The influence of independent/interdependent self-construals and religious perspectives on coping styles among Chinese Americans.

摘要

The study examined the influence of independent/interdependent self-construals, religious intrinsicness, and religious beliefs on Chinese Americans' coping styles. Independent self-construal was hypothesized to be positively related to active coping, which was defined as direct attempts to solve problems and change existing realities; whereas interdependent self-construal was hypothesized to be positively related to accommodative coping, which refers to attempts to align one's self with existing realities, leaving them unchanged but exerting control over their psychological impact. Religious intrinsicness, defined as the level of true religious commitment, was hypothesized to have a positive relationship with accommodative coping. Furthermore, identification with Buddhism was hypothesized to correlate positively with accommodative coping, and identification with Christianity was hypothesized to be positively related to both active and accommodative coping. 150 Chinese Americans, including Christians (n = 58), Buddhists (n = 42), individuals who endorsed no religious affiliation (n = 42), and individuals who endorsed other religions (n = 8) completed self-report questionnaires of self-construals, religious intrinsicness, Christian and Buddhist beliefs, and coping strategies. Both independent and interdependent self-construals evidenced a positive relation to active and accommodative coping, indicating that coping style was not related exclusively to a specific type of self-construal. Religious intrinsicness was found to have minimal correlation with coping style. No significant relationship evidenced between Christian/Buddhist beliefs and coping style. Overall, findings provide limited support for the theory that culture and religion would significantly affect one's general style of coping. Possible limitations of the study are examined. The development of the Buddhist Beliefs Scale and the importance of precise religious instrumentation are also discussed.