Psychological Adjustment and Coping Styles of Urban African American High School Students

Abstract

In a study of African American (n = 208) urban high school students, grade point average (GPA) and specific strategies for coping with day‐to‐day stressors were found to be significantly related to psychological adjustment. Students who had higher GPAs tended to use family members as a means of solving problems, minimized problems by the use of humor, and used relaxation activities less often were found to have the most positive psychological adjustment, as measured by the index score of the Affects Balance Scale (ABS). Reported negative affect was not found to be significantly influenced by coping style, whereas positive affect was.