Relationship between Coping Strategies and Psychological Distress in Middle Eastern University and College Students: Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between coping strategies and psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in Middle Eastern university and college students. Background: The adjustment process of university and college students is characterized by new experiences associated with maturation as well as challenges imposed by academic responsibilities. Difficulty or inability to cope with various demands of the transition into emerging adulthood places them in a perilous position that increases the risk of psychological distress. Design: This study was a cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were obtained via a questionnaire completed by 251 health care students enrolled in an English-speaking college and a university. Psychological distress was measured with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and coping strategies were measured with Brief COPE Inventory. Five subscales selected for this study were problem solving, social support, religious, self-blame, and denial coping strategies. The data were analyzed using structuralequation models with anxiety and depression as outcome variables. Results: The results revealed difference in the types of coping strategies linked to anxiety and depression. The five coping strategies explained 46% variance in anxiety, whereas only the use of self-blame and religious coping strategies explained 26% variance in depression. Conclusion: The finding of the study highlight that interventions may need to focus on different types of coping strategies depending on the nature of students’ psychological distress.