Review of adolescent coping research: representation of key demographic variables and methodological approaches to assessment.

Abstract

Stressful experiences can be traced to surrounding social structures, the most encompassing of which include gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and race. An integrative review of adolescent coping research was conducted to examine the inclusion of key demographic variables and methodological approaches to the assessment of coping. Results indicated that the majority of studies investigated coping among both gender groups. However, only 46.7% reported information on SES. Coping among adolescents of lower SES and the inner city was not adequately examined. Similarly, only 53% of the studies reported information on racial composition. African-American and other minority adolescents were underrepresented in the research. To assess coping, 73.3% of the studies utilized the questionnaire format. However, instruments were not used in a consistent manner with regard to the period of time from which to recall a stressor and the context from which the stressor was selected. For those using the open-ended format for assessment, data were analyzed exclusively via the deductive approach. Our findings suggest that future research should (a) investigate coping among youth from diverse SES and racial groups, (b) examine coping over a full range of stressors, (c) utilize daily reports, and (d) assess coping by applying qualitative methods.