Cultural Differences in Coping Among New Zealand Adolescents

摘要

The present study was conducted to determine whether idiocentrism and allocentrism wouldmoderate the relationship between coping strategies and psychological maladjustment in threecultural groups of New Zealand adolescents. Self-report data assessing diocentrism,allocentrism,coping strategies, and psychological maladjustment were collected from 566 adolescents. Maoriadolescents reported higher levels of allocentrism than did either European New Zealanders(ENZ) or Asian New Zealanders (ANZ). Maori and ANZ teenagers reported higher levels ofrumination than did ENZ. Rumination and externalization were found to be positively related,and social support was negatively related to psychological maladjustment. Moderation analysisresults showed that in Maori youth idiocentrism was found to exacerbate the association amongrumination, externalization, and problem solving with maladjustment. Similar but weaker findingswere obtained for ANZ youth.These findings suggest that idiocentrism may have a deleteriousassociation with coping strategies employed by members of collectivist populations. In contrast,for all youth, allocentrism buffered the relationship between rumination and maladjustment.