An Investigation of Coping Skills with Stress of High School Students in Terms of Family Communication Patterns

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 6, 225 - 236, 01.11.2025

Ahmet Bedel , Ayşe Bulut Barkın

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.25.87.12.6

Abstract

Coping with stress skills and having healthy communication within family of high school students are important protective factors in terms of preventive guidance and psychological counseling services. These protective factors can prevent many risk factors such as substance use, violence, school dropout, depression and anxiety. Stress and family communication are within basic study subjects for field workers who are providing services on psychological counseling to adolescents and their relatives. This study aimed to examine high school students' stress coping skills in terms of family communication patterns. 372 students participated in the study. The Family Communication Patterns Scale and the Coping with Stress Scale were used to collect research data. T-test, ANOVA analysis, Correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data. As a result of the analyses, there is a significant and positive relationship only between the dialogue dimension of the students' family communication patterns and the problem-focused coping and social support coping methods. It was found that the students' family communication pattern scores significantly predicted the levels of problem-focused coping and seeking social support coping methods. In light of this information, the importance of including individual and group guidance and psychological counseling activities in preventive family communication skills to increase students' stress coping skills was emphasized and discussed, and suggestions were made for future research on this subject.

Keywords

high school students , coping with stress , family communication

Ethical Statement

The Research Ethics Board (REB) of Maltepe University provided approval for the study (2021/33-10)

