Students' stress-related growth through high school entrance examinations: Role of personality traits and perceived support

Abstract

Junior high school students in Japan who want to go to high school are required to take entrance examinations: these can be a highly stressful experience for adolescents. However, it is possible that this experience may also contribute to positive psychological change, which is known as stress-related growth. The present study examined effects of personality traits and perceived support on stress-related growth in students through their experience in taking high school entrance examinations. The participants, 96 boys and 87 girls who were in the third year of junior high school (9th grade), completed questionnaires on personality traits, perceived support, and stress-related growth. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that personality traits and perceived support explained approximately 30% to 50% of the total variance in stress-related growth. An interaction of personality traits and perceived support was associated with psychological growth in the boys, whereas only the main effects of personality traits and perceived support were observed in the girls. In other words, the present study found that stress-related growth differed, depending on gender and the interaction of personality and perceived support.