The Relationship between Perceived Stress, Self Esteem,
Way of Coping and Problem Solving Ability among School
Going Adolescents

ABSTRACT
Background: Adolescence, a vital stage of growth and development, marks the
period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Healthy self-esteem is the
experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life, stress and
being worthy of happiness. Aims & Objectives: To see the relationship between
perceived stress, self-esteem, way of coping and problem solving ability among
school going adolescents. Method: 200 school going adolescents (100 male & 100
female respondents) have been included randomly. Semi-Structured Socio
Demographic datasheet, Perceived Stress Scale and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale,
Way of coping Questionnaire and Problem Solving Inventory was used. Data
collected was analyzed using SPSS- 20. Result: Positive correlation was found
between perceived stress and way of coping as well as with problem solving ability.
There was also significant negative correlation found between perceived stress and
self-esteem, self-esteem and problem solving ability, way of coping and problem
solving ability.
Key words: Perceived stress, Self-esteem, Way of coping, Problem solving ability.
INTRODUCTION
Adolescence, a vital stage of growth and development, marks the period of transition
from childhood to adulthood. It is one of the important stages in the life span of a human
being when very rapid changes take place both physically as well as psychologically.
Adolescence is also the stage when young people extend their relationships beyond parents

and family and are intensely influenced by their peers and the outside world in general.
Journal of Psychosocial Research
Vol. 10, No. 2, 2015, 199-209
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©2014 Prints Publications Pvt. Ltd.
This Paper was presented at International Seminar on: Social Work Practice: Concerns and Challenges for the 21st Century
held at Department of Social Work, Jain Vishwa Bharti Institute, Ladnun, Rajasthan on October 12-13, 2014.
200 Prashant Srivastava and Manisha Kiran
J. Psychosoc. Res.
Adolescent moral development has been conceptualized in three phases (i.e., preconventional morality, conventional morality, and post-conventional morality) by
(Kohlberg, 1978). (Gilligan, 1993) advanced understanding by exploring observed
gender differences in how boys and girls approach moral dilemmas, demonstrating
that generally, boys seek direct resolution and girls will avoid conflict to maintain a
relationship (Rew, 2005). These differences are likely to be reflected in how boys and
girls cope with stressors.
Adolescence and perceived stress, self-esteem, way of coping and problem solving
ability
Adolescence can be specifically turbulent as well as a dynamic period of one’s growth
and development. Healthy self-esteem is the experience of being competent to cope
with the basic challenges of life, stress and being worthy of happiness. Stress is the
major source of many problems among adolescents and it may lead to low self-esteem,
poor way of coping and poor problem solving ability. Many psychological problems
such as depression and suicide occur as a result of low self-esteem, poor way of coping
and poor problem solving ability
It is now quite widely accepted that adolescence is a time of involving multidimensional changes: biological, psychological (including cognitive) and social.
Biologically, adolescents are experiencing pubertal changes, changes in brain structure
and sexual interest, as a start. Psychologically, adolescents’ cognitive capacities are
maturing. And finally, adolescents are experiencing social changes through school and
other transitions and roles they are assumed to play in family, community and school
(National Research Council [NRC], 2002). These changes occur simultaneously and at
different paces for each adolescent within each gender, with structural and
environmental factors often impacting adolescents’ development.
Wilburn and Smith (2005) found in his study “Stress, Self Esteem and Suicidal
Ideation in Late Adolescents”. Sample. The Life Experience Survey, the Rosenberg
Self-Esteem Scale and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire were used for the study.
The results revealed that both stress and self-esteem were significantly related to
suicidal ideation and low self esteem and stressful life events significantly predict
suicidal ideation.
Gayle et al. (2005) found among 37 highly stressed children with stress affected
and highly stressed with stress coped children. The study showed that stress coped
children to be more adjusted and competent. They had higher self esteem more positive
coping strategies and problem solving skills than stress affected children.
