Socialization of Stress, Coping, Socialization of Stress, Coping, and Adjustment in Japanand Adjustment in Japan

Don Kilburg, Ph.D.

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

(2001)

2

Why is Japan interesting for a Why is Japan interesting for a study of stress and coping?study of stress and coping? Homogeneous population Most technological non-Western nation Traditional & modern culture side-by-side

3

The basic socio-emotional clash The basic socio-emotional clash between Americans and Japanesebetween Americans and Japanese

The Stereotypes

Americans: Japanese are robotic conformists. When they have intention it is devious and inscrutable.

Japanese: Americans are selfish individuals. When they have intention it is boisterous and overly direct.

4

What are the implications of this Japan-U.S. clash?

Reynolds: Americans are more accepting of activity directed toward changing objective reality and Japanese are more acceptingof actively directed toward changing one’s inner attitudes toward or attention to objective reality (1976).

American proverbs: “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”, “Don’t beat around the bush”, “Look ‘em in the eye”, “Don’t take ‘no’ for ananswer”, “Don’t go behind my back”.

Japanese proverbs: “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down”, “By beating around the bush, one drives out the snake”, “Wear silk on your teeth”, “the cat that doesn’t ‘meow’ catches more mice”, “A go-between needs a 1000 pair of sandals”.

5

Speculation about the Japanese Speculation about the Japanese style of control/copingstyle of control/coping

Watts: “{The Japanese} never tries to change things by asserting himself against them; he yields to their full force and either pushes them slightly out of direct line or else moves them right around in the opposite direction without ever encountering their direct opposition” (1958).

Manifested in many martial, spiritual, & psychological “products” of Japan, e.g. Aikido, Zen, Morita Therapy

6

Primary & Secondary ControlPrimary & Secondary Control

(Weisz et al., 1984)

Primary control: aimed at influencing existing realities (pervasive in America) [e.g. opening a window when hot]

Secondary control: aimed at accommodating to existing realities (pervasive in Japan) [e.g. taking off layer of clothing when hot]

Indirect Primary control: influences existing realities – in a covert way (pervasive in Japan) [e.g., issuing subtle cues, using go-betweens]

7

Broad Goals of my ResearchBroad Goals of my Research

To begin empirical work on Japanese “indirect primary control” by way of examining the socialization of stress-coping-adjustment in Japan

To develop a set of measures for a future Japan-U.S. comparison

8

What’s on Japanese peoples’ What’s on Japanese peoples’ minds about children’s stress?minds about children’s stress? Children are under a lot of stress Discipline seems to be breaking down Academic credentialism may be to blame Rote learning system need overhaul?

9

Japanese Kids’ StressJapanese Kids’ Stress

Open Questions about Age & Sex differences… Some studies have found older children report more stress (Yamamoto &

Davis, 1982; Kilburg, 1997) others have not (Nagane, 1991). Some studies have found boys report more education-related stress

(Yamamoto & Davis, 1982) others have not (Nagane, 1991; Kilburg, 1997). Many studies have found girls report more stress for “health/fitness” and

“peer relations” (sources above)

10

Japanese Kids’ CopingJapanese Kids’ Coping

Like in U.S., Coping depends on context (Ohsako, 1994) - e.g. w/ schoolwork: “info-seeking”, “social support”; w/ family: “patience”, “avoidance”.

