Relationship between Adjustment to School Life and Stress Coping Style in Adolescents

청소년들의 학교생활적응과 스트레스 대처 방식 간의 관계

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between school adjustment and stress-coping styles among adolescents. Methods: This is a descriptive correlation survey using a convenience sample of 701 middle school students in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Jeonbuk, and Gangwon province, Korea. The study's questionnaire included a scale of school adjustment and a scale of stress-coping style. The data analysis, using the SPSS 19.0 program, involved frequency, the mean and standard deviation, the t-test, ANOVA, the scheffe test, and the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Positive correlations were identified between positive stress-coping styles and the adjustment to school life of adolescents. The degree of school adjustment varied significantly according to the region, grade, attending private educational institutes after school or not, academic performance, daily study hours after school, and the hours students spend on gaming and Internet use a day. With regard to the behaviors to cope with stress, teenagers with a higher sense of life-satisfaction tended to show active coping behaviors, and female students were more likely to show positive or negative coping behaviors than mystic coping behaviors. Since adolescents' stress-coping styles showed connection with their adjustment to school, it is necessary to develop stress management programs to help middle school students adjust to school life. Conclusion: Based on the study's findings, it is important to develop programs which can help students adjust to school and learn how to cope with stress positively.