Frydenberg and Lewis (1991) suggests that girls report using more social support
strategies and less productive means of coping.
The Relationship between Perceived Stress, Self Esteem,
Way of Coping and Problem Solving Ability among School Going Adolescents
201
J. Psychosoc. Res.
11
MATERIAL & METHODS
Aim
To see the relationship among school going adolescent in terms of perceived stress,
self-esteem, way of coping and problem solving ability.
Universe of the study
Class 9th and 10th students of St. Joseph’s Boys High School and Anita Girls High School,
Kanke, Ranchi, constituted as universe of the study as aim of the present study was to
see the relationship among school going adolescent in terms of perceived stress, selfesteem, way of coping and problem solving ability.
Hypothesis
There will be no significant correlation among perceived stress self-esteem, way of
coping and problem solving ability among school going adolescents.
Sample
The sample comprised of 200 adolescents who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria
using simple random sampling technique. Samples were further divided into 100 male
adolescents and 100 female adolescents.
INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA
Inclusion criteria for both groups
Studying in 9th and 10th standard.
The age range 12-19 years.
Both male and female.
Willing to participate in the study.
Exclusion criteria for both groups
Not staying with biological parents.
Absence/death of mother or father or both.
Death of first degree relative in last one year.
Student who goes for work after school.
History Suggestive any significant life events.
History suggestive of any psychiatric illness.
History suggestive of any physical illness.
202 Prashant Srivastava and Manisha Kiran
J. Psychosoc. Res.
TOOLS USED FOR ASSESSMENT
Socio Demographic Data Sheet.
Perceived Stress Scale – 10 item version (Cohen and Williamson, 1988)
Rosenberg Self Esteem (Rosenberg, 1965)
Way of coping (Folkman and Lazarus, 1978)
Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner and Petersen, 1982)
DESCRIPTION OF TOOLS
Socio Demographic Data Sheet
Self designed semi-structured socio demographic data sheet was used for collecting
the necessary information regarding age, sex, education, domicile, ethnicity, religion,
type of family of students.
Perceived Stress Scale – 10 item version (Cohen and Williamson, 1988)
This concept was measured with the four-item version of the Cohen’s perceived stress
scale (PSS). PSS-4 is an economical and simple psychological instrument that measures
the degree to which situations in one’s life over the past month are appraised as stressful.
The questions are of a general nature and items are designed to detect how
unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded respondents find their lives, e.g. “How
often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?”
and, “How often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal
problems?”. Students responded on a five-point scale (0= “never”, 1= “almost never”,
2= “sometimes”, 3= “fairly often”, 4= “very often”). Items were recorded so that higher
scores indicated more perceived stress. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.74
(Germany), 0.75 (Poland), 0.67 (Bulgaria), 0.50 (UK) and 0.54 (Slovakia). The PSS score
was obtained by summing up answers to individual questions.
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965)
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was developed by Rosenberg (1965) for measuring global
self-esteem levels of adolescents. RSES is a Gutman-type scale with four response
options ranging from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (4), and consists of 10
items, 5 positively scored and 5 negatively scored. RSES includes such statements as
the following: “I do not have much to be proud of”, “I am proud of myself”, and “I
take a positive attitude toward myself”. Reverse items are 3, 5, 8, 9, 10. The possible
total score obtained from the scale ranges between 0-40. The higher score indicates the
higher self-esteem.
The Relationship between Perceived Stress, Self Esteem,
Way of Coping and Problem Solving Ability among School Going Adolescents
203
J. Psychosoc. Res.
Way of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman and Lazarus, 1978)
Way of coping questionnaire was developed by Folkman and Lazarus, 1978. The ways
of coping questionnaire is designed to identify the thoughts and actions an individual’s
has used to cope with a specific stressful encounter. It measures coping processes, not
coping disposition or styles. To assess coping styles with the instrument, the investigator
would need to assess an individual’s coping processes in a range of stressful encounters,
then evaluate consistencies in those processes across encounters. Ways of coping is
likert type 4 point scale. In scale o indicates “does not apply/not used”, 1 indicates
“used somewhat”, 2 indicates “used quite a bit”, and 3 indicates “used a great deal”.
Inter-correlation of all domains shown relatively significant. Factor loading of the
scale range from 0.25 to 0.79.
Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner and Petersen, 1982)
PSI was developed by Heppner and Petersen (1982) to measure people’s perceptions
of their personal problem solving behaviours and attitudes. The PSI is composed of
thirty*two 6- point Likert-type items, ranging from strongly agree (1) to strongly
disagree (6). Lower scores indicate assessment of oneself as a relatively effective problem
solver, whereas higher scores indicate assessment of oneself as a relatively ineffective
problem solver. The PSI is a self-rating questionnaire, and this information should not
be considered synonymous with actual problem-solving skills. Reliability estimates
revealed that the constructs were internally consistent ( .72 to .90) and stable over time
(.83 to .89 ) (Heppner & Petersen, 1982). In Problem Solving Inventory high score
suggests poor problem solving ability.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
For the statistical analysis SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) 20.0 version
was used. Frequencies, Chi Squared test, Pearson Correlation were used in the current
study.
RESULTS
Table 1
Description of age and family size of male and
female school going adolescents
Variables Male Female Total
(N = 100) (N = 100) (N = 200)
Age 14.66 + 1.13 14.27 + 0.78 14.46 + 0.99
Family Size 7.01 + 3.48 7.32 + 3.13 7.16 + 3.30
204 Prashant Srivastava and Manisha Kiran
J. Psychosoc. Res.
Table 1 gives descriptive information about the mean age and family size of male
and female respondents. The mean age of the male respondent was 14.66 but the mean
age of female respondents was 14.27 and in total the mean age of all respondents was
14.46. A result shows that in family size of male respondents, female respondents and
total study respondents an average of 7 persons resides in family.
Table 2
Comparison of Socio-Demographic Characteristics of male and
female school going adolescents
Variables Level Male Female 2 df P
(N = 100) (N = 100)
Family Type Nuclear 50 (50.0%) 39 (39.0%) 2.450 1 .118
Joint 50 (50.0%) 61 (61.0%)
Domicile Rural 74 (74.0%) 72 (72.0%) .101 1 .750
Urban 26 (26.0%) 28 (28.0%)
Ethnicity Tribal 32 (32.0%) 44 (44.0%) 3.056 1 .080
Non- Tribal 68 (68.0%) 56 (56.0%)
Religion Hindu 31 (31.0%) 28 (28.0%) 6.032 3 .110
Muslim 26 (26.0%) 21 (21.0%)
Christian 23 (23.0%) 16 (16.0%)
Others 20 (20.0%) 35 (35.0%)
The result shows that majority of (50%) respondents in male group belongs to
nuclear and joint family type but in female group majority of (61%) respondents belongs
to joint family type and rest (39%) belongs to nuclear family type. Study finding shows
that majority of male (74%) and female (72%) respondents belong to rural background
and rest (26%) male respondents and (28%) female respondents belongs to urban
background. Present study finding reveals that male respondents most of (68%) belongs
to non-tribal ethnicity and (32%) belongs to tribal ethnicity but in female respondents
majority of (56%) hails from non- tribal ethnicity and rest (44%) belongs to tribal ethnicity.
Table shows that in male respondents majority of (31%) belongs to Hindu religion,
(26%) belongs to Muslim religion, (23%) belongs to Christian religion and (20%) belongs
to other religion, but on the other hand in female study respondents most (35%)
respondents belongs to others religion, (28%) respondents belongs to Hindu religion,
(21%) respondents belongs to Muslim religion and (16%) respondents belongs to
Christian religion. Result shows no statistically significant difference was found between
The Relationship between Perceived Stress, Self Esteem,
Way of Coping and Problem Solving Ability among School Going Adolescents
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J. Psychosoc. Res.
both the study groups.
