Description
Past research has shown that individuals from minority ethnic groups differ from Caucasians in the types of coping strategies that each prefers. However, it is unclear whether or not these coping preferences are differentially related to indices of psychological adjustment. The primary goal of the current study was to evaluate the within-ethnic group and between-ethnic group relations between coping and daily positive/negative affect. Using the internet-based daily diary method, 254 participants (Caucasian = 140, Asian = 114) completed the questionnaires that assessed their daily stressors, preferred coping strategies, and psychological well-being across five consecutive days. The findings indicated that Asian-American college students used more avoidant-oriented coping strategies than did Caucasian college students, specifically, religion and minimization (avoidance) methods. Ethnicity, however, did not moderate the relationship between coping and daily affect. A number of main effects relating coping strategies to daily affect were found in the overall student sample. Humor, religion, minimization, problem-focused support, social support, and rumination all predicted daily positive affect. The more the participants used these strategies (relative to their average daily use), the higher their levels of positive affect. Humor, religion, social support, and rumination also predicted negative affect. Higher usage of humor (relative to an individual's average daily use of humor) was associated with less negative affect, but higher use of religion, social support, and emotional rumination (relative to an individual's average daily use of these coping strategies) was associated with higher negative affect. While the findings support the notion that Asian-American students tend to use more avoidant coping strategies than do Caucasian students, this did not translate into poorer psychological health.
