Stability and Change of Adolescent. Coping Styles and Mental Health: An Intervention Study. Bernd Heubeck & James T. Neill. Division of Psychology

Transcription

1 Stability and Change of Adolescent Coping Styles and Mental Health: An Intervention Study Bernd Heubeck & James T. Neill Division of Psychology The Australian National University Paper presented to the 11 th Australasian Human Development Association Conference, Sydney, Australia, July 8-10, 1999 Contact details: The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT Ph: ; Fax:

2 Abstract This study examined the stability and change of coping styles and mental health for 666 Australian adolescents (326 males and 340 females). The experimental group (n=473) participated in 9 day Outward Bound programs which aimed to enhance adolescents coping skills. The control group (n=193) remained at school. For the experimental groups coping styles, it was hypothesised that the use of: (i) Problem Solving would increase (not supported, in fact there was a decrease); (ii) Reference to others would increase (not supported, and for males there was a decrease) and; (iii) Nonproductive coping would decrease (supported for females, but not for males). It was also hypothesised that the mental health of the experimental group would improve for: (i) Distress (supported for females, but not for males, and the control group improved); (ii) Well-being (supported, but the control group also improved). Thus, there was little support for most of the hypotheses. Correlational analyses found moderate stability coefficients for the coping styles and mental health scales. In addition, there were small-moderate positive correlations between Problem Solving and Mental Health and small-moderate negative correlations between Non-productive coping and Mental Health. Finally, the prospective relationship between coping styles and mental health was tested, revealing nonsignificant or small path coefficients. In conclusion three explanations for the results warrant further attention: (i) The unanticipated decrease in the use of coping strategies by the experimental group might indicate improved effectiveness in the use of those strategies; (ii) Concerns with the psychometric structure of the Adolescent Coping Scale; (iii) Outward Bound operates with a general education philosophy but does not specifically target intervention for coping behaviours. 2

3 Introduction This research was motivated and based on several assumptions: 1. We accepted the suggestion by Frydenberg and Lewis (1993) that adolescents encounter a series of normative tasks, physiological, cognitive, and social challenges, as well as stressful life events and daily hassles which require continuous efforts to adapt and cope in the course of normal development. 2. We accepted that failure to cope can lead to important consequences, including reduced mental health. In addition, according to Frydenberg and Lewis (1993) a greater understanding of adolescent coping styles can assist in our clinical practice, with educational and career planning, in classroom management and with the personal development of adolescents as they reflect on their coping and learn to deliberately choose one strategy over another. 3. We accepted Frydenberg and Lewis s (1993) assertion that there is a valuable distinction between specific and general coping. While specific coping refers to dealing with individual problems, an adolescent s general coping style is applied to all their concerns and describes the generalised tendency to prefer a certain range of possible strategies over another, whatever the problem. Most importantly, a generalised style may be seen as having a greater potential to lead to important cumulative effects over time than individual acts of coping with specific problems. 3

4 4. We assumed that it is important to study the stability of coping styles to establish just how pervasive they are and how pervasive their influence on important correlates like mental health may be. As a corollary we assumed that it is equally important to study the changeability of coping styles and the impact of change in coping styles on relevant outcomes. 5. Existing programs designed to intervene in coping styles are an appropriate starting point to assess a) the resistance of coping styles to intervention and b) changes in outcomes resulting from changes in coping styles. 4

5 Method Participants Table 1 Sample Size by Gender and Experimental Group Males Females Total Experimental Control Total Approximately equal numbers of males and females; Participants were students from Grade 9 (72.9%), Grade 10 (12.5%) and Grade 11 (14.6%), with an average age of 14.7 years (SD=.93); Students attended 10 different high schools from several Australian capital cities and some country areas. 5

6 The intervention: Program characteristics The intervention was Outward Bound (OB) programs for school students; Students were away from home and school for 9 to 10 days; Students lived in groups of 15 to 23 and participated in an extended expedition in a wilderness environment; Each group was accompanied by a trained OB instructor, a teacher from the students school and other assistant OB staff for specialist activities. 6

7 The intervention: General aims and methods The general aim was to enhance students personal development Students were engaged in: Physical activities such as: bushwalking, navigating, abseiling, rockclimbing, canoeing, ropes course, etc.; Social activities such as bushcooking, initiative (problem-solving) tasks, environmental awareness activities, communication exercises, debriefings, etc.; Personal activities such as diary writing, academic work (e.g. geography), solo reflection time, etc. 7

