Coping and mental health in early adolescence

Abstract

The research is fitted into a broader longitudinal project (1989-91) focused on mental health and protective factors in early adolescence. In order to evaluate coping strategies and the relation with mental health, a French version of the A-Cope questionnaire developed by Patterson and McCubbin was adopted. The results obtained with this questionnaire in a French-speaking Swiss population (N = 276; mean age 13 years, 8 months) are compared with those obtained by the authors and other users of this questionnaire in U.S.A. Strategies more frequently used by Swiss early adolescents are very similar to those used by American early adolescents. Significant relations between coping strategies and mental health were found, which are different according to gender: girls invest in more social relations, express more negative feelings, and more commonly adopt consumption habits such as shopping or eating; boys often use sense of humour, or practise a hobby or sport. Many of these strategies protect girls and boys from distress, some others, like expressing negative feelings, are associated with an increase of difficulties (sleeping problems, depressive mood or anxiety). The relative impact of age and other variables (stress, coping) was tested, using longitudinal data. A regression analysis of within-subject change was employed, a method adapted from the General Linear Model to analyse developmental trends with longitudinal data. Results show that mental health in early adolescence (between age 12 and 14 ) seems to be relatively stable. Mental health observed in a determined time "t" has essentially been influenced by previous events.