Background
Existing research on negative life events, coping style and perceived stress among adolescents
Aims of this paper
Methods
Data
West Jutland Cohort Study | Rest of Denmark | |
---|---|---|
(n = 3677) | (n = 60889) | |
Gender (in %)
| ||
Boys | 51.7 | 51.3 |
Girls | 48.3 | 48.7 |
Family income
| ||
Mean disposable income (Dkr) | 163717 | 168550 |
Highest household education (in %)
| ||
Primary school | 20.3 | 15.2 |
Vocational training | 4.8 | 2.4 |
University degree | 2.9 | 6.3 |
Cohabitation status (in %)
| ||
Living alone | 1.9 | 2.2 |
Living with married parents | 75.2 | 66.2 |
Living with cohabitating parents | 10.4 | 11.5 |
Living with lone parents | 12.5 | 20.1 |
Measures
Perceived stress
Negative life events
Coping
Socioeconomic status
Confounder variables
Statistical analyses
Perceived Stress | Negative life events | Active coping | Avoidance coping | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(range: 0–16) | (range: 0–5) | (range: 1–4) | (range: 1–4) | ||||||
Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | ||
4.87 (4.75-4.99) | 5.64 (5.51-5.78) | 0.54 (0.50-0.59) | 0.65 (0.60-0.69) | 2.65 (2.62-2.68) | 2.62 (2.60-2.65) | 1.94 (1.92-1.97) | 1.97 (1.94-1.99) | ||
Highest educational level in household (2003)
|
N (percent)
| p = 0.071 | p = 0.003 | p = 0.002 | p < 0.000 | p = 0.167 | p = 0.035 | p = 0.669 | p = 0.004 |
Primary school (< 10 years) | 229 (10.2) | 5.35 (4.97-5.74) | 6.46 (6.08-6.84) | 0.83 (0.68-1.00) | 1.06 (0.89-1.22) | 2.66 (2.56-2.75) | 2.60 (2.53-2.68) | 2.04 (1.96-2.13) | 2.04 (1.96-2.11) |
High School/Vocational training (10–12 years) | 1169 (52.0) | 4.81 (4.64-4.98) | 5.59 (5.41-5.77) | 0.53 (0.47-0.59) | 0.59 (0.53-0.66) | 2.62 (2.58-2.66) | 2.59 (2.56-2.63) | 1.93 (1.89-1.96) | 1.99 (1.96-2.02) |
Higher education (KVU/MVU) (13–15 years) | 704 (31.3) | 4.76 (4.54-4.97) | 5.46 (5.21-5.70) | 0.41 (0.35-0.48) | 0.50 (0.43-0.57) | 2.67 (2.62-2.72) | 2.65 (2.60-2.69) | 1.92 (1.88-1.97) | 1.91 (1.87-1.95) |
University or equivalent (> 15 years) | 148 (6.6) | 4.49 (4.03-4.94) | 5.07 (4.57-5.57) | 0.31 (0.19-0.43) | 0.44 (0.29-0.59) | 2.74 (2.63-2.85) | 2.79 (2.68-2.90) | 1.98 (1.87-2.10) | 1.93 (1.84-2.01) |
Household income (2003)
| p < 0.000 | p = 0.004 | p < 0.000 | p < 0.000 | p = 0.234 | p = 0.003 | p = 0.072 | p = 0.472 | |
1. tertile (< 77,382 US $) | 593 (26.1) | 5.42 (5.18-5.67) | 5.86 (5.63-6.09) | 1.03 (0.93-1.13) | 1.13 (1.02-1.23) | 2.59 (2.53-2.64) | 2.65 (2.60-2.69) | 2.02 (1.97-2.06) | 2.00 (1.96-2.05) |
2. tertile (77,382-100,531 US $) | 805 (35.4) | 4.77 (4.57-4.98) | 5.86 (5.63-6.10) | 0.41 (0.35-0.47) | 0.53 (0.46-0.60) | 2.66 (2.61-2.70) | 2.55 (2.51-2.60) | 1.91 (1.87-1.96) | 1.97 (1.93-2.01) |
3. tertile (>100,531 US $) | 879 (38.6) | 4.55 (4.36-4.74) | 5.26 (5.05-5.48) | 0.31 (0.26-0.36) | 0.35 (0.29-0.40) | 2.68 (2.64-2.73) | 2.66 (2.62-2.71) | 1.92 (1.88-1.96) | 1.94 (1.90-1.97) |
Results
Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | Model 4 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | |
