Coping Strategies And Meaning Of Life Among Czech Adolescent Students

2.1.Developmental period of adolescence

According to E. H. Erikson, the developmental period of adolescence is a period of ‘identity

versus role confusion’. Such idea should include not only the cognitive experiences, but also ideas about

gaining one’s own independence(Erikson, 2002). Currently, the transition to adulthood is marked by

greater individualization, social restrictions are no longer decisive, there are a number of different

opportunities, and the process of identity formation is becoming loose; it is not clear what tasks young

people should perform during this period (Mayseless, Keren, 2013). The end of the period of maturing

(and adolescence) is marked by adoption of ‘adult’ roles, i.e. marriage, parenthood, and stability in

occupational life. However, adoption of these roles is delayed, which prolongs the period of maturing.

Therefore, this is not real maturing as described by developmental psychologists, or young adulthood, but

rather a separate period of the life cycle in a modern industrialized environment, which should be

considered a process that is not identical for all adolescents rather than a separate developmental stage

(Sanders, 2013). Transition to adulthood to a large extent depends on the society in which the adolescent

lives. According to some authors, the period between 10 and 24 years is a transition period from

childhood to adulthood in the European society (Brizio, 2016), but Vygotsky (In Kholmogorova, 2016)

emphasizes that there is no natural or biological criterion to mark the end of this period. The main conflict

in this period is, therefore, the difference between biological and social maturing, which gradually

escalates. At present, a quarter of the population around the world is made up of young adolescents aged

10-14 years (1.8 billion), but not all of them live in identical social conditions. For this reason,

adolescents from lower social classes are more mature (adopt the role of an adult earlier), while

adolescents from more successful social layers are more career-oriented, and therefore prolong their

adolescence (Kholmogorova, 2016).

2.2. Stress

Coping with stress is a process of continuous processing and evaluation of information about the

changing relationship between an individual and the environment (Lovenjak, Peklaj, 2016). Stress has a

considerable effect on mental development throughout the period of maturing. If stress is experienced not

only as a result of school attendance, it has a negative impact not only on the school ‘career’, but also

threatens professional health in the future. A successful transition from adolescence to adulthood is, inter

alia, supported by acquired stress coping competences. The adoption of the process of perceiving and

coping with stress might be crucial to understanding stress situations and dealing with stress situations,

which eventually facilitates development and the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Younger

children have less social knowledge about and experienceswith stress coping than adults; moreover, they

are still affected by the social uniformity of their environment, against which they fight as maturing

adolescents (Eppelmann, Parzer, Lenzen et al., 2016). In adolescence, girls and boys face difficult

developmental tasks, such as the inclusion in the group of peers, detachment from the family, and

formation of their own identity. In their everyday life, adolescents need to cope with various stressors in a

constructive way. Achievement of positive results in this context is crucial to future understanding of

more serious stressors faced by adults (Markova, Nikitskaya, 2013). Stress situations that are typically

faced by adolescents were classified in their research by Řehulka and Řehulková (2001). The authors

mentioned stressors resulting from the following areas of adolescents’ life: peers, looking at oneself,

partnership, relationship with the family, study, communication with people, negotiation with teachers,

body dissatisfaction, knowledge of the world, concerns about the future (Řehulková, Řehulka, 2001).

2.3.Coping strategies

Coping is understood as any cognitive or behavioural efforts to deal with stress or situations

perceived as potentially threatening individuals’ well-being (Mark & Smith, 2012). In coping with any

stressful or difficult situation a person chooses an individual strategy aimed at adaptation to the changes,

possibly minimizing undesirable effects on the individual’s health (Pelcák, 2013). Coping can be further

classified from various perspectives, but there are two principal categories – active coping (fight or flight)

and passive coping (reduction of sensitivity to the environment, emotional numbness). Another system of

classification distinguishes between a present or absent effort to eliminate the stress factor, etc. Active

coping is associated with a lower level of emotional suffering, while passive coping is often related to the

post-traumatic stress disorder or depression (Holton et al., 2015). It is also possible to classify coping

strategies by focusing on coping with additional unpleasant emotions or focusing on coping directly with

the stressor. The strategy aimed at coping with emotions is divided into three categories. The first is the

rumination strategy – need to think about the problem again and again; not very efficient. The second

strategy is avoidance – escape to shallow activities, such as gambling, alcohol, drugs, or food. These

activities can be dangerous and do not help solve the problem. The third strategy is distraction –

performing pleasant activities for the purposes of distraction and gathering strengthfor resolving the

situation (Novák, 2014). Problem-oriented coping focuses on the stressor and ways of changing it,

circumventing it, eliminating it, or avoiding it in the future. While this type is directed outwards, emotion-

oriented coping is directed inwards and induces reassessment of one’s values and attitudes, and deepening

of self-reflection and self-acceptance (Pelcák, 2013; Chrásková&Kvintová, 2016).

