Stress, Coping, and Family Environment

Abstract

This study extended previous research by assessing the specific coping responses of adolescents as a function of age, type of stressor, and quality of family environment. The findings demonstrated that adolescents employ a range of coping strategies in response to stressors within and external to the family. These strategies varied as a function of age, type of stressor, and perceptions of the quality of the family environment. Specifically, among those who identified interpersonal conflicts as their primary stressor, younger adolescents were more likely to use emotion-based coping strategies than were older adolescents. Using emotion-based strategies, however, was associated with less adaptive family functioning. Further, these coping strategies were orderable on the dimension ofpreference. Thefindings underscored the importance of examining moderating factors and individual differences when studying coping responses to stressful situations.