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Individual Differences in Adolescent Coping: Comparing a Community Sample and a Low-SES Sample to Understand Coping in Context

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Abstract

Coping that is adaptive in low-stress environments can be ineffective or detrimental in the context of poverty. Identifying coping profiles among adolescents facing varying levels of stress can increase understanding of when and for whom coping may be most adaptive. The present study applied latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify coping profiles in two distinct samples of adolescents: a community sample of youth aged 11–16 years (N = 374, Mage = 13.14, 53% girls), and a low-SES sample of youth aged 12–18 years (N = 304, Mage = 14.56, 55% girls). The ten coping subscales of the Responses to Stress Questionnaire were included as indicators in the LPAs (problem solving, emotion regulation, emotion expression, acceptance, positive thinking, cognitive restructuring, distraction, denial, wishful thinking, and avoidance). Five profiles were identified in the community sample: Inactive, Low Engagement, Cognitive, Engaged, and Active Copers. All but the Low Engagement Copers profile were also identified in the low-SES sample, suggesting that adolescents employ similar coping strategies across contexts, but fewer low-SES adolescents engage in lower levels of coping. Profiles differed by gender and symptoms of internalizing psychopathology. Inactive copers in both samples were more likely to be male. Engaged Copers reported the lowest symptom levels whereas Active Copers reported higher symptoms. Cognitive Copers reported higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms in the low-SES sample only, suggesting that this pattern of coping may be protective only in less stressful contexts. Elucidating within-person coping patterns is a promising avenue for targeting interventions to those most likely to benefit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Sarah E. D. Perzow

  2. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Bethany C. Bray

  3. The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA

    Martha E. Wadsworth

  4. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jami F. Young

  5. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Benjamin L. Hankin

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  1. Sarah E. D. Perzow
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Contributions

S.P. conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, conducted statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; B.B. participated in the design and coordination of the study, assisted with statistical analysis and interpretation, and reviewed manuscript drafts; M.W. participated in the design and coordination of the study contributed to acquisition of the data, and reviewed manuscript drafts; J.Y. contributed to acquisition of the data and reviewed manuscript drafts; B.H. participated in the design and coordination of the study, contributed to acquisition of the data, and reviewed manuscript drafts. All authors have approved this version to be submitted for publication.

Funding

This work was supported by: NIMH grants R01 MH0177195 and R01 MH077178, the Child and Adolescent Psychological Training and Research, Inc. (Burlington, VT), and NIDA grants P50 DA010075, P50 DA039838, and T32 DA017629.

Data Sharing and Declaration

The datasets analyzed for the current study are available through Open Science Framework (GEM Study: https://osf.io/47v2n/; Adolescents Coping with Stress project: https://osf.io/7sd3e/).

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Correspondence to Sarah E. D. Perzow.

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All study procedures were approved by the institutional review boards at the University of Denver, Rutgers University, and the University of Vermont, where data were collected.

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Perzow, S.E.D., Bray, B.C., Wadsworth, M.E. et al. Individual Differences in Adolescent Coping: Comparing a Community Sample and a Low-SES Sample to Understand Coping in Context. J Youth Adolescence 50, 693–710 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01398-z

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