COPING STRATEGIES OF FIRST-GENERATION FEMALE LEARNERS FROM NORTH EAST INDIA AND NORTH INDIAN STUDYING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELHI: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The study investigates the coping strategies employed by first-generation female learners(FFGL) from North East Indian (NE) and North Indian (NI) studying at the University of Delhi, using Sreenivasan Coping Scale (1999) such as appraisal-focused, emotion-focused, and problem-focused coping across different academic streams (Arts, Science, Law, Technical and Commerce). Using a quantitative comparative design, data were collected from 400 female students (159 from North east India, 241 from North Indian) through stratified random sampling. Findings indicate significant regional differences exists where North east students predominantly use emotion-focused coping due to cultural alienation and social isolation, while North Indian students favour problem-focused strategies, influenced by urban familiarity and social hierarchies. Stream-wise analysis reveals Science students employ more appraisal-focused coping, possibly due to academic rigor. Implications highlight the need for tailored support systems to address regional and stream-specific stressors.