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Age, Gender, and Self-EsteemDifferences in AdolescentCoping StylesRonald L. Mullis a & Paula Chapman aa Family and Child Sciences , Florida State UniversityPublished online: 02 Apr 2010.

To cite this article: Ronald L. Mullis & Paula Chapman (2000) Age, Gender, and Self-Esteem Differences in Adolescent Coping Styles, The Journal of Social Psychology,140:4, 539-541, DOI: 10.1080/00224540009600494

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The Journal ofSocial Psvcholoav, 2000. 140(4). 539-541

Replications and Refinements Under this heading are brief reports of studies providing data that substantiate, disprove, or refine what we think we know. These Notes consist of a summary of the study’s pro- 58 cedure and as many details about the results as space allows.

Additional details concerning the results can be obtained by conimuni- cating directly with the author.

Age, Gender, and Self-Esteem Differences in Adolescent Coping Styles

RONALD L. MULLIS PAULA CHAPMAN

Family and Child Sciences Florida State University

ADOLESCENT COPING involves the cognitive and behavioral means used to deal with stress, both emotionally and instrumentally, during early and later ado- lescence (Compas, 1987; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). According to Spivak and Shure (1983, the problem-solving skills of adolescents change and improve with age and as a function of cognitive development and social experience. Developmental differences in coping notwithstanding, some researchers have argued that adolescents’ gender and self-esteem may also affect their coping styles. Stark, Spirito, Williams, and Guevremont (1989) found that male adoles- cents used more wishful thinking in their coping strategies than did female ado- lescents, who tended to rely more on social supports as a coping strategy. Moos ( 1990) reported that adolescents with low self-esteem relied on emotion-based strategies (e.g., ventilation of feelings) in coping, whereas adolescents with high self-esteem relied on strategies directed at solving problems. Assessing coping among adolescents with a standardized instrument and examining the relations

Address correspondence to Ronald L. Mullis, 238 Sandels Building, Family and Child Sci- ences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306; nnullis@garnet.acns.fsu (e-mail).

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540 The Journal of Social Psychology

between coping, age, gender, and self-esteem in a study may clarify previously reported relations.

The participants were U.S. adolescents (215 male, 146 female) from Grades 7 through 12 in four schools in a southern state (age range = 12-19 years; M = 15.50, SD = 2.32). They were primarily from lower to middle-class families residing in rural and semirural communities.

We measured self-esteem with the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Coopersmith, 1987) and coping strategies with the Adolescent Coping Orienta- tion for Problem Experiences (A-COPE; McCubbin & Thompson, 1987). The latter is a 54-item self-report questionnaire designed to identify the coping strate- gies that adolescents find helpful in managing problems or difficult situations.

We subjected the subscale scores from the A-COPE to factor analysis with a promax rotation. The analysis yielded three factors, accounting for over 53% of the variance. Interfactor correlations were .16 (Factors 1 and 2), .21 (Factors 1 and 3), and .13 (Factors 2 and 3). We labeled Factors 1, 2, and 3, respectively, Problem-Focused Coping, Cognitive-Focused Coping, and Emotion-Focused Coping. Problem-focused coping referred to the coping styles of those adoles- cents who used social and instrumental supports. Cognitive-focused coping in- volved seeking professional or spiritual support. Emotion-focused coping includ- ed ventilation of feelings or avoiding problems. Categorization of those coping styles is consistent with previous research (Dusek & Danko, 1994).

We subjected the summed scores for each of the three factors to a 3 (age) x 2 (gender) x 2 (self-esteem) analysis of variance. The age variables were 12-14, 15-16, and 17-19 years. We placed the participants in categories of high or low self-esteem by use of a median split method. The median scores for the present sample paralleled those reported in previous research (Coopersmith, 1987). The main effect of self-esteem was significantly different for problem-focused cop- ing, F( 1, 347) = 4.09, p < .03, than for emotion-focused coping, F( 1, 347) = 8.25, p c .001. The adolescents with higher scores for self-esteem used more problem-focused coping and less emotion-focused coping strategies than did the adolescents with lower scores for self-esteem. We found no other main effects or interactions.

The three-factor structure of the A-COPE was consistent with earlier research (Dusek & Danko, 1994) and lends support to the usefulness of catego- rizing coping strategies into emotion- and problem-focused strategies. Also in accord with previous research, the adolescents with higher self-esteem used more problem-focused coping strategies (Moos, 1990), and the adolescents with lower self-esteem used more emotion-focused coping strategies (Ebeta & Moos, 1989). The present findings add to the growing literature supporting the importance of positive self-worth among U.S. adolescents who must cope effectively with stress in their lives.

We found no age or gender differences, in contrast to previous researchers (Spivak & Shure, 1985; Stark et al., 1989). Whether these findings were due to

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Mullis & Chapman 541

the younger age of the adolescents in this study, to their being drawn from rural and lower to middle-class families, or to some other variable is a matter of spec- ulation until further research is done.

REFERENCES Compas, B. E. (1987). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence. Psycholog-

ical Bulletin, 101, 393403. Coopersmith, S. (1987). Sey-esteem inventories. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychotogists

Press. Dusek, J. B., & Danko, M. (1994). Adolescent coping styles and perceptions of parental

child rearing. Journal of Adolescent Research, 9. 412-426. Ebeta, A. T., & Moos. R. H. (1989, April). Coping and adjustment in distressed and

healthy adolescents. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Kansas City, MO.

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer- Verlag.

McCubbin, H. I., & Thompson, A. I. (Eds.). (1987). Family assessment inventories for research and practice. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Moos, R. H. (1990). Coping Responses Inventory: Youth form manual. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University and Veterans Administration Medical Centers.

Spivak, G., & Shure, M. B. (1985). ICPS and beyond: Centripetal and centrifugal forces. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13, 226-243.

Stark, L. J., Spinto, A., Williams, C. A., & Guevremont, D. C. (1989). Common problems and coping strategies: Findings with normal adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 17, 203-212.

Received April 27, I998 Accepted December 22, I998

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