualism or self-reliance, and secondary control may be related to interde-
pendence and harmony-orientation.
Coping Strategies in Cross-Cultural Comparison 165

In a study on primary and secondary control orientations in college students

Essau (1992) compared undergraduate students from collectivistic (Malaysia)
and individualistic cultures (America, Canada, and Germany). Students from the
collectivistic culture scored significantly higher on secondary control compared
to students from the individualistic cultures. Contrary to expectation, no signifi-
cant difference was found on primary control. However, significant differences
were found on two of its subscales of the Primary-Secondary Control Question-
naire, with collectivists having higher scores on vicarious control, but lower on
interpretive control than individualists. This finding suggested that in the collec-
tivistic culture, primary control was achieved through alignment with powerful
others, and in individualistic cultures via understanding or solving the problem at
hand. This finding may reflect the different salience of the authority figures and
the self, which has its root in the socialization practice of the two cultures. Spe-
cifically, collectivistic culture emphasizes obedience, respect, and compliance
with authority and superiors. By contrast, in individualistic cultures, there is
more emphasis on autonomy and individualism. Essau’s (1992) finding also
showed that collectivists not only had a higher score on secondary control, but
also on primary control. This result can be interpreted in terms of the “double-
transition”, i.e., developmental transition and cultural transition from traditional-
ism to modernity (Seginer, 1995). This means that adolescents who experience
double-transition express greater need for control, and hence more diversified
means for obtaining it, including changing (i.e., primary control) and accommo-
dating (i.e., secondary control) to the environment. Thus, Malaysian students
may anticipate a modern life style achieved by university education because it
may mediate higher social status which in turn is related to social obligation to
support traditional values, both of which involve a strengthening of primary and
secondary control.
Similar findings were reported by Seginer, Trommsdorff, and Essau (1993)
when comparing Israeli Druze and Jewish adolescents. The Israeli Druze (collec-
tivists) expressed a stronger tendency towards primary and secondary control in
comparison to Jewish adolescents (individualists). This finding was interpreted
in terms of cultural context of the Druze adolescents in that upon completion of
high-school they are expected to integrate themselves with Israeli Jewish set-
tings: males are expected to start their compulsory military service and many
females planned to attend college. As they move into Israeli Jewish settings they
need to strengthen the primary control in order to fit more closely with the value
orientations of this modern setting. Upon their return to their home villages, they
need to endorse secondary control so as to readjust themselves to the value orien-
tation there.
166 Ching Mey See & Cecilia A. Essau

McCarty et al. (1999) compared self-report of coping with six common

stressors in a group of 6- to 14-year olds in Thailand and the US. Based on
Rothbaum et al.’s (1982) primary and secondary control model, the authors
distinguished between coping methods and coping goals. Coping methods are
further categorized into overt (i.e., observable from outside) and covert (i.e., not
observable from outside) coping. Within this model, the goals of coping can be
classified as those that involve modifying objective conditions to fit one’s wishes
(i.e., primary control) or those that involve adjusting oneself to fit objective
conditions (i.e., secondary control), or lack of attempt to change or adjust to
conditions (i.e., relinquished control). Their results showed that Thai children,
compared to American children, reported significantly more reliance on covert
coping methods in situations that involved interaction with adult authority figures
(e.g., getting an injection in a doctor’s office, and responding to an angry parent or
teacher). This finding was interpreted as being in line with the social behavior in
the Thai society, which is characterized by the predominance of the vertical social
relationship. Within this social context, not only are formalized superordinate-
subordinate roles well-defined, they are also guiding rules of behavior (Klausner,
1993). From an early age, Thai children are taught to minimize overt display of
their wishes and feelings particularly around authority figures or those older than
themselves. For example, in responding to stressors which involve respected
authority figures or elders, they are encouraged to avoid overt display of feelings.
American children, by contrast, are encouraged to openly express emotional states,
thoughts and feelings. In line with this reasoning, further results showed that in
coping with separation from a friend, Thai children were significantly more likely
to pursue secondary control goals than American children (McCarty et al., 1999).
A slightly different conceptualization of coping strategies was presented in
a cross-cultural study by Olah (1995). This author examined the role of culture
on coping behavior of 17- to 18-year olds in five different countries (India, Italy,
Hungary, Sweden and Yemen). In his study, coping was defined as all purpose-
ful cognitive and behavioral actions to deal with both external and internal chan-
ges. His “three-A parcel” covers the whole domain of coping activities. The three
“As” refer to the three types of coping: (1) assimilation (i.e., cognitive or
behavioral attempts to change the environment for one’s own benefit); (2) acco-
modation (i.e., cognitive or behavioral attempts to change oneself in order to
adapt to the environment); and (3) avoidance (i.e., cognitive or behavioral acts
which include “leaving the field”, physically or psychologically). His findings
showed that adolescents from India and Yemen had significantly greater prefer-
ence for accommodative, emotion-focused coping solutions in comparison to
adolescents in Hungary, Italy and Sweden. Adolescents from Europe (i.e., Hun-
gary, Italy and Sweden), on the other hand, preferred assimilative behavior in
stressful situations. In all cultures, girls had significantly higher scores on ac-
Coping Strategies in Cross-Cultural Comparison 167