Like in U.S., Girls report more social support use (Kilburg, 1997)

Un-like in U.S., Boys not report more more aggression use (Kilburg, 1997)

Japanese kids are less aggressive than U.S. kids (Zahn-Waxler, et al., 1996)

11

Japanese Kids’ Japanese Kids’ AdjustmentAdjustment Like in U.S., whether coping is useful depends on

context (Ohsako, 1994) Like in U.S., not clear what strategies are best w/

what contexts & why (Kilburg, 1997)

12

Maternal Socialization, Maternal Socialization, in the U.S. and Japanin the U.S. and Japan Mothers’ academic expectations are higher in

Japan than in U.S. (Crystal, et al., 1994) Japanese Moms use more induction, less

deduction, than U.S. moms (Zahn-Waxler, et al., 1996; Shwalb & Shwalb, 1996)

It’s not clear which maternal styles are best for kids’ adjustment (Kilburg, 1997)

13

Some Some HypothesesHypotheses & Research & Research Questions from my workQuestions from my work1. Girls will report more stress than boys, for health/fitness

and peer relations contexts (Kilburg, 1997)2. Older kids will report more stress than younger kids, for

an education context (Kilburg, 1997)3. Girls will report more social support coping than boys

(Kilburg, 1997)4. What kinds of coping categories will emerge?5. Will there be sex & age differences on the basis of

coping categories that emerge?6. Will there be connections between the mother and child

data?

14

General Prediction:General Prediction:

Data would suggest that the Japanese coping message is:

“Keep your anger to yourself, stay on task with the problem, and remain cheerful and courteous throughout.”

15

Research participants: JapaneseResearch participants: Japanese

Fuzoku Jr. High

Fuzoku Elementary Kyohoku Jr. High Tsu Higashi High

•600 M-C pairs • grades 5, 8, 10 (10-11, 13-14, 15-16)• Mie-Ken, Honshu

Kids from Mie

16

Where I collected data: MieWhere I collected data: Mie

17

MaterialsMaterials

Everyday Life Events Scale for Children (ELESC); 43 items

Children’s Inventory of Coping (CIC); 65 items Socialization Inventory of Coping (CIC); 65 items

(Analogue of CIC) School Performance and Well-Being (Life

Satisfaction); 10 items– both kid and mom versions

18

Coping with: “You had an argumentwith your sister or brother”

Coping with: “Kids were mean to you”

Coping with: “You got worried about having a lot of schoolworkto do”

Coping with: “You were upset aboutyour appearance or didnot like how you looked”

Context A: Peer Relations Context B: Family/Home Life

Context C: Education Context D: Health/Fitness

A Look at 4 Stress-Coping Contexts:A Look at 4 Stress-Coping Contexts:

19

Sample Stress ItemSample Stress Item

A. Did it B. How many C. How much stress happen times in the past did you usually feel

to you in the week did it when it past week? happen?

happened?

(Circle one) (Circle one) (Circle one)

 

1. You and your sister

or brother disagreed Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A Little Some A Lot

20

Sample Coping ItemSample Coping Item

When people have problems they do many different things. When you had the problem we just asked you about (kids were mean to you), about how much did you do each of the following things? (Circle only one answer for each question)

 0 1 2 3 4

| | | | |

None A little A moderate Much Very Much

at all amount

 

11. I thought about all the things I could possibly do to fix the problem.

 

0 1 2 3 4

Mother version is analog

21

Sample Adjustment ItemsSample Adjustment Items

1. How good is your attendance record for school? (Circle one)

 

0 1 2 3 4

| | | | |

Very Bad Bad So-so Good Very Good

5. How satisfied are you about how you look (your face, your body, etc.)? (Circle one)

 

0 1 2 3 4

| | | | |

Very Unsatisfied Neither Satisfied Very Satisfied

Unsatisfied Satisfied nor

Unsatisfied

22

Design/ProcedureDesign/Procedure

2 (SEX: m/f) X 3 (GRADE: 5/8/10) X 4 (COPING CONTEXT: family/home life, health/fitness, education, and peer relations)

paper & pencil; kids complete at school, moms at home

23

StatisticsStatistics

Used MANOVAs and T-tests to measure effects of Sex & Age on stress, coping, and maternal socialization of coping

Used Correlational analyses to measure connection between coping and adjustment, and socialization of coping