8 The intervention: Coping-related aims The specific aims of the OB program which relate to coping, included the development of students : Self-esteem and self-confidence; Resourcefulness and self-reliance; Goal-setting; Capacity to adapt to change; Effective interpersonal communication and understanding Neill (1994) surveyed teachers and OB instructors and asked them to indicate which of 18 coping strategies measured by the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993) they aimed to affect during Outward Bound courses with school students. 8

9 There was general consensus that teachers and intructors aimed at increasing the use of the following Problem Solving and Reference to Others coping strategies: Focus on Solving the Problem Focusing on the Positive Physical Recreation Social Action Social Support Working hard and achieving The survey also indicated that teachers and instructors discouraged the following NON-PRODUCTIVE coping responses: Ignoring the Problem Keeping to Self Not Coping Seeking to Belong Self-Blame Tension Reduction Wishful thinking Worrying Therefore 14 out of the 18 coping strategies were identified as important intervention goals for Outward Bound school courses. 9

10 Design 2x2 repeated measures design; 2 IVs: gender and experimental group; Repeated measure: time (pre & post-intervention); Main DVs: 3 general coping styles (or 18 specific coping strategies); Other DVs: Mental health and self-concept 10

11 Materials Participants completed three instruments, however the focus of this study was on coping; Coping: Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993)); 79 items, 18 strategies which can be summarised by 3 general styles Mental health: Mental Health Index (MHI) (Veit & Ware, 1983) 2 factors (34 items) Self-concept: Self-Description Questionnaire-II (SDQ-II) (Marsh, 1990) 11 factors (102 items) 11

12 Table 2 Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) Coping styles Style Solving the problem Non-productive coping Reference to others Strategies Focus on Solving the Problem Focus on the Positive Physical Recreation Seek Relaxing Diversions Work Hard and Achieve Ignore the Problem Invest in Close Friends Keep to Self Not Coping Seek to Belong Self-Blame Tension Reduction Wishful Thinking Worry Seek Professional Help Seek Social Support Seek Spiritual Support Social Action Note. Composition of the styles is based on second order factor analyses conducted by Frydenberg and Lewis (1996). The test-retest reliability for the styles is not known. According to Frydenberg & Lewis (1993), use of the 3 coping styles has some moderate support, but requires further research. Analysis of the general short form (18 items) found Cronbach alphas of.61 (Solving the Problem),.50 (Reference to Others) and.66 (Non-productive Coping). 12

13 Table 3 Mental Health Index (MHI) Factors Factor Psychological Distress (PD) Psychological Well-Being (PWB) Description Presence of: depression (e.g. low spirits, moody), anxiety (e.g. nervousness, worry) during past month. Presence of: enjoyment happiness optimism relaxation, etc. during past month. Note. Results from Heubeck and Neill (in progress), representing a total of 888 participants have shown that: (a) the 34-item MHI (as used in the current study) is most clearly identified by factor analyses as having two distinguishable components of mental health psychological distress (PD) and psychological wellbeing (PWB); (b) responses to each factor are internally consistent (coefficient alpha for PD (22 items) =.96; coefficient alpha for PWB (12 items) =.92); (c) test-retest reliability over a period of 6 to 8 weeks was r 2 PD=.56; r 2 PWB =.56; r 2 MHI =.58. The internal consistency of these scales is high (Cronbach s alpha >.9) while the 8 week stability of these scales was moderate in our previous research (i.e. test-retest correlations just over.5. 13

14 Table 4 Self-Description Questionnaire-II Scale Descriptions for the SDQ-II Scale General Self General School Math Verbal Physical Abilities Physical Appearance Parent Relations Description Self-worth, self-confidence, selfsatisfaction Ability, enjoyment, and interest in school subjects Ability, enjoyment, and interest in mathematics and reasoning Ability, enjoyment, and interest in English and reading Skills and interest in sports and physical activities Physical attractiveness Interactions with parents Opposite-Sex Relations Interactions with peers of the opposite sex Same-Sex Relations Interactions with peers of the same sex Honesty-Trustworthiness Truthfulness and dependability Emotional Stability Emotional well being and freedom from psychopathology Note: Self-Description Questionnaire factor descriptions from Marsh (1990), p.2. 14

15 Results from previous studies, representing a total of 5494 subjects have shown that: (a) the factors the SDQ-II is designed to measure are clearly identified by factor analyses and assess distinguishable components of self-concept (Marsh, Parker & Barnes, 1985); (b) responses to each factor are internally consistent (coefficient alpha range.77 to.92, mean.88) and stable over time (rxx range.73 to.88, mean.80, over a seven week interval, N = 137) (Marsh & Peart, 1988); and (c) each factor is significantly correlated with matching self-concepts inferred by teachers, peers, and parents (Marsh et al., 1985). 15

