Romantic relationship style, coping, identity development and mental health among Chinese and Australian adolescents

Objective: to examine romantic relationship style, coping strategies, identity development and mental health among Chinese and Australian adolescents. Method: 102 Australian and 179 Chinese tertiary students completed a questionnaire on relationship style, coping strategies, identity development and mental health. Results: cluster analysis resulted in three clusters in terms of romantic relationship styles, identity development and coping strategies (unsure/foreclosure/avoidance strategy, secure/ achievement/self-help strategy, uninterested/diffusion), with the secure group reporting lowest stress scores. There were more Chinese in the first cluster. Conclusions: there were differences in underlying personality substrata between Chinese and Australian adolescents associated with mental health.