A Cross-National Multicultural Analysis: Understanding Context-Based Stressors of Children from the United States and Nigeria

Background and Purpose: Stress has been defined as life events that affect well-being and may be categorized into acute, chronic, brief naturalistic stressors, distant stressors, or stressful event sequences (Segerstrom & Miller, 2004). This perspective emphasizes that individuals experience stress differently. However, these descriptions do not explain how context shapes children’s experiences of stress. Thus, this study coined the term “context-based stressors” to capture children’s experiences across contexts. Context-based stressors refer to experiences shaped not only by events but also by cultural, social, and environmental contexts. Unlike chronic stressors, which involve ongoing hardships that can alter life trajectories, context-based stressors highlight how culture, norms, and environmental conditions influence how stress is perceived and interpreted. This study explains gaps in understanding how children describe and express context-based stressors within the United States and Nigeria.

Methods: This pilot study employs a qualitative constructivist grounded theory design to explore children’s perspectives on context-based stressors across the United States and Nigeria. Participants include children aged 12–17, recruited through purposeful sampling to ensure diversity in schools, communities, and public centers. Recruitment continued until data saturation across cultural groups. Semi-structured interview questions were used for data collection to elicit children’s language and descriptions of Context-based stressors. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and audio recorded, lasting approximately 60 minutes. Interviews were conducted both in U.S English and Nigeria pidgin. The transcript was cleaned for data analysis. Interviews collected in Nigeria pidgin were not interpreted to preserve participants' voices and languages during data analysis. Data analysis followed grounded theory procedures, including open, axial, and theoretical coding, constant comparison, and memo-writing to develop an emergent theoretical framework. Rigor was ensured through memo-writing, credibility, audit trails, and culturally sensitive interpretation of participants’ narratives.

Results: Fourteen participants were interviewed, ten have been analyzed, with average age 15. Preliminary findings indicate notable contextual differences between participants from Nigeria and the United States in how stressors are experienced and expressed. Nigerian participants more frequently emphasized community- and environment-based stressors, including economic hardship, safety concerns, and collective family responsibilities. In contrast, participants from the United States highlighted more individual and household-level stressors, such as academic pressure, mental health challenges, and parent–child relational dynamics. Nigerian participants often described stress as shared across extended family systems, with cultural expectations shaping children’s coping and expression. U.S. participants expressed greater awareness and used language around emotional well-being and psychological stress. Across both groups, family instability and financial strain emerged as common themes; however, their manifestations differed by context.

Conclusions and Implications: The results suggest that children’s experiences of adversity are embedded in sociocultural environments. This underscores the need for culturally responsive frameworks when assessing stressors and designing interventions for diverse populations. Practitioners should integrate family, community, and cultural values into support strategies rather than simply applying universal models. Policy implications include developing child well-being frameworks that address both structural and individual stressors, ensuring resources reflect diverse sociocultural needs. For research, there is a need to create culturally sensitive measurement tools and expand cross-national studies that center children’s voices.