References

• Abdullayev, K. (2019). Examining the relationship between the university students' depression levels and attachment styles and stress coping styles. (Unpublished master's thesis). Marmara University, İstanbul.
• Algan, F. (2022). Examining the effects of sports on communication in the family. (Unpublished master's thesis). Gaziantep University, Gaziantep.
• Asmala, S., & Syahbani, D. (2025). The relationship between communication patterns in the family and stress levels in adolescents: A case study of adolescents in the city of Bandung. Journal Law, Psikologi, Humanities, 1(1), 18-34.
• Atkinson, R.L., Atkinson, R.C., Smith, E.E., Bem, D.J., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2019). Psikolojiye giriş [Introduction to psychology]. Ankara: Arkadaş Publ.
• Baltaş, A., & Baltaş, Z. (2024). Stres ve başa çıkma yolları [Stress and ways to cope]. İstanbul: Remzi bookstore.
• Brewer, J. (2024). Unwinding anxiety. İstanbul: Okuyanus Publ.
• Büyüköztürk, Ş., Çakmak, E. K., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş., & Demirel, F., (2024). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri [Scientific research methods]. Ankara: Pegem Akademi
• Canel, A. N. (2012). Aile yaşam becerileri [Family life skills]. İstanbul: Nakış Publ.
• Carr, K., & Kellas, J. K. (2018). The role of family and marital communication in developing resilience to family-of-origin adversity. Journal of Family Communication, 18(1), 68-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2017.1369415
• Cüceloğlu, D. (2019). Başarıya götüren aile [Family leading to success]. İstanbul: Remzi bookstore.
• Cüceloğlu, D. (2021). İnsan insana [Human to human]. İstanbul: Kronik book
• Cüceloğlu, D. (2023). İnsan ve davranışı [Man and his behavior]. İstanbul: Remzi bookstore.
• Demirbilek, M. (2016). Family Counseling: A Pattern of Practice. Turkish Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 10(2), 109- 120. https://doi.org/10.5455/tjfmpc.205930
• DeVito, J. A. (2015). Human communication. The basic course. (12th Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
• Elkin, N. (2016). The importance of family communication in positive adolescent development. STED, 25(3), 110-118.
• Erdoğan, Ö. (2018). An analysis of family communication patterns in the development of communication anxiety and the effect of paradoxical (Double bind) communication. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Marmara University, İstanbul.
• Erdoğan, Ö., & Anık, C. (2018). Study on Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Family Communication Patterns Scale. Turkish Review of Communication Studies, 29, 21-46. https://doi.org/10.17829/maruid.340460.
• Falloon, I. R., Laporta, M., Fadden, G., & Graham-Hole, V. (2023). Managing stress in families: Cognitive and behavioural strategies for enhancing coping skills. Routledge.
• Freed, R. D. (2016). The relationship between family functioning and adolescent depressive symptoms: The role of emotional clarity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(3), 505-519. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0429-y
• Gervais, C., & Jose, P. E. (2024). Relationships between family connectedness and stress-triggering problems among adolescents: Potential mediating role of coping strategies. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 52(2), 237-251.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01122-4
• Gladding, S. (2024). Aile terapisi [Family therapy]. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association Publ.
• Güzel, H. Ş. (2019). Stresin psikolojisi [Psychology of stress]. Ankara: Nobel Academy Publ.
• Jaspersen, M. &, Baumann, E. (2019, 13-15 Nowember). The role of communication as a resource for coping and resilience in families: A qualitative analysis. [Conference presentation abstract]. European Conference on Health Communication, Zurih.
• Jo Lohman, B., & Jarvis, P. A. (2000). Adolescent stressors, coping strategies, and psychological health studied in the family context. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(1), 15–43. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005117020812
• Karasar, N. (2024). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemi [Scientific research method]. Ankara: Nobel Academy Publ.
• Koerner, A. F., & Fitzpatri ck, M.A. (2002). Toward a theory of family communication. Communication Theory, 12, 70- 91. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/12.1.70
• Korkut-Owen,F.(2020).Okultemelliönleyicirehberlikvepsikolojikdanışma [School based preventive guidance and psychological counseling]. Ankara: Anı Publ.
• Körün, A. B., & Satıcı, S. A. (2025). Longitudinal serial mediation relationship of intolerance of uncertainty, irrational happiness beliefs and mistake rumination with family communication. Psychiatric Quarterly, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-025-10157-3
• Kulaksızoğlu, A. (2020). Ergenlik psikolojisi [Adolescent psychology]. İstanbul: Remzi Bookstore
• La Rosa, V. L., Tornatore, M., and Commodari, E. (2024). Exploring the interplay between individual and family functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Curr. Psychol. 43, 33578–33591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06058-6
• Maguire K. (2012). Stress and coping in families. Cambridge: Polity Press.
• McLeod, J. M., & Chaffee, S. H. (2017). The construction of social reality. In J. Tedeschi (Eds.), The Social Influence Processes (pp.50-99). Chicago: Aldine-Atherton. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315134970-2
• Özey, B. (2022). The role of family communication and peer relationships in predicting emotional literacy levels of adolescents. (Unpublished master's thesis). İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, İstanbul.
• Pantaleao, A., & Ohannessian, C. M. (2019). Does coping mediate the relationship between adolescent-parent communication and adolescent internalizing symptoms?. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 479-489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1289-8
• Santrock, J. W. (2017). Ergenlik [Adolescent]. Ankara: Nobel Academy Publ.
• Satir, V. (2017). İnsan yaratmak [Creating a human]. İstanbul: Beyaz Publ.
• Segrin, C., & Flora, J. (2005). Family communication. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Tel, F. D. (2017). Mediating role of stress coping on the relationship between self-esteem and post traumatic growth among traumatized university students. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Anadolu University, Eskişehir
• Türküm, A. S. (2002). Development of a stress coping scale: Validity and reliability studies. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 2(18), 25-34.
• Usta, M. (2019). The Role of Family Functionality in Providing Psychological Needs. The Journal of Family Psychological Counseling, 2(2), 01-20.
• Vural, B. (2004). Öğrencinin başarısı için aile-okul birlikteliği [Family-school partnership for student success]. İstanbul: Hayat Publ.
• Wills, T. A., Blechman, E. A., & McNamara, G. (2014). Family support, coping, and competence. In Hetrerington & Bleckman (Eds.), In Stress, coping, and resiliency in children and families (pp. 107-134). Psychology Press.
• Yıldız, H. (2021). Analyzing strategies of coping with stress in terms of family relations in adolescents. (Unpublished master's thesis). Maltepe University, İstanbul.