commodative and emotion-focused coping solutions than boys. Boys, by con-

trast, used significantly more assimilative and problem-focused coping solutions.
This gender difference may be related to differences in the socialization condi-
tions experienced by boys and girls: boys are socialized to deal instrumentally
with stress and girls are socialized to express emotion.
In a cross-cultural study on adolescents’ coping behavior Frydenberg et al.
(2003) compared the way in which young people (average age of 16.2 years) in
Australia, Colombia, Germany and Palestine cope with their concern. Coping
was assessed using the Adolescent Coping Scale measuring 18 coping strategies
that can be summarized to three main coping styles: productive coping (e.g.,
strategies that promote a solution focus, keeping fit), nonproductive coping (e.g.,
avoidance strategies which are associated with an inability to cope), and refer-
ence to others (e.g., strategies which use or engage others when dealing with
concerns). Overall, the results showed that adolescents from all cultures reported
the highest incidence for productive coping compared to the other two coping
styles. Furthermore, while Australian, German and Colombian adolescents re-
ported a very low incidence of the reference to others coping style (encompass-
ing the strategies seeking to belong, investing in close friends, seeking profes-
sional help, seeking social support, seeking spiritual support), this style was
strongly applied by Palestinian adolescents. This result is interpreted to be re-
lated to the intensity of stress Palestinian adolescents experience due to the over-
all political and social situation in this cultural group. If this interpretation holds,
the results indicate that besides cultural values, political and other situational
factors may affect coping styles.
While the above reviewed studies were concerned with coping styles ap-
plied by children and adolescents, Essau and Trommsdorff (1996) compared
undergraduate students in individualistic (North America, Germany) and collec-
tivistic (Malaysia) cultures with regard to the use of problem- and emotion-
focused coping in dealing with academic-related problems. Malaysian as com-
pared to North American and German students reported using significantly more
emotion-focused coping. This finding was interpreted as being attributed to Ma-
laysian’s religious beliefs which call for submission to God and accepting situa-
tion as it is. Malaysian’s high score on the “keep-to-self” subscale of the Ways of
Coping Checklist was interpreted as consistent with their general tendency to
keep their problems to themselves in order to maintain peaceful relation in their
group by not upsetting the group members with their problems (cf. Essau, 1992).
A recent study by Gelhaar and his colleagues (Gelhaar et al., 2007) com-
pared problem-specific coping strategies and coping styles of adolescents from
seven European countries (Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Nor-
way, Portugal, and Switzerland). Coping was measured using the Coping Across
168 Ching Mey See & Cecilia A. Essau

Situation Questionnaire (CASQ; Seiffge-Krenke, 1995). The CASQ differenti-

ates between actively solving the problem (i.e., active coping), cognitively re-
flecting about possible solutions (i.e., internal coping), and withdrawing from
the problem and looking for distraction (i.e., withdrawal coping). In this study,
more similarities than differences in coping behaviour across cultures were
found. The results showed that adolescents from all seven cultures mostly em-
ployed functional coping styles (active coping and internal coping), and the
pattern of regularly and infrequently applied coping strategies was similar across
cultures. Furthermore, differences in coping style occurred for some problem
domains or stressors but not for others. Cultural diversity was highest for coping
with job-related problems. On the other hand, coping with self- and future-
related problems was highly similar among adolescents from all cultures: high
levels of active coping and at the same time low levels of withdrawal were re-
ported for this problem area (Gelhaar et al., 2007, p. 129). As in the study by
Frydenberg et al. (2003) some of these results may be explained in terms of the
situation in each country, for example, high youth unemployment rates (e.g.,
Croatia) may have caused adolescents to feel desperate or hopeless about their
future.

