Ways of coping with excessive academic stress among Korean adolescents during leisure time

Purpose: Korean adolescents are under excessive academic pressure because of the competitive college entrance examination. This study examined the characteristics of coping strategies on the academic stress experienced by senior high school students in Korea. Methods: A total of 11 adolescents who were preparing for the college entrance examination participated in this study. This study employed semi-structured in-depth interviews. A constructive grounded theory was employed to capture the characteristics of stress-coping strategies among adolescents. Results: After analyzing the data, we identified four themes as strategic attributes of stress-coping for academic stress among Korean adolescents: (a) creating coping strategies in a physically active manner; (b) creating coping strategies in a non-physical and positive form; (c) utilizing maladaptive coping mechanisms; and (d) relying upon religious belief and spiritual power. Conclusion: This study indicates that Korean adolescents developed their own coping strategies to deal with various academic stressors through either positive or negative forms of leisure.