Boys play sport and girls turn to others: age, gender and ethnicity as determinants of coping

Abstract

This paper reports a conceptualization of and our research to date in the area of adolescent coping. In particular, it reports on a study of Australian secondary students who completed an 80-item questionnaire which captures the range of adolescent coping behaviour by assessing eighteen strategies and three coping styles. When the relationship between coping behaviour and the respondents' gender, age and ethnicity was investigated, it was found that older students use more Self-blame and Tension reduction techniques than do younger students; and younger students use more work related strategies than do older students; males report using more Physical Recreation than do females whilst females use more Seeking Social Support, Wishful Thinking and Tension-reduction strategies. In general, the pattern of usage of different coping strategies, for the students participating in this investigation, indicates that adolescents' foremost response to their general concerns comprises attempts to deal directly with the causes of concerns while attending to both their own physical and social well-being.