4 Discussion

In this chapter, we have presented some examples for cultural differences in

coping, and have speculated about some of the reasons for a stronger tendency
for collectivists towards emotion-focused coping and secondary control. In the
following we will have a look at two possible domains and processes that may
help explain these differences: socialization and religious practices.

Socialization Practice

Both coping (emotion- and problem-focused coping) and control orientation

(primary and secondary control) can be regarded as essential personal resources
which develop during the socialization process (Trommsdorff, 1989). It is further
assumed that differences in coping and control orientations are related to differ-
ences in cultural values which are transmitted not only in the family, but also in
school and at work. As discussed by Rothbaum et al. (1982), cultural values that
are relevant for the development of primary control seem to have their focus on
specific child-rearing goals such as self-reliance, autonomy and independence;
cultural values that are relevant for the development of secondary control include
child-rearing goals that focus on conformity to authority and social rules.
Coping Strategies in Cross-Cultural Comparison 169

Taking one specific example of a collectivistic culture (Malaysia), the so-

cialization practice in Malaysia has been described as encouraging compliance
and passive submission (Essau & Trommsdorff, 1996; Murphy, 1976). Malay-
sian socialization in the moral realm involves learning to live in accordance with
the adat, which is a customary system of rules and beliefs that govern the physi-
cal and supernatural world, the living and the dead. To learn to live in accor-
dance with the adat means learning to maintain a harmonious relationship with
group members, nature and the gods. All these involved giving up a considerable
amount of primary control in exchange for secondary control by sharing the
group’s sense of strength and power, and avoiding the consequences of devia-
tions from harmony and custom. Furthermore, the home setting in many collecti-
vistic cultures (e.g., Malaysia) can be characterized as “interdependent”. Pro-
longed body contact gives the child the opportunity to learn and share the
mother’s emotions and expectations. Studies by Kornadt and Trommsdorff
(1990) and Trommsdorff (1989), for example, have shown that a prolonged and
harmonious mother-child relationship may be related to the development of sec-
ondary control orientation.

Religious Practice

Religion is a multidimensional construct including both institutional religious

expressions (e.g., rituals) and personal religious expressions (e.g., feelings of
spirituality, beliefs about the sacred) (Pargament, 1997). Religion is “a belief
system focusing on intangible elements that impart vitality and meaning to life’s
events” (Maugans, 1996). Spirituality is an inner belief system or resource from
which the person can draw strength and solace. It contributes to the person’s
resilience in coping with extraordinary stress (Sourkes, 1995). Religious practice
in collectivistic cultures (e.g., for many indigenous groups in Malaysia) calls for
a harmonious relationship between human beings, nature and the supernatural
since all these elements are believed to be part of and an extension of the other.
Such practice is generally associated with vicarious, interpretive and illusory
secondary control.
In the following, we will shortly highlight different views on meditation in
different religious traditions. Meditation can be seen as one of the most common
spiritual coping strategies and represents an effective way to help people to cope
with their problems (Miller, Fletcher, & Kabat-Zinn, 1995; Shapiro, Schwartz, &
Bonner, 1998; Walsh & Shapiro, 2006).
Meditation and Buddhism. In Buddhism, the purpose of meditation is to
stop the mind rushing about in an aimless (or even a purposeful) stream of
170 Ching Mey See & Cecilia A. Essau