16 Hypotheses We expected that, in line with the proposed goals of teachers of Outward Bound instructors,: 1. The use of Problem-Solving and Reference to Others would be increased through the intervention, while the use of Nonproductive coping would decrease. 2. We also expected Psychological Distress to decrease while Psychological Well-Being would increase. 3. Based on some prior data we wondered whether (contrary to popular belief) females would benefit more from the intervention than males although the outdoor program has been by some as a male oriented program. 4. We hypothesised that coping styles would be related to mental health concurrently and prospectively. 16

17 Results MANOVAs (DV: Coping) Problem-Solving by Experimental Group Reference to Others by Experimental Group Reference to Others by Experimental Group by Gender Non-Productive Coping by Experimental Group Non-Productive Coping by Experimental Group by Gender MANOVAs (DV: Mental Health) Mental Health (Distress) by Experimental Group Mental Health (Distress) by Experimental Group by Gender Mental Health (Well-Being) by Experimental Group Summary of Mean Differences Correlations (Coping and Mental Health) Two-wave model with cross-lagged effects of coping styles on Mental Health for experimental and control groups Males Females Summary of Correlational Analyses 17

18 3.6 Problem Solving Coping Experimental Control 3.2 Pre Post Figure 1. Pre-post Problem-solving Coping by experimental group. Table 5 ANOVA results Problem Solving Coping by Experimental Group df F η 2 Time Time x Group **.04 Error 664 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 When we broke down these groups by gender, we found that the same results hold whether we looked at male or female participants and there was no interaction of time by gender or time by group by gender. 18

19 2.2 Ref. to Others Experimental Control 1.8 Pre Post Figure 2. Pre-post Reference to Others by experimental group. Table 6 ANOVA results Reference to Others by experimental group and gender df F η 2 Time Time x Group **.01 Error 664 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 These results were qualified by gender in the experimental group which showed a significant interaction with time, while the males and females in the control group both increased their use of Reference to Others. 19

20 2.2 Ref. to Others Exp-Males Exp-Females Con-Males Con-Females 1.8 Pre Post Figure 3. Pre-post Reference to Others by experimental group and by gender. Table 7 ANOVA results Reference to Others by experimental group and gender df F η 2 Time Time x Group **.01 Time x Gender *.01 Time x Group x Gender *.01 Error 662 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 20

21 2.9 Non-Prod. Coping Experimental Control 2.5 Pre Post Figure 4. Pre-post Non-productive Coping by experimental group. Table 8 ANOVA results Non-productive Coping by Experimental Group df F η 2 Time Time x Group Error 664 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 There was no evidence of overall change in Non-productive coping, however there was a 3-way interaction between Time, Group and Gender. The experimental females reduced their usage of Non-productive coping, whilst the experimental males and the control group did not change. 21

22 2.9 Non-Prod. Coping Exp-Males Exp-Females Con-Males Con-Females 2.5 Pre Post Figure 5. Pre-post Non-productive Coping by experimental group and by gender. Table 9 ANOVA results Non-productive Coping by Experimental Group and Gender df F η 2 Time Time x Group Time x Gender Time x Group x Gender *.01 Error 662 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 22

23 Mental Health (Distress) Experimental Control 4.1 Pre Post Figure 6. Pre-post Psychological Distress by experimental group. Table 10 ANOVA results Psychological Distress by Experimental Group df F η 2 Time **.04 Time x Group **.02 Error 569 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 Mental health (distress) improved for the experimental and control groups, with greater improvement for the control group. A 3-way interaction between Time, Group and Gender was found. The experimental males decreased their mental health compared to the control males, whereas for the females, the control and experimental groups improved equally in mental health (distress). 23

24 Mental Health (Distress) Exp-Males Exp-Females Con-Males Con-Females 4.1 Pre Post Figure 7. Pre-post Psychological Distress by experimental group and by gender. Table 11 ANOVA results Psychological Distress by Experimental Group and Gender df F η 2 Time **.04 Time x Group **.02 Time x Gender Time x Group x Gender *.01 Error 567 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 24

25 Mental Health (Well-Being) Experimental Control 2.7 Pre Post Figure 8. Pre-post Psychological Well-Being by experimental group. Table 12 ANOVA results Psychological Well-Being by experimental group df F η 2 Time **.05 Time x Group Error 576 Note. * p<.05, ** p<.01 Both experimental and control gorups reported increased Mental health (Well-being). While there was a trend for females in the experimental group to improve more than the males, this was not significant. 25

