Ethnicity, coping, and distress among Korean Americans, Filipino Americans, and Caucasian Americans

The authors examined appraisal, coping, and distress among Korean American, Filipino American, and Caucasian American Protestants. No interaction effe cts emerged among ethnic groups, but there were significant ethnic main eff ects for appraisal and coping. Compared with the Caucasian Americans, both Asian American groups appraised stressors as more challenging, and the Kore an Americans appraised them also as greater losses. Both Asian American gro ups reported using more strategies of accepting responsibility, religious c oping, distancing, and escape-avoidance than the Caucasian Americans did; t he Filipino Americans also reported more problem-solving strategies than th e Caucasian Americans. For all participants, challenge appraisals predicted adaptive coping (problem solving and positive reappraisal) and less distre ss. Problem solving, seeking social support, and positive reappraisal predi cted less distress; self-control, accepting responsibility, and escape-avoi dance predicted greater distress. The authors stressed the value of assessi ng ethnicity in coping research.