Used Factor Analyses to measure groupings in coping and socialization of coping

24

Top 5 Daily Life Events, StressorsTop 5 Daily Life Events, Stressors

Top 5: Frequency/Week

2.95

2.82

2.56

2.37

2.15

28. You thoughtabout the wayyou look

36. You went tobed late

9. You thoughtabout havingschool work todo

19. You wantedto buysomething

29. You thoughtabout what yourclassmatesthought of you

Mean

Top 5: Stress Intensity (1-3)

1.24

1.21

1.20

1.15

1.14

9. You thoughtabout havingschool work todo

8. You could notfind somethingyou looked for

14. You couldnot watch TV orplay videogames

2. You and yourMom or Daddisagreed

7. You could nottalk to otherpeople aboutyour feelings

Mean

Results

25

HH1. 1. Girls will report more stress than boys for Girls will report more stress than boys for health/fitness and peer relations contexts (health/fitness and peer relations contexts (SUPPORTEDSUPPORTED))

Sex of Child

femalemale

Me

an

1.0

.9

.8

.7

.6

.5

Stress Context

Health/Fitness

Stress Intensity

Peer Relations

Stress Intensity

Health/Fitness Stress (p<.0001, Male M=.55, Male SD=.55, Female M=.90, Female SD=.59) and Peer Relations Stress (p=.005, Male M=.67, Male SD=.59, Female M=.87, Female SD=.65).

26

HH2. Older kids2. Older kids will report more stress than younger will report more stress than younger, for , for the education context (the education context (REJECTEDREJECTED))

Grade of Child

TenthEighth GradeFifth Grade

Me

an

.9

.8

.7

.6

.5

.4

Stress Context

Family/Home Life

Stress Intensity

Health/Fitness

Stress Intensity

5th Grade: .76, 8th Grade: .89, 10th Grade: .87 (No difference)

BUT other differences were found…

Eighth graders reported significantly more Family/Home Life Stress than both 5 th graders and 10th graders (p=.004, p<.0001, respectively). Fifth graders reported significantly less Health/Fitness

Stress than both 8th graders and 10th graders (p=.014, p=.023, respectively).

27

Top 5 Coping StrategiesTop 5 Coping StrategiesAcross Context (Use Intensity 0-4)

2.04

1.48

1.46

1.42

1.35

16. I sat down and didsomething fun like:watched TV, listened tomusic, or played a game -so I would feel better.

11. I thought about all thethings I could possibly doto fix the problem.

4. I day-dreamed aboutsomething and forgot allabout the problem - so Iwould feel better.

2. I thought about why theproblem happened.

26. I told myself to keeptrying as hard as I could.

Mean

28

H3. Girls will use more Social Support than Boys H3. Girls will use more Social Support than Boys (Supported)(Supported)

Social Support Seeking (EF & PF) as a Function of Sex. To address the specific issue of sex differences in social support, a t-test was conducted. Girls reported significantly more use than boys did for the social-seeking/emotion-focused coping item of “I talked to someone – so I would feel better” (#18). Girls had a mean of 1.24 (SD=1.32) and boys a mean of .95 (SD=1.17).

Sex of Child

femalemale

Me

an

1.3

1.2

1.1

1.0

.9

.8

.7

.6

Talked to Somone...

to feel better

(#18)

to fix the problem

(#25)

29

Exploratory Factor Analysis on Exploratory Factor Analysis on Coping data: Coping data: 1) ANTAGONISM: encompasses anti-social,

aggressive items. (e.g., “I tried to hurt someone”, “I tried to annoy someone”)

2) PROBLEM-SOLVING: includes the classic hallmarks of the planful, “working out” of issues. (e.g., “I tried to get more information”, “I thought about all the things I could do to fix the problem”)

3) CHEERFUL DEFERENCE: embodies coping that strives to present a joyful and respectful tone to others, perhaps to remedy an issue. (e.g., “I tried to be polite”, “I tried to be cheerful”)

(Factor 1 Alpha = .9627, Factor 2 Alpha = .9055, Factor 3 Alpha = .7950; Total Var. Exp: 43%)

30

Child Coping: No Age Differences, One Child Coping: No Age Differences, One Sex DifferenceSex Difference

Sex of Child

femalemale

Me

an

1.4

1.2

1.0

.8

.6

.4

.2

Coping Type

Antagonism

Problem-Solving

Cheerful Deference

A highly significant main effect was revealed for SEX, at p=.009 (F{3, 386}). The difference between males and females for Problem-Solving is significant at p=.017.

