Abstract

SILVA, Lorena Soares Dias e  and  ZANINI, Daniela S. Coping and mental health in adolescents preparing for the Brazilian university entrance examination. Estud. psicol. (Natal) [online]. 2011, vol.16, n.2, pp. 147-154. ISSN 1413-294X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-294X2011000200005.

This study aimed to investigate the use of coping strategies by adolescents preparing to take the Brazilian university entrance exam and its possible repercussion on their mental health. A total of 292 students participated in the study, 59.6% women and 38.0% men, aged between 16 and 19 years (M = 17.09; SD = 0.71), contacted in public, private, and private schools with state government covenant, who declared the intention to take the Brazilian university entrance exam. The Coping Response Inventory Youth Form (CRI-Y) was used to assess coping strategies and the Youth Self Report (YSR) to evaluate psychopathologies. The study demonstrated that the adolescents' appraise the Brazilian university entrance exam as a stressful event, and those who used more approach coping strategies reported less psychopathologies. The results of this study highlighted the relationship between the Brazilian university entrance exam as a stressful event and the adolescents' mental health.

Keywords : coping; psychopathology; university entrance exam.