Młodzi katolicy i ich stres

Abstract

Many large-scale studies take into account age as an important variable to understand the mental functioning of a person. Regardless of age, everyone experiences stress. The causes of it may be different in different age groups, as well as the ways of coping with it. The aim of this article is to show the intensity of stress of young Catholics in various age groups, its sources and ways of dealing with it, with particular emphasis on the importance of age for the application of religious stress coping strategies (RCOPE). A paper-and-pencil survey was carried out on a group of 407 young Catholics, in which a correlation was sought between the above-mentioned variables in three groups of young Catholics, distinguished according to Levinson's theory. The results show no statistically significant correlation between age and the severity of the general level of stress, however, within two areas of stress (related to the housing conditions and financial situation) there is a visible relationship, indicating that the intensity of stress in these areas increases with age. In addition, there is an intensification of the use of positive religious stress coping strategies in older age groups. Despite the fact that the research can be widely used for social life, thanks to signaling differences between age groups and indicating the possibility of using RCOPE, it is not free from limitations. Expanding the group of respondents and conducting longitudinal studies showing the development of individual people could strengthen its empirical value. Nevertheless, popularization of strategies of the religion coping with stress, which is still not sufficiently known, may constitute the originality of the presented research reports. Keywords: age, adolescents, stress, RCOPE, Catholic