Abstract
Coping reactions to stressful events are important links between difficult experiences and the emergence of psychopathology.
In this study we compared youths’ negative coping with stress in general to their negative coping with violence in particular,
and utilized a person-centered analytic approach to examine how patterns of coping relate to various mental health outcomes.
We utilized survey interview measures to collect data from a sample of 131 youth (ages 11–14, 100 % ethnic minority) residing
in an economically distressed metropolitan area of the northeast. We observed significant relations between youths’ tendencies
to cope with stress and violence via externalized-internalized strategies (e.g., yelling to let off steam, crying) and their
mental health symptoms. However, we generally did not observe relations between engagement in distancing coping strategies
(e.g., making believe nothing happened) and any problematic outcomes. Negative coping does not appear be a monolithic construct
uniformly associated with negative outcomes for youth. Distancing coping might represent an especially useful short-term coping
response for youth living in socioeconomically distressed conditions from the standpoint of inhibiting symptom development.
In this study we compared youths’ negative coping with stress in general to their negative coping with violence in particular,
and utilized a person-centered analytic approach to examine how patterns of coping relate to various mental health outcomes.
We utilized survey interview measures to collect data from a sample of 131 youth (ages 11–14, 100 % ethnic minority) residing
in an economically distressed metropolitan area of the northeast. We observed significant relations between youths’ tendencies
to cope with stress and violence via externalized-internalized strategies (e.g., yelling to let off steam, crying) and their
mental health symptoms. However, we generally did not observe relations between engagement in distancing coping strategies
(e.g., making believe nothing happened) and any problematic outcomes. Negative coping does not appear be a monolithic construct
uniformly associated with negative outcomes for youth. Distancing coping might represent an especially useful short-term coping
response for youth living in socioeconomically distressed conditions from the standpoint of inhibiting symptom development.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-10
- DOI 10.1007/s10862-012-9285-6
- Authors
- Paul Boxer, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
- Elizabeth Sloan-Power, Department of Social Work, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
- Ignacio Mercado, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
- Ashley Schappell, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
- Journal Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment
- Online ISSN 1573-3505
- Print ISSN 0882-2689