Table 3
Inter-correlation matrix showing correlation among various domains of Perceived
stress, Self-esteem, Way of Coping and Problem Solving Ability along with sociodemographic variables among school going adolescents
Variables Age Family Perceived Self Way of Problem
Members Stress Esteem Coping Solving
Ability
Age 1 -.092 -.005 .103 .023 .023
Family Members 1 -.066 .063 .078 -.027
Perceived Stress 1 -.223** .184** .287**
Self Esteem 1 .008 -.223**
Way of Coping 1 -.185**
Problem Solving Ability 1
** Correlation was significant at the 0.01 level.
In the present study positive high correlation was found between perceived stress
and way of coping at 0.01 level which suggests that whenever stress increased among
respondents their ways of coping also increased, similarly in perceived stress and problem
solving ability also positive high correlation was found at 0.01 level which shows that
when stress increased among respondents their problem solving ability decreased.
However, the perceived stress showed significant negative correlation with selfesteem at 0.01 level. Finding suggests that whenever the perceived stress increased
among respondents their self-esteem got decreased. Similarly self esteem and problem
solving ability as well as way of coping and problem solving ability showed significant
negative correlation at 0.01 level it suggest that when self-esteem and way of coping
increased among respondents their problem solving ability also increased.
DISCUSSION
Two hundred adolescents (100 male school going adolescents and 100 female school
going adolescents) were focus of the present study and the aim was to see the
relationship among school going adolescent in terms of perceived stress, self-esteem,
way of coping and problem solving ability. The samples were collected from class 9th
and 10th students of St. Joseph’s Boys High School and Anita Girls High School, Kanke,
Ranchi. The samples of both groups were matched with the variables like age, family
size, family type, domicile, ethnicity, religion.
206 Prashant Srivastava and Manisha Kiran
J. Psychosoc. Res.
The analysis revealed positive high correlation was found between perceived
stress and way of coping at 0.01 level which suggests that whenever stress increased
among respondents their ways of coping also increased, similarly in perceived stress
and problem solving ability also positive high correlation was found at 0.01 level which
shows that when stress increased among respondents their problem solving ability
decreased. Present study are in agreement with the study conducted by Jennifer (2011)
found that adolescents face the challenges of stress nearly every day and often report
that school, pressure to have good grades, money, relationships, parents, being a teen
parent, jobs, sex, STD’s/AIDS, violence and fighting. Some teens choose unhealthy
ways of coping to deal with stress and may smoke or use drugs, self-harm, become
depressed, or give up on life altogether.
Another similar finding study conducted by Frydenburg et al. (2004) explored
interventions for coping with pressures and stressors to help teach adolescents how to
respond to stress later in life. Results indicated two specific ways to better adapt to
stress by either reducing the demands of adolescents or increasing the number of
coping resources. Students who learn to identify stressors and cope effectively report
having less stress. Family members and educators may wish to work together to help
teens with their 15 levels of stress and consider balance in academics, personal and
social activities and community involvement that reduce environmental factors
contributing to stress. Similarly in perceived stress and problem solving ability also
positive high correlation was found at 0.01 level, which shows that when stress increased
among respondents their problem solving ability decreased.
However, the perceived stress showed significant negative correlation with selfesteem at 0.01 level. Finding suggests that whenever the perceived stress increased
among respondents their self-esteem got decreased. Similarly self esteem and problem
solving ability as well as way of coping and problem solving ability showed significant
negative correlation at 0.01 level it suggest that when self-esteem and way of coping
increased among respondents their problem solving ability also increased. Present
study are in agreement with the study conducted by Johnson et al. (1982) his research
findings indicate the debilitating effect of stressful transitions and crises may have an
equally deleterious impact in adolescent life, well-being and self esteem at the last
decade. As a common claim in this stress, it was indicated that social support and self
esteem becomes particularly critical when the individual feels threatened or
overwhelmed.
