Development of Coping during Middle Childhood: Cognitive Reappraisal, Mental Modes of Coping, and Coordination with Demands

Abstract

During middle childhood, coping becomes remarkably “sturdy,” which may be one reason why this phase is seen as particularly resilient. Three key developments underlie reorganizations during this period. First, new representational capacities are consolidated that allow children to intentionally reappraise stressful events in ways that shape their emotional reactions and coping choices, and to differentiate and deploy a wider range of ways of coping, including a host of mental means. Second, these new mental means are incorporated in problem-solving and emotion regulation, leading to improvements in children’s abilities to identify, negotiate, and enact constructive solutions, even under demanding conditions, such as interpersonal conflict. Third, executive functions continue to improve, enabling children to more deliberately and flexibly coordinate ways of coping with changing internal and external demands and resources. Together, these new capacities enable children to use a wide range of strategies for constructively managing both instrumental and interpersonal problems, while at the same time listening to internal experiences and helping to restore emotional well-being. These coping experiences, when supported by caring adults, contribute to the development of pragmatic and constructive self-systems that will serve as anchors in future attempts to deal with obstacles and problems. A major task of caregivers is to help children spend time in a zone of “just manageable challenge,” where demands are both challenging and controllable. Such experiences promote stress resilience, but creating this zone is a moving target, requiring continual readjustment to keep tipping children away from experiences of threat and toward experiences of challenge.