The study examined psychosocial stress experience by Indians and Sri Lankans and dispositional coping strategies employ by them in combating such stressors. 200 Indians and 200 Sri Lankans of 35–50 years of age participated in the study. Each group comprised of male and female school teachers (N=100) and bank employees (N=100). ICMR Psychosocial Stress Scale was employed in assessing psychosocial stress and Coping Operations Preference Enquiry (COPE) in assessing dispositional coping strategies. The study revealed that Sri Lankans experience a significantly higher level of psychosocial stress as compared to Indians and Indians prefer to use several problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies significantly more than Sri Lankans in combating such stressors. The largest mean difference is observed in preference of turning to religion during stress. However, the study demonstrated that participants of both the groups perceive more or less similar factors as most prominently contributing to stress experience by them and prefer to use certain similar strategies in coping with psychosocial stress. Thus, culture-specific differences have resulted in significant differences in the level of stress experience and the frequency of employing dispositional coping strategies among Indians and Sri Lankans but not in the structure or pattern of stress and coping among them.
Socio-cultural influence, culture-specific differences, psychosocial stress, dispositional coping strategies, Sri Lankans, India