2.4.Meaning in life

The concept of meaning in life applies to situations, which allow us to make choices, select and

act. There is no meaning in material things, meaning comes only through human skills (Machovec, 2012).

According to Maslow, meaningfulness becomes a motivational force in human life only if lower needs

are met. The author describes meaningfulness as an internal ability of man. Each person chooses their

own meaning in life according to their will and naturalness and according to what suits them. Existential

meaning is given precedence over this meaning as a meta-motive, which needs to be achieved, should a

person lead a normal life. If not fulfilled, a person is unwell, has a feeling of emptiness and languishes,

which can eventually cause suffering or serious disorders (Maslow, 2014). According to Frankl, meaning

in life is a process of discovering values in specific life situations. The author described three paths,

which he considers helpful in active searching for meaning in life.He described an experiential value,

creative values, and attitudinal values (Frankl, 2015). Today’s postmodern time favours subjective

meaning. In this context, meaningful things are those that we understand, perceive and wish, but there is

no dialogue with the outside world, care, and creativity for something or someone. The response is then

increasing selfishness and emotional frustration (Kosová, 2014). According to Mayseless and Keren

(2013), research on meaning in life in the period of emerging adulthood has considerable gaps. Their

study is based on the theory that in this period, two basic areas are crucial to young people: love and

work. The author's further state that searching for and finding a meaning in life during adolescence is one

of the developmental tasks and that this task is getting to the forefront as a result of various social and

cultural changes in the Western society (Mayseless & Keren, 2013).

5.1.SVF 78 Stress Coping Questionnaire

This questionnaire was developed by Wilhelm Janke and Gisela Erdmann and is used to identify

stress coping strategies. The questionnaire contains 78 items classified in 13 scales. Each of the 13

subtests consists of 6 statements to which the participants respond on a five-point Likert scale (0 = Not at

all, 5 = Very likely). According to their characteristics, the strategies are clustered. Positive strategy POS

1 (the reassessment strategy and devaluation strategy are included in the subtest of Play down and Guilt

denial), POS 2 (strategy of disengagement from a stressful situation and/or engagement in alternative

situations or activities – Substitutional satisfaction), and the last item POS 3 (situation control strategy –

Situation control and Positive self-instruction). Negative strategies (NEG) include the following subtests:

Flight tendency, Rumination, Resignation, and Self-accusation. These strategies rather lead to increased

stress and indicate the absence of coping competencies, use of escape strategies, resignation, and inability

to relax.The total score of positive strategies (POZ) is determined as the arithmetic mean of gross scores

of the first seven subtests (Janke et al., 2003).

5.2.ESK Existence Scale

The basic principle of this test is existential-analytical anthropology by Viktor Frankl, whose

theory of meaning in life is known as logotherapy. The scale consists of 46 items; the respondents

indicate their personal degree of relevance on a six-point scale, where 1 is ‘Absolutely true’ and 6 is ‘Not

true at all’. The test includes all four steps to achieve the personal competencies for existence. These steps

and qualities are as follows: Self-distance (cognitive distance from oneself; a person is not affected by

his/her own wishes, ideas, goals), Self-transcendence (measure of the ability to perceive values and

experience emotionally), Freedom (focused on the ability to make decisions), and Responsibility

(measure of the ability to commit and engage in personal tasks and values).Self-transcendence and Self-

distance further create Personality as a factor of a higher order, which includes the degree of openness to

oneself and values; Freedom with Responsibility further create Existentiality as decisive engagement.A

sum of these two factors (P+E) results in existential fulfilment, which expresses experiencing meaningful

personal existence (Längle et al., 2001).