thoughts. Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques

that focus on mindfulness, concentration, tranquility, and insight. Buddhism also
seeks to use emotional experiences of all kinds to foster the development of
wisdom and compassion. Meditation techniques based on Buddhist traditions are
increasingly being used by helping professionals to help alleviate a variety of
health conditions such as anxiety and depression (Barch, 2003).
Meditation and Hinduism. The actual practice of Hindu meditation is prin-
cipally the same as the Buddhist meditation. Hindu meditation can be defined as
a state of relaxed contemplation on the present moment, or a state of reflection
where the mind dissolves and is free of all thought. Hindu meditation is de-
scribed as a journey to the deeper part of one’s being where the strength within is
tapped. In this state of mind the individual is able to withstand fear, doubt, and
other earthly troubles (Johnson, 2009). The final goal of meditation is going
through the five different states of mudha, ksipta, ekagra, viksipta and nirodha
and finally achieving the state of mind where the eternal calmness prevails.
Meditation and Islam. There are two schools of meditation in Islam. One is
described in the Qur’ân and Sunnah, and another has been developed by the
Sufis in later times (Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, 2008). The original concept of
meditation is based on contemplation, called tafakkur in the Qur’ân. It means
reflection upon the universe to gain understanding. The receiving of divine in-
spiration awakens and liberates the human mind, permitting man’s inner person-
ality to develop and grow so that the individual may lead a life on a spiritual
plane far above the mundane level. This can be seen as a way of coping with
worldly problems. The second form of meditation, developed by the Sufis, is
largely based on mystical exercises. However, this method is controversial among
Muslim scholars (Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, 2008).
Meditation and Christianity. From the Christian perspective, meditation is
seen as a quiet prayer, a prayer without petition since “God already knows your
needs” (Matthew 6:8). This includes a certain acceptance of one’s problems and
accommodation to the situation one is facing. Rather than emptying himself like
in Buddhist and Hinduist meditation practices, the Christian fills his mind with
hope and encouragement from the promises that God has given (in the Bible) or
on the good things that God has done for him or her.
To conclude, we have suggested that differences in value orientations that
underlie socialization practices may contribute to the cross-cultural differences in
coping and control beliefs. Furthermore, religious practices of meditation for
many cultures may represent a rich reservoir of emotion focused and accommo-
dative coping strategies. Further research is needed to directly examine the influ-
ence of these factors on the tendency towards emotion- and problem-focused
coping, as well as towards primary and secondary control.
Coping Strategies in Cross-Cultural Comparison 171

References

Band, E. B., & Weisz, J. R. (1988). How to feel better when it feels bad: Children’s per-
spectives on coping with everyday stress. Developmental Psychology, 24, 247-253.
Barch, T. (2003). Radical acceptance: Embracing your life with the heart of a Buddha.
New York: Bantam.
Carver, C., Scheier, M., & Weintraub, J. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoreti-
cally based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.
Essau, C.A. (1992). Primary-secondary control and coping: A cross-cultural comparison.
Regensburg: Roderer.
Essau, C.A., & Trommsdorff, G. (1996). Coping with university-related problems: A
cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 315-328.
Folkman, S. (1984). Personal control and stress and coping processes: a theoretical analy-
sis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 839-852.
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community
sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219-239.
Folkman, S., & Moskowitz, J. T. (2004). Coping: Pitfalls and promise. Annual Review of
Psychology, 55, 745-774.
Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1991). Adolescent coping: the different ways in which boys
and girls cope. Journal of Adolescence, 14, 119-133.
Frydenberg, E., Lewis, R., Kennedy, G., Ardila, R., Frindte, W., & Hannoun, R. (2003).
Coping with concerns: An exploratory comparison of Australian, Colombian, Ger-
man, and Palestinian adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32, 59-66.
Gelhaar, T., Seiffge-Krenke, I., Borge, A., Cicognani, E., Cunha, M., Loncaric, D., Ma-
cek, P., Steinhausen, H.-C., & Winkler Metzke, C. (2007). Adolescent coping with
everyday stressors: A seven-nation study of youth from central, eastern, southern,
and northern Europe. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 4, 129-156.
John, D., & MacArthur, C. T. (1998). Coping strategies. Retrieved 20 May, 2009, from
the Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health http://www.macses.
ucsf.edu/ Research/Psychosocial/notebook/coping
Johnson, U. (2009). Hindu meditation. Retrieved 22 May, 2009, from http://www.project-
meditation.org/a_mt2/hindu_meditation.html
Kagitcibasi, C. (1986). Family and human development across cultures: A view from the
other side. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Klausner, W. J. (1993). Reflections on Thai culture. Bangkok: The Siam Society.
Kornadt, H.-J. & Trommsdorff, G. (1990). Naive Erziehungstheorien japanischer Mütter-
Deutsch-japanischer Kulturvergleich. Zeitschrift für Sozialisationsforschung und Er-
ziehungssoziologie, 10, 357-376.
Lazarus, R. S., Averill, J. R., & Opton, E. M., Jr. (1974). The psychology of coping:
issues of research and assessment. In G. V. Coelho, D. A. Hamburg, & J. E. Adams
(Eds), Coping and Adaptation (pp. 249-315). New York: Basic Books.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.
172 Ching Mey See & Cecilia A. Essau

