Coping Behaviors and Psychological Difficulties: A case study of Middle School Students in Vietnam

This research explored coping behaviors and psychological difficulties in Vietnamese middle school students and determined relationship between these variables. A sample population of 582 early adolescents from four secondary schools in Vietnam who aged from 11 to 14 voluntarily participated in the study. Measurements included a brief cope behaviors and a self-report questionnaire employing a Likert scale including psychological difficulties. The research results revealed that students in Vietnam suffered from considerable levels of psychological difficulties. The specific coping behaviors accounted for 27.8 percent of variance in psychological difficulties, in which use of instrumental support, self-distraction, denial, behavioral disengagement, self-blame, and acceptance were significantly predicted having increased students' psychological difficulties. Meanwhile, active coping and use of instrumental support contributed to predicting the decrease in students' psychological difficulties. These results are interpreted within the context of what educators in Vietnam could have psychological interventions for students with psychological difficulties in focusing on eliminating maladaptive coping behaviors and enhancing active coping behaviors.