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Article Excerpt
We developed and provided initial empirical validation of the Collectivistic Coping Styles Measure (CCSM), a 9-item scale that assessed the degree to which African, Asian, and Latin American international students utilized social support seeking and forbearance to cope with their problems or concerns. We found evidence of good construct and concurrent validity and good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the CCSM. Implications of the findings for mental health counseling are discussed.
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Coping has been an extensively researched area in the mental health professions (e.g., Hoffman & Driscoll, 2000; Utsey, Adams, & Bolden, 2000). Although numerous scales have been developed to assess individuals' coping styles and behaviors within a Western context (e.g., Cook & Heppner, 1997; Heppner & Baker, 1997), few studies have examined how coping practices may be informed or influenced by culturally based worldviews, values, and practices that are rooted in aspects of collectivism and interdependence (Cross & Vick, 2001; Utsey et al., 2000). Markus and Kitayama (1991) reported that many individuals from more communal and interdependent cultures, such as African, Asian, and Latin American countries, tend to place primary importance on interpersonal connections and relationships and tend to see others as a part of the self (i.e., they possess high interdependent self-construals or self-conceptions). On the contrary, many persons residing in cultures with generally high independent self-construals, such as the United States, Canada, Germany, and Australia, tend to value uniqueness and may regard themselves as separate from others (Constantine, Gainor, Ahluwalia, & Berkel, 2003). Hence, cultures that are characterized by higher levels of communalism and collectivism are likely to manifest interdependent self-construals much more strongly than independent self-construals (Morling & Fiske, 1999; Singelis, 1994). Although great variability tends to exist in levels of interdependent and independent self-construal within any given culture, self-construals have been found to relate strongly to the use of specific types of coping styles and behaviors (Constantine et al., 2003; Gushue & Constantine, 2003).
Direct coping strategies commonly used in Western culture include assertive self-disclosure, expressing one's own thoughts, and confronting others, as evident in problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles (Lucas, 2002; Ptacek, Pierce, Eberhardt, & Dodge, 1999; Roussi, 2002). In contrast, members of largely communal or collectivistic cultures, such as many African, Asian, and Latin American international college students, may place greater importance on relational coping strategies or practices when they experience problems (Cross, 1995; Essandoh, 1995; Mori, 2000). That is, many African, Asian, and Latin American international students may prefer to seek help and support from family members and solve problems within their family system or even within close friendship networks. Much of the existing coping research conducted with college students in the United States, however, has utilized Western conceptualizations in terms of understanding and addressing problems or concerns (Gohm & Clore, 2002; Jackson & Finney, 2002), and the results of this literature may be applied erroneously to African, Asian, and Latin American international college students in this country (Cross, 1995; Essandoh, 1995; Leavell, 2002).
The primary goal of this study was to develop and validate a self-report measure assessing specific collectivistic coping styles among African, Asian, and Latin American international college students. For the purposes of this investigation, collectivistic coping is defined broadly as behaviors used within peer, family, community, and other close relationships that require individuals to (a) engage meaningfully with others when attempting to cope with problems and (b) consider important others' well-being in the context of dealing with problems or concerns. Based on a thorough review of the literature identifying various forms of indigenous coping among African, Asian, and Latin American international college students (e.g., Bang, 1998; Daly, Jennings, Beckett, & Leashore, 1995; Daroowalla, 1999; Mori, 2000; Solberg, Ritsma, Davis, Tata, & Jolly, 1994; Wilson, 1996), we found some commonalities in their coping styles and surmised that these behaviors could be conceptualized into two broad categories: seeking social support and forbearance.
SEEKING SOCIAL SUPPORT
As stated previously, the cultural values of many African, Asian, and Latin American international students may affect their use of indigenous collectivistic strategies to cope with stressors in their lives. Because peer and familial relationships are essential aspects of the contexts that define and provide meaning to many African, Asian, and Latin American international college students, this cultural emphasis on interrelatedness is central in explaining attendant collectivistic coping styles and behaviors (Constantine, Anderson, Berkel, Caldwell, & Utsey, 2005; Kim, Atkinson, & Umemoto, 2001; Simoni & Perez, 1995). For example, many international college students may cope with psychological problems by talking with people who are close to them, such as parents and friends (Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992; Mori, 2000). In this regard, sharing problems with and seeking social support and advice from family members and friends may represent preferred and action-based sources of coping among many African, Asian, and Latin American international students (Bang, 1998; Nebedum-Ezeh, 1997; Ng, 2001). Moreover, from a collectivistic perspective, social support may be viewed as mutual reliance between recipients and providers that meets the needs and goals of both sets of individuals in various ways (Coyne, Ellard, & Smith, 1990). Hence, because family and peer support is bound to collectivistic styles of coping, international college students may be less likely to seek help from a mental health professional, even if they possess favorable attitudes toward counseling (Panganamala & Plummer, 1998).
FORBEARANCE
Despite the importance of receiving social support to many African, Asian, and Latin American international college students, forbearance may represent another salient coping style or behavior among these populations when they experience problems (Constantine et al., 2005; Yue, 2001). Forbearance is defined as the tendency to minimize or conceal problems or concerns so as not to trouble or burden others. In cultures that emphasize collectivism, individuals' willingness to sacrifice and endure distress in the face of adversity often is encouraged (Marsella, 1993). Moreover, in cultural groups where collectivism is valued, there may be some reluctance to share personal problems with others for fear of creating interpersonal conflicts or burdening others (Lee, 1997). Furthermore, expressing intense feelings to others may be considered to be disruptive to group harmony in many collectivistic cultures (Matsumoto, 1989), and it may be socially advantageous to reflect alone or spend time by oneself in times of discord.
Forbearance among some African, Asian, and Latin American international students appears to be influenced by various culturally embedded values pertaining to self- and other- control. For example, among some Asian international students, Confucian ethics of self-cultivation, Buddhist ethics of enlightened self-awareness, and Taoist ethics of self-transcendence may foster a sense of self-enlightenment about the dynamics of life issues and, subsequently, the ability to forbear problems while maintaining a sense of inner harmony (Yue, 2001). Such ethics and styles also may closely parallel notions or definitions of harmony and spirituality among African international students (e.g., Parham & Parham, 2002). Moreover, fatalism, the belief in external (e.g., social, spiritual, and contextual) forces as causes or determinants of life's outcomes (Neff & Hoppe, 1993; Roberts, Roberts, &Chen, 2000), might influence some Latin American students' willingness to forbear problems. African, Asian, and Latin American international college students' ability to adjust to and accept things as they without trying to change the environment around them might contribute to a sense of serenity and calm regarding whatever outcomes may emerge (Morling & Fiske, 1999). As noted by Cross (1995), vicariously experiencing control through identifying with a more powerful other represents a vital coping strategy for individuals with high communal and collectivistic orientations, as is the case with many African, Asian, and Latin American international students.
PURPOSES OF THE STUDY AND HYPOTHESES
In light of the use of seeking social support and forbearance as indigenous forms...
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