Females reported moreUse of Problem-Solving

31

Mothers’ Encouragement and Mothers’ Encouragement and Discouragement of Coping by Child age: Discouragement of Coping by Child age: One effect for AntagonismOne effect for Antagonism

Grade of Child

10th Grade8th Grade5th Grade

Me

an

.8

.6

.4

.2

0.0

-.2

-.4

-.6

-.8

Coping Type

Antagonism

Problem-Solving

Cheerful Deference

There were no initial significant differences between the grades in the above chart. However, one univariate effect for Grade was detected between 5th and 10th for Antagonism (p=.001). Further, the overall trend of reduced encouragement and discouragement across age appears clearly in the graphic representation of the data.

Difference between 5th & 10th Grade is significant forAntagonism:Discouragement ofAntagonism decreases

32

Mothers’ Encouragement of Problem-Mothers’ Encouragement of Problem-Solving & Child Use of Problem-SolvingSolving & Child Use of Problem-Solving

Mom Problem-Solving

2.52.01.51.0.50.0-.5-1.0

kid

pro

ble

m s

olv

ing

5

4

3

2

1

0

-1

Maternal Discouragement/Encouragement of Problem-Solving was positively correlated with Child Problem-Solving (r=.10), at p<.05. Mothers who tended to encourage Problem-Solving had Children who tended to use Problem-Solving.

Mothers who tended to encourage Problem-SolvingMore had Children who tended to use Problem-Solving more.

33

Coping and AdjustmentCoping and Adjustment

Out of the three coping types, only Antagonism was correlated with adjustment. Namely, Antagonism was negatively correlated with both School Performance (-.15) and Life Satisfaction (-.13), at the p=.01 significance level.

34

Discussion: Discussion: Stress Findings and ExplanationsStress Findings and Explanations Girls are under no less education stress than boys,

perhaps due to shift in value of girls’ education Girls are under more health/fitness & peer relations

stress, perhaps due to universal sex-roles/expectations Junior high may be a unique time of health/fitness and

family/homelife stress, perhaps due to strain of the adolescence and unique aspects of Japanese Jr.High

That older kids did not report more education stress may be because of vocational high school?

35

Basic Coping Findings and Basic Coping Findings and ExplanationsExplanations

Girls use more Problem-Solving (reflective of female maturity rate?), but no sex dif. For Antagonism or Cheerful Deference (unique to Japan?)

36

Basic Adjustment Findings and Basic Adjustment Findings and ExplanationsExplanations

Antagonism was negatively correlated with School Performance and Life Satisfaction

Kids who use aggressive types of coping appear to do poorly in terms of school attendance, grades, and satisfaction with multiple areas of life

37

Basic Socialization Findings and Basic Socialization Findings and ExplanationsExplanations Only 1 difference (for Antagonism) in how

Mom’s treat their kids, for the exploratory categories – (mothers may have similar goals for boys/girls, or measures may lacked necessary connection, fathers could be different, generic social desirability responding?, etc. )

Mothers encourage/discourage less for older kids, presumably a function of independence

Link between Mothers’ encouragement of Problem-Solving and kids use of it

38

Basic ImplicationsBasic Implications There is evidence that the Japanese coping

message is: “keep your anger to yourself, stay on task with the problem, and remain cheerful/courteous throughout” (in line with overall implications of Indirect Primary Control and Japanese society/culture).

To what extent this is culturally unique would depend on comparison with American data – the next step

39

The EndThe End