The students will also have an opportunity to indicate which area of life is most stressful. This

questionnaire is based on the theory formulated by Řehulka and Řehulková (2001) and the ten areas that

adolescents perceive as most stressful. The last item that was added was the Economic area.

6.1.Coping strategies used by secondary school students (Table 02)

In the total sum (Table 02 ), predominantly positive coping strategies (POS, average 12.38) are

used to resolve stress amongst Czech secondary school students in the Olomouc Region compared to

negative strategies (NEG, average 11.62 ), But without any greater difference between the two values.

Overall, students tend to use the strategies of the POS 3 group, i.e. the control strategy (Situation Check,

Response Check, and Positive Self-Instruction).

6.2.Comparison of coping strategies of Czech secondary school students by gender (Table 03)

Of the positive strategies, boys use statistically significantly more POS1 (Under Evaluation,

Rejection of Guilt) than girls and also achieved a slightly higher result than girls at POS 2 (Diversion,

Replacement Satisfaction). For negative coping strategies, however, there is almost no difference between

the sexes. Overall, however, there were no significant differences between coping strategies of boys and

girls.

However, girls tend to use negative strategies (NEG, average 11.71) more than the Undervaluation

and Devaluation Strategy (POS 1, average 8.79).

Girls use almost equally positive and negative coping strategies.

6.3.Comparison of the ESK questionnaire for girls and boys (Table 04)

Boys achieved an overall higher average score not only in specific subtitles but also in the overall

score of the questionnaire. On the basis of the results, boys have a statistically significantly higher ability

to act actively and bear the consequences of their behaviour (Responsibility, average 39.83) than girls

(average 35.86). In addition, the boys showed statistically significantly higher existentially and decisive,

conscious involvement (E, mean 76.93) than the girls (average 70.29). Overall, boys showed a higher

ability to experience the meaningfulness of their own existence (P + E, mean 150.04) than for girls

(average 140.95) - but this difference was not statistically significant.

6.4.The relationship between choosing coping strategies and experiencing self-worth in

secondary school students

The relationship between the choice of coping strategies and experiencing our own

meaningfulness among Czech secondary school students was assessed by correlation of the results of

SVF 78 (POS, NEG) and ESK (Total score). Overall, a higher correlation (r = 0.47) was shown only

between positive coping strategies (POS) and the overall result of a personal, meaningful existence (Total

score). The power of the relation is, however, only to a medium degree. Nevertheless, this correlation is

higher than the correlation (r = 0.16) of Negative Strategies (NEG) and ESK of the Total Score scale,

from which it can be concluded that a higher degree of personal meaningfulness has a greater impact on

the use of positive coping strategies than negative ones.

These tables (Table 05 and Table 06 ) show the differences between boys and girls for the above

correlation (SVF 78 and ESK scale). Higher correlations (r = 0.58)were found among girls than boys (r =

0.40) between P + E and POS scores. Therefore, girls choose a positive coping strategy to help their

personal sense of purpose.

An interesting result is that although a higher level of personal meaningfulness is confirmed

among boys than girls, the relationship between personal meaningfulness and selection of coping

strategies in stressful situations is less tight among boys (POZ r = 0.40 and NEG r = 0.06).

6.5.Stressful factors among secondary school students (Table 07)

We were also interested in whether stressors in secondaryschool students were different between

boys and girls. Based on the results using a comparison by t-test, girls experience higher stress levels in

Studying (average 3.24) than boys (average 2.78), Fear of the Future (3.23, Men 2.75) as well as in the

area Economic (average 3.08, male average 2.60).

For boys, higher stress levels than girls did not show separately in any area; the results are almost

uniform and no area for them is a source of much higher stress than girls

6.6.Stress and existentialism (Table 08)

We were also curious whether the overall assessment of stress by secondary school students is

related to their perception of the meaningfulness of their own existence. The results of the correlation

analysis of the questionnaire results are shown in this table. The results obtained show that, with the

rising overall score of perceived stress, at the same time, secondary school students perceive the sense of

the meaning of their own existence (r = - 0.61).

It can be seen from the tables (Table 09 . and Table 10 .) that the tightness of the relationship

between the perceived stress and the meaning of self-existence is higher for girls (r = - 0.65) than for boys

(r = - 0.53). Thus, a higher level of stress in girls affects perceptions of the meaningfulness of life more

than for theboys.