Overcoming exposure to complex stressors: An examination of protective coping mechanisms for low-income urban African American youth

Abstract

Low-income urban African American youth experience multiple uncontrollable stressors (e.g., community violence) that impact the severity of controllable stressors (e.g., academic stressors), leading to negative life outcomes. The literature suggests the coping response may mitigate this pathway, yet as most research has assessed individual stressors in isolation, it remains unclear how different coping strategies may benefit youths across different stressors. To address this gap, 143 youth (93.7% African American or Black; M age = 10.1 years) completed the Response to Stress Questionnaire as a measure of academic and violent stressors and respective coping strategies, as well as the Behavioral Assessment System for Children as a measure of social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Results indicated slightly lower levels of perceived control over violent versus academic stressors, with higher levels of violent stressors significantly associated with higher levels of academic stressors. Cluster analysis revealed two coping typologies for each type of stressor, with disengagement strategies in response to violent stressors and engagement strategies in response to academic stressors generally emerging as the most adaptive. The coping response significantly differed based on level of each stressor, and coping moderated the relationship between violent stressors and internalizing problems such that disengagement strategies were generally more beneficial but lost their status as a protective factor for youth exposed to the highest levels of violence.