Similarly in self esteem and problem solving ability statistically significant negative
correlation was found at 0.01 level similarly in way of coping and problem solving
ability showed significant negative correlation at 0.01 level. So according to study
finding it means that when self-esteem and way of coping increased among respondents
The Relationship between Perceived Stress, Self Esteem,
Way of Coping and Problem Solving Ability among School Going Adolescents
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J. Psychosoc. Res.
their problem solving ability also increased. Present study is in agreement with the
study conducted by Europa (2002) on the problems and coping strategies of marginalized
street children and adolescents. The study revealed that these children and adolescents
were having poor coping strategies and low self esteem with feelings of insecurity.
Another study conducted by Gayle et al. (2005) among 37 highly stressed children
with stress affected and highly stressed with stress coped children. The study showed
that stress coped children to be more adjusted and competent. They had higher self
esteem more positive coping strategies and problem solving skills than stress affected
children.
LIMITATIONS
Being a time bound study only a small sample could be taken and hence the
generalization of the result remains doubtful. If parents of the students would have
also been included as respondents along with teacher, it would have been a more
accurate study to identify behavioral problems in children. Students of class XIth and
XIIth should have been included to obtain good and robust results.
CONCLUSION
Present study was conducted to see the relationship among school going adolescent in
terms of perceived stress, self-esteem, way of coping and problem solving ability. The
study findings highlights significant positive and negative correlation also found
between perceived stress, self-esteem, way of coping and problem solving ability among
school going adolescents.
With the help of present study findings adolescents can recognize what is causing
them stress and learn how to manage their stress in a healthy and productive manner.
Students need to know about the positive ways to cope with the stressors in their
lives, and being able to manage the stress, increase self-esteem and improve problem
solving ability, it may not only benefit the students, but may also help to enhance their
academic performance too. Thus the findings of the present study will help adolescents
as how to respond with stress, increase self-esteem and coping strategy as well as how
to make better problem solving ability in their future life.
FUTURE DIRECTION AND IMPLICATIONS
Based on present study findings it is very clear that there are significant correlations
found among school going adolescents in terms of stress, self-esteem, way of coping
and problem solving ability. With these findings it would be interesting to see the
other contributing psycho-social factors such as parenting style, academic achievement,
emotional intelligence, etc. and its impact on perceived stress, self-esteem, way of
208 Prashant Srivastava and Manisha Kiran
J. Psychosoc. Res.
coping and problem solving ability. Based on the present study finding psycho-social
intervention program can be developed to enhance the self-esteem, way of coping and
problem solving ability of the school going adolescents and its efficacy and feasibility
can be assessed. Based on the present study finding intervention package can be
developed for school going adolescents based on gender. Based on the present study
more schools and classes would be covered for future studies. Present study findings
suggest that there is elusive need to impart life skill techniques to the school going
adolescents soon after they enter in high academics. These skills will help them to
handle various life stressors and this will also facilitate them to perform well in their
academics. Present study findings would help in implementing the school mental health
program to tackle the problem related to stress, self-esteem, way of coping and problem
solving ability among school going adolescents.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Prashant Srivastava, Psychiatric Social Worker —Dept. of Pediatrics, Child Development Centre, Maulana
Azad Medical College and Associated Lok Nayak Hospital and Ph.D. Scholar, Dept. of Social Work,
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
Manisha Kiran, Associate Professor —Dept. of Psychiatric Social Work, Ranchi Institute of NeuroPsychiatry and Allied Sciences, Kanke, Ranchi-834 006.
Child Development, 2, 83–88.
National Research Council. (2002). Community Programs to Promote Youth Development. National
Academies Press: Washington, DC.
Rew, L. (2005). Adolescent health a multidisciplinary approach to theory, research, and intervention. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the Adolescent Self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Wilburn, V.R., and Smith, D. E. (2005). Stress, self esteem and suicidal ideation in late adolescents.
Adolescence, 40(157), 33-43.
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