Chapter 11: School-Based Stress and Coping Program for Adolescents in Sri Lanka: Using Mixed Methods to Facilitate Culture-Specific Programming

Increasingly, theorists, researchers, and practitioners recognize the importance of cultural and contextual variables in efforts to study, assess, and intervene with regard to stress and coping. Numerous authors have identified gaps in our understanding of mental health related to cultural and contextual factors (Botvin, Schinke, & Orlandi, 1995; Castillo, 1997; Lonigan, Elbert, & Johnson, 1998; Nabors, Weist, Holden, & Tashman, 1999; Nastasi, Moore, & Varjas, 2004; Noell, Ary, & Duncan, 1997; Weisz, Sandler, Durlak, & Anton, 2005). In the United States, the Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2001) and National Institute of Mental Health (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2001) have called specifically for researchers to explore the role of culture in the mechanisms related to stress and coping.