Household income (in 1000 Dkr)
| -0.001*** | -0.106 | 0.000 | -0.001** | -0.089 | 0.000 | -0.001** | -0.086 | 0.000 | -0.001** | -0.078 | 0.000 |
% of total income effect mediated
|
-
|
15.6%
|
18.9%
|
36.9%
| ||||||||
(Sobels test = 3.22, p < 0.01)
|
(Sobels tests = 0.37, p = 0.71)
|
(Sobels test = 5.66, p < 0.01)
| ||||||||||
Parental education
| ||||||||||||
Primary school (< 10 years) | reference | reference | Reference | reference | ||||||||
High School/vocational training (10–12 years) | -0.399 | -0.084 | 0.211 | -0.360 | -0.125 | 0.212 | -0.304 | -0.064 | 0.195 | -0.267 | -0.056 | 0.192 |
Higher education (kvu/mvu) (13–15 years) | -0.425 | -0.084 | 0.222 | -0.365 | -0.130 | 0.229 | -0.287 | -0.057 | 0.205 | -0.231 | -0.046 | 0.202 |
University (> 15 years) | -0.739* | -0.071 | 0.326 | -0.578 | -0.103 | 0.333 | -0.605* | -0.058 | 0.301 | -0.451 | -0.043 | 0.298 |
% of total educational effect mediated
|
-
|
22.8%
|
28.2%
|
50.0%
| ||||||||
(Sobels test = 2.70, p < 0.01)
|
(Sobels test = 2.90, p < 0.01)
|
(Sobels test = 4.15, p < 0.01)
|
Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | Model 4 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | |
Household income (in 1000 Dkr)
| -0.001** | -0.095 | 0.000 | -0.001** | -0.081 | 0.000 | -0.001* | -0.059 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.050 | 0.000 |
% of total income effect mediated
|
-
|
14.7%
|
37.7%
|
49.2%
| ||||||||
(Sobels test = 2.99, p < 0.01)
|
(Sobels test = 15.46, p < 0.01)
|
(Sobels test = 11.97, p < 0.01)
| ||||||||||
Parental education
| ||||||||||||
Primary school (< 10 years) | reference | reference | reference | reference | ||||||||
High School/vocational training (10–12 years) | -0.734** | -0.142 | 0.213 | -0.646** | -0.125 | 0.212 | -0.688*** | -0.134 | 0.189 | -0.618** | -0.120 | 0.189 |
Higher education (kvu/mvu) (13–15 years) | -0.856*** | -0.150 | 0.230 | -0.743** | -0.130 | 0.229 | -0.612** | -0.107 | 0.205 | -0.524* | -0.092 | 0.204 |
University (> 15 years) | -1.265*** | -0.117 | 0.334 | -1.115** | -0.103 | 0.333 | -0.815** | -0.075 | 0.298 | -0.697* | -0.064 | 0.297 |
% of total educational effect mediated
|
-
|
13.3%
|
45.9%
|
56.3%
| ||||||||
(Sobels test = 3.08, p < 0.01)
|
(Sobels test = 24.18, p < 0.01)
|
(Sobels test = 17.98, p < 0.01)
|
Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | β | Std. β | SE | |
Boys
| |||||||||
Life events
| 0.587***
| 0.196 | 0.078 | 0.503***
| 0.168 | 0.072 | 0.535***
| 0.091 | 0.091 |
Active coping
| -1.129***
| -0.258 | 0.111 | -0.958***
| -0.219 | 0.105 | -0.948***
| -0.105 | 0.105 |
Avoidance coping
| 1.596***
| 0.328 | 0.121 | 1.410***
| 0.290 | 0.117 | 1.407***
| 0.117 | 0.117 |
Girls
| |||||||||
Life events
| 0.531***
| 0.186 | 0.073 | 0.435***
| 0.153 | 0.066 | 0.398***
| 0.140 | 0.087 |
Active coping
| -1.895***
| -0.375 | 0.123 | -1.638***
| -0.324 | 0.118 | -1.637***
| -0.324 | 0.118 |
Avoidance coping
| 1.874***
| 0.332 | 0.140 | 1.479***
| 0.262 | 0.132 | 1.448***
| 0.256 | 0.132 |