The paper studies the problem of the interrelation between the leading patterns of coping with negative situations and personal traits of older adolescents. The author studies various approaches to definitions of the concepts “coping”, “coping behavior” and the correlation of these concepts. The ambiguity in the definition of these concepts in Russian and foreign literature is revealed and the results of an empirical study are presented. It is proved that there is a correlation between the indicators on the scales of the methods of coping with negative situations and indicators on the scales that determine personal traits of schoolchildren. It is revealed that students having a predominant way of coping with negative situations called “support seeking” tend to possess low aspiration for acceptance by other people, low motivation for affiliation, and the predominance of the “fear of rejection” motive in communication. It is determined that schoolchildren who are characterized by such a way of coping with negative situations as self-accusation have a high level of general externality, externality in their achievements and externality in family relations. They are characterized by low values on such scales as “Life Process”, “Life Result”, “Locus of Control – Myself”, “Locus of Control – Life”, and “Meaningfulness of Life”. Personality traits of older adolescents with predominantly adaptive patterns of coping with negative situations are determined. They are characterized by greater internality in family relations, greater confidence in their lives manageability, higher values of self-esteem and level of aspiration. The detected traits can be taken into account in designing a program of psychological and educational support for older adolescents.