Lazarus, R. S., & Launier, R. (1978). Stress related transactions between person and
environment. In A Pervin & M. Lewis (Eds), Perspectives in International Psychol-
ogy (pp. 284-327). New York: Plenum.
Marsella, A.J., Escudero, M., & Gordon, P. (1972). Stresses, resources, and symptom
patterns in urban Filipino men. In W. L. Lebra (Ed.), Transcultural research in men-
tal health (pp. 148-171). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. (2008). Meditation in Islam. Retrieved 22 May, 2009, from
http://www.crescentlife.com/spirituality/meditation_in_islam.htm
Maugans, T. A. (1996). The spiritual history. Archives of Family Medicine, 5, 11-16.
McCarty, C. A., Weisz, J. R., Wanitromanee, K., Eastman, K. L., Suwanlert, S., Chai-
yasit, W., & Band, E. B. (1999). Culture, coping and context: Primary and secon-
dary control among Thai and American youth. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 40, 809-818.
Miller, J., Fletcher, K., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three-year follow up and clinical impli-
cations of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treat-
ment of anxiety disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry, 17, 192-200.
Murphy, H. B. (1976). Notes for a theory of Latah. In W. L. Lebra (Ed.), Culture-bound
syndroms, ethnopsychiatry, and alternate therapies (pp. 3-21). Honolulu, HI: Uni-
versity of Hawaii Press.
Olah, A. (1995). Coping strategies among adolescents: A cross-cultural study. Journal of
Adolescence, 18, 491-512.
Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, prac-
tice. New York: Guilford.
Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J. R., & Snyder, S. S. (1982). Changing the world and changing the
self: A two-process model of perceived control. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 42, 5-37.
Seiffge-Krenke, I. (1995). Coping trajectories from adolescence to young adulthood:
Links to attachment state of mind. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 561-
582.
Seginer, R. (1995). Hopes and fears of anticipated adulthood. Adolescents’ future orienta-
tion in cross-cultural context. In G. Trommsdorff (Hrsg.), Kindheit und Jugend in
verschiedenen Kulturen. Entwicklung und Sozialisation in kulturvergleichender
Sicht (S. 225-247). Weinheim: Juventa.
Seginer, R., Trommsdorff, G., & Essau, C. A. (1993). Adolescents control beliefs: Cross-
cultural variations of primary and secondary orientations. International Journal of
Behavioral Development, 16, 243-260.
Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress
reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 21,
581-599.
Sourkes, B. (1995). The psychological experience of the child with a life-threatening
illness. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Trommsdorff, G. (1989). Sozialisation und Werthaltungen im Kulturvergleich. In G.
Trommsdorff (Hrsg.), Sozialisation im Kulturvergleich (S. 97-121). Stuttgart: Enke.
Coping Strategies in Cross-Cultural Comparison 173

Trommsdorff, G. (2007). Intentionality of action in cultural context. In J. Wassmann & K.

Stockhaus (Eds.), Experiencing new worlds (Vol. 1, pp. 58-77). New York:
Berghahn.
Walsh, R., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006). The meeting of meditative disciplines and western
psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist, 61, 227-239.
Weber, M. (1904 [1958]). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (T. Parsons,
Trans.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Weisz, J. R. (1990). Development of control-related beliefs, goals, and styles in childhood
and adolescence: A clinical perspective. In J. Rodin, C. Schooler, & K. W. Schaie
(Eds.), Self-directedness: Cause and effects throughout the life course (pp. 103-142).
New Jersey: Erlbaum.
Zaldivar, D. F. (1996). Conocimiento y dominio del estrés. La Habana: Editorial Científi-
co-Técnica.