Gender Variations in Coping Strategies for Challenges Faced by University Students

Abstract

The present study endeavors to cast a glance at gender differences in university
students’ coping strategies. For young people, stepping into university represents a
time of transformation. Students experience this phase, encounter a wide variety of
new challenges, and suffer several psychosocial and mental health problems. To address
issues and make an effort to overcome challenges, university students use different
strategies for coping. In this study, challenges were identified through open-ended
questions, and coping strategies were assessed through a brief COPE inventory (Carver,
1997). A total of 50 undergraduate students were selected from a state university through
purposeful sampling. Interesting findings showed that there were considerable gender
disparities in terms of coping strategies. Further analysis was done domain-wise by
using the mean, standard deviation, and t-test, and strong gender differences emerged
in five domains: humor, emotional support, venting, instrumental support, and religion.
This study would act as a base to plan interventions in universities for developing
adaptive coping strategies in students.