Correlation betwee negative coping style and sub-health among adolescents in eight cities of China

Objective To examine the prevalence of negative coping style and to investigate the correlation between sub-health and negative coping style among adolescents. Methods A questionnaire survey was carried out in 17 622 students selected with convenient sampling from eight cities.Multidimensional Sub-health Questionnaire of Adolescents (MSQA)and Trait Coping Style Questionnaire(TCSQ)were used in the survey. Results The girls,high school students, minority students,and non-only-child were more likely to select depressive and avoident coping style with the higher positive rates of 34.8% and 35.3%,31.6% and 36.2%,30.7% and 35.4%,28.5% and 32.7%,respectively,for the two coping styles.The adolescents with midium or high score of depression and withdrawing had 1.40-6.50 folds risk of sub-health than those with lower scores. Conclusion Negative coping styles are common problems in Chinese adolescents.There is a statistical correlation between the selection of negative coping style and the status of sub-health among adolescents.