Mediators of Daily Stress And Perceived Health Status In Adolescent Girls

Abstract

A causal model based on the transactional cognitive theory of psychological stress and coping was tested in a middle adolescent female population to determine the effects of daily stress, introspectiveness, and coping efforts on perceived health status. Daily stress was hypothesized to affect perceived health status both directly and through the mediating variables of introspectiveness and coping efforts. A sample of 159 female adolescents completed the Hassles Scale, the Ways of Coping Checklist-Revised, the Introspectiveness Scale for Adolescents and the General Health Rating Index. The causal model was tested using the LISREL VI program. Findings indicated that the model fit the data, indicating a plausible representation of the relationships among the variables identified (x2 = 15.76, df = 12, p less than .203). Daily stress was significantly negatively related to perceived health status through the mediating variables of introspection and problem-focused coping but not emotion-focused coping. Introspectiveness had a significant direct effect on perceived health status. Problem-focused coping was found to have a direct positive effect on perceived health status.