26 Table 13 Summary of Mean Differences Scale Control Experimental Hypotheses Problem Solving - Reference to Others Males Females Non-productive ~ Males ~ Females = - - = Mental Health (Distress) Mental Health (Well-Being) Males Females (Females ) - = = (+) 1 scale changed as predicted, 4 did not change as predicted and 3 scales changed in the opposite direction to the predictions. 26

27 Table 14 Product-Moment Correlations between the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) and the Mental Health Index (MHI) MHI Scale ACS Style Psychological Distress (PD) Psychological Well- Being (PWB) Mental Health Index (MHI) M F M F M F Solving the Problem Reference to Others Non-productive Coping Note. Underline represents p<.001; N ranges between 852 and 875 for all participants, between 428 and 443 for males (M), and between 415 and 424 for females (F). 27

28 Mental Health Mental Health 2 Coping Style 1 2 Coping Style 2 Figure 9. Two-wave model with cross-lagged effects. 28

29 Table 15 Effect of Coping Styles on Mental Health for Males in the Control and in the Intervention Group Group DV1 R 2 DV2 R 2 Path1 Path2 Path3 Path4 χ 2 p RMSEA MH 0.56 Solution * 0.73* 0.17* Distress 0.56 Refer * 0.65* Control 0.56 NCope * 0.73* MH 0.57 Solution * 0.66* 0.22* 0.22* Well Refer * 0.65* Being 0.55 NCope * 0.77* MH 0.34 Solution * 0.63* Distress 0.34 Refer * 0.64* -0.11* Experimental MH 0.37 Solution * 0.62* * NCope * 0.55* -0.22* -0.10* Well Refer * 0.65* Being 0.37 NCope * 0.63* *

30 Table 16 Effect of Coping Styles on Mental Health for Females in the Control and in the Intervention Group Group DV1 R 2 DV2 R 2 Path1 Path2 Path3 Path4 χ 2 p RMSEA MH 0.48 Solution * 0.71* Distress 0.47 Refer * 0.65* Control 0.48 NCope * 0.63* -0.24* MH 0.44 Solution * 0.71* Well Refer * 0.65* Being 0.45 NCope * 0.72* MH 0.23 Solution * 0.62* * Distress 0.25 Refer * 0.56* -0.16* -0.18* Experimental MH 0.20 Solution * 0.60* NCope * 0.75* * Well Refer * 0.58* Being 0.22 NCope * 0.75*

31 Table 17 Summary of Correlational Analyses Concurrent correlations with Mental Health Problem Solving Yes (.16 to.37) Reference to Others No Non-productive Yes (-.18 to -.54) Stability of coping styles and MH Problem Solving Reference to Others Non-productive Mental Health (Distress) Mental Health (Well-Being) Prospective relationship between coping styles and mental health Coping Mental Health Control.22 maximum Exp..25 maximum Mental Health Coping Control.24 maximum Exp..22 maximum 1 scale changed as predicted, 4 did not change as predicted and 3 scales changed in the opposite direction to the predictions. 31

32 Discussion There are three possible explanations for these findings: The nature of coping? (can less coping = more effective coping?) Validity problems in the Adolescent Coping Scale? (CFA of 18 factors has poor fit) Outward Bound courses (use a general philosophy rather than a targeted, specific intervention) Further analyses and studies are being conducted to pursue these explanations. 32

33 References Cason, D., & Gillis, H. L. (1994). A meta-analysis of outdoor adventure programming with adolescents. Journal of Experiential Education, 17, Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1993). Adolescent Coping Scale: Administrator's manual. The Australian Council for Educational Research, Hawthorn, Australia. Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1996). A replication study of the structure of the Adolescent Coping Scale: Multiple forms and applications of a self-report inventory in a counselling and research context. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 12, Hans, T. (1997). A meta-analysis of the effects of adventure programming on locus of control. Unpublished Masters thesis, Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA. Hattie, J. A., Marsh, H. W., Neill, J. T., & Richards, G. E. (1997). Adventure education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference. Review of Educational Research, 67, Heubeck, B. & Neill, J.T. (in progress). Internal validity and reliability of the mental health inventory. Canberra, Australia: Australian National University. Marsh, H.W. (1990). Self-Description Questionnaire - II: Manual. Sydney: University of Western Sydney. Marsh, H.W., Parker, J., & Barnes, J. (1985). Multidimensional adolescent selfconcepts: Their relationship to age, sex, and academic measures. American Educational Research Journal, 22, 3, Marsh, H.W., & Peart, N.D. (1988). Competitive and cooperative physical fitness training programs for girls: Effects on physical fitness and on multidimensional self-concepts. Journal of Sport Psychology, 10, Veit, C., & Ware, J. (1983). The structure of psychological distress and well-being in general populations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51,