Q: How to respond to a reviewer comment about the rationale for my findings being different from other countries?
The reviewer made the following comment:
"The authors have indicated on ------ that there are various reasons for why stress levels are higher. The authors should spend additional time providing additional rationale as to why their findings were different from those reported in other countries."
In research, if you have made an obeservation, you always need to substantiate it with evidence. The reviewer comment says that you have indicated that there are various reasons why stress levels are higher. The reviewer wants you to justify this statement and shed more light on why the findings of your study were different from the studies conducted in other countries.
One way to address this issue is to look up similar studies from other countries and understand what were the triggers of stress for most people in those countries. You can then compare these with the stress-triggers in the population you have studied and see if there are any major differences that could account for the higher stress levels. For example, there could be a cultural difference: some cultures might take work and commitments more seriously than others, leading to higher stress at work; or work-life balance may be poor in some countries due to lack of facilities and infrastructure. Note that these are just examples that came to my mind: you need to find supporting evidence in existing literature before you can make any such statement.
Related reading:
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage