Coping styles of learning disabled adolescents and their parents

The study compares coping styles of 50 learning disabled and nonlearning dis-abled adolescents and their parents. Analyses indicate that learning disabled adolescents show less ability to appraise a source of stress and seek information in the various domains with which they are expected to cope. Also, they reveal a higher level of pessimism about problems in academic-related domains. Coping patterns of parents of learning disabled adolescents do not show clear differences from parents of nonlearning disabled. Yet mothers of learning disabled adolescents tend more to seek and accept help. Learning disabled adolescents' coping is clearly related to coping or more specifically to difficulties in coping of their parents. Results are discussed in the context of the special difficulties of the learning disabled during adolescence and the role their parents play during this developmental stage.Received Ph. D. from Bar Ilan University. Research interests include developmental and family processes in normal and pathological adolescents.Received Ph.D. from University of Minnesota. Main interests are developmental and family processes in adolescence.Received M.A. in counseling from Tel Aviv University.Received M.A. in counseling from Tel Aviv University.     

Urban youth under stress: Empirical identification of protective factors

Explored the influence of life stress as mediated or moderated by locus of control, family environment, social support, and coping style on psychological adjustment and school performance in 164 ninth graders from Baltimore. Gender differences in findings were shown. For boys, family cohesion was the only variable found to protect against the effects of stress. Family cohesion did not serve protective functions for girls, and along with overall social support, was associated with increased vulnerability to school problems. The report of problem-focused coping strategies exerted a number of protective functions for girls only. External locus of control was found to increase boys' and girls' vulnerability to the effects of life stress. Empirical development of interventions to improve the psychosocial adjustment of inner-city adolescents is discussed.Received Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1991. Research interests include evaluation of school mental health services, empirical development of interventions for children, and the impact of violence on urban youth.Received B.A. from Cornell University. Interests include stress and coping in children, identification of resilience factors, and evaluation of child mental health systems of care.Received Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1967. Research interests include psychophysiology, sleep disorders, and biofeedback and instrumentation.Received B.A. from Loyola College. Interested in applied work with adolescents and adults.Received M.D. from Duke University in 1968. Research interests include training in child and adolescent psychiatry, adolescent psychopathology, and the development of school mental health programs.     

Nonsuicidal Self-Harm Among Community Adolescents: Understanding the “Whats” and “Whys” of Self-Harm

This study examines self-harm in a community sample of adolescents. More specifically, the study identifies the prevalence and types of self-harm, elucidates the nature and underlying function of self-harm, and evaluates the relation of psychological adjustment, sociodemographic, and health-risk variables to self-harm. Self-report questionnaires assessing self-harm, adjustment, health behaviors, suicide history, and social desirability were completed by 424 school-based adolescents. Overall, 15% of the adolescents reported engaging in self-harm behavior. Analyses revealed gender differences across behaviors and motivations. Adolescents who indicated harming themselves reported significantly increased antisocial behavior, emotional distress, anger problems, health risk behaviors, and decreased self-esteem. Results provide support for the coping or affect regulation model of self-harm. Findings suggest that self-harm is associated with maladjustment, suicide, and other health behaviors indicative of risk for negative developmental trajectories. Doctoral student in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Received M.A. in School Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Research interests include self-harm, anxiety, coping, and street-involved youth. Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Received Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Research interests include adolescent social-cognitive development, developmental psychopathology, and stress and coping.     

Depressive symptoms and coping strategies among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

Depressive symptoms and coping strategies of 161 Chinese adolescents were assessed and described using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ). Using the BDI cutoff scores of 9/10 and 29/30, respectively, over 64% of the adolescents would be in the depressed range, and 9% would be in the severely depressed range. For general depressive symptom level, Chinese adolescents appeared to have higher mean BDI score than U.S. adolescents and Chinese young adults. Their depressive symptom levels were found to relate to avoidant coping strategies as well as low self-es-teem and reduced social support. Implications for promoting adaptive coping, peer support network, and self-esteem enhancement were discussed.This study was supported in part by a Chinese University of Hong Kong UPGC direct grant for research.Received Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1978. Research interests include self-esteem, stress, coping, health, and psychopathology.     

Dimensions of self-esteem and psychological symptoms among chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

Self-esteem and psychological symptoms were assessed in a sample of 1082 Chinese adolescents who responded to the Chinese versions of Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory and the General Health Questionnaire. Three dimensions of self-esteem, interpreted as Family Acceptance/Rejection, Self-Depreciation, and Peer Affirmation/Disaffirmation, were found to relate substantially to general psychological symptoms and particularly to specific symptoms of anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression as reported by these adolescents. The implications of the relative importance of appraisal from internal feedback as sources of self-esteem as opposed to the external feedback from family and peers were discussed in relation to self-esteem enhancement in adolescents.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1978. His research interests include self-esteem, stress, coping, health and psychopathology.Received her Ph.D. from the University of South Dakota in 1983. Her research interests include stress, coping and health, and geriatric psychology.     

Family contexts of pubertal timing

This study examined the influence of pubertal timing upon family interactions in normal and psychiatric adolescent samples. An important feature of our approach is its emphasis upon micro-analysis of family behaviors (individual speeches) and family processes (theoretically specified speech pairings). Rather than assume that global family patterns (e.g., power) shift in response to pubertal changes, we follow how types of speeches and speech sequences are associated with different pubertal timing. Using the previously constructed family coding system, the Constrainig and Enabling Coding System, we found that on-time adolescents and their parents differed from both off-time groups (early or late). These results are discussed in terms of current implications and suggestions for future research.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the SRCD Study Group on Timing of Maturation, October, 1983, at the Education Testing Service, Princeton, NJ. This research was supported by NICHD Grant 1 R01 HD18684-01, and an NIMH Research Scientist Award (Dr. Hauser).Received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. Research interest is adolescent development within the family and impact of chronic illness on adolescent development and family interaction.Received her B.A. from Wellesley College. Research interests are in humor and attractiveness.Received his M.A. from Boston University. Research interests are in methodology and statistics.Received Ed.D. from Harvard University. Research interests are in adolescent development within the family, and family coping with stress.Received M.D. from University of Chicago. Research interests are in psychosocial aspects of diabetes.Received Ed.D. from Harvard University. Research interests are in developmental psychopathology, and moral and ego development.Received Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Research interests are in assessment of ego development and family systems.Received Ph.D. from University of Miami. Research interests are in family studies and adolescent development.     

Initial Development of a New Measure of Minor Stress for Adolescents: The Adolescent Minor Stress Inventory

The primary aim of this study was to develop, standardize, and establish initial reliability and validity for the Adolescent Minor Stress Inventory (AMSI), a new measure of minor stress for adolescents. The AMSI improves upon existing adolescent stress measures in a number of important ways in that it does not emphasize school or classroom-based stressors, and includes a method of adjusting for the over- and underreporting of stress. In this investigation, the AMSI was mailed to 1865 adolescents aged 13–17 from which we obtained 720 (39%) usable surveys. Standardized scoring was developed and the results provide initial data supporting the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the AMSI. The AMSI has potential application both in clinical and research settings, particularly during times when school is not in session or with adolescents who do not regularly attend school.Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. Received PhD in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University in 1999. Research interests include psychological stress and nicotine dependence treatment in adolescents and young adults.Professor Emeritus, Division of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. Received MS in Statistics from Iowa State University in 1971. Research interests include survey research, nicotine dependence treatment, and biostatistics.Data Analyst, Division of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Received BS in Applied Statistics from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2000. Research interests include nicotine dependence and survey methods.Associate Professor, Nicotine Dependence Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Received PhD in Clinical Psychology from University of California, San Diego in 1996. Research interests include nicotine dependence in adolescents.Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Received PhD in Clinical Psychology from University of North Dakota in 1980. Research interests include impact of trauma.Statistician, Division of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Received MS in Applied Mathmatics from University of Minnesota, Duluth in 1999. Research interests include nicotine dependence.Professor, Nicotine Dependence Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Received MD from University of Louisville in 1970. Research interest in area of tobacco dependence.     

Developmental trends in television coviewing of parent-child dyads

In this study, long-term trends in joint parent-child television viewing are taken as prototype for developmental changes of the parent-child relationship during adolescence. To describe and compare trends of television coviewing in different configurations of family members, trajectories of daily television viewing, tmeasured with Nielsen-type people meters over a time period of three years, were analyzed using time series methods. The findings show the transferability of hypotheses about general developments in relations between the generations on coviewing behavior of adolescents aged 14–16 with their parents to predict differential declines in the four parent-child dyads.Received Ph.D. from Free University of Berlin in 1976. Research interests include the role of the media in child development and family relations.Received Ph.D. from Free University of Berlin in 1984. Research interests include time series analysis, television behavior, and personality.Received M.S. from Technical University of Berlin, in 1987. Research interests include role of television in political socialization.     

Consistency of adolescents' self-report of sexual behavior in a longitudinal study

This study examines three issues relevant to adolescent self-reported sexual behavior: the extent to which adolescents rescind reports of sexual intercourse, changes in reporting of lifetime sexual intercourse, and changes in reported age at first sexual intercourse. Data come from a three-year longitudinal study of health-compromising behaviors among a cohort a 758 rural adolescents. Students completed a self-administered questionnaire on health behaviors annually in eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. Findings show that 88.8% of students in eighth grade and 94.3% in ninth grade who reported having had sexual intercourse gave the same answer in a subsequent year. Approximately 15% of students reported fewer numbers of lifetime sexual intercourse experiences in tenth grade than they did in ninth grade. Age at first sexual intercourse was reported inconsistently by 67% of the students. Inconsistency rates differed by racial-gender groups, question sensitivity, and prior sexual experience.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include adolescent health and early adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include personality, stress, and coping.Received Ph.D. from University of Chicago. Research interests include adolescent delinquency and substance use.Received Dr. P.H. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include rural adolescents and international health issues.Received Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Research interests include adolescent sexuality and contraceptive decision making.     

Age and Gender Effects on Coping in Children and Adolescents

The aim of this study was to investigate age and gender effects of childrens and adolescents coping with common stressors in 3 age groups (late childhood, early, and middle adolescence). Furthermore, age and developmental differences in situation-specific coping with 2 stress domains were examined. N = 1,123 participants (ages 8 to 13 years) were asked to complete the German Coping Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (Hampel et al., 2001) in response to both an interpersonal and an academic stressor. Adolescent boys and girls, as well as girls from all age ranges scored lower on adaptive and higher on maladaptive coping strategies. With regard to interaction effects, female early adolescents coped maladaptively with common stressors, showing a decreased employment of adaptive (e.g., distraction, positive self-instructions) and an enhanced use of maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., rumination, aggression). Situation-specific coping did not differ consistently with age and gender. Implications of the findings for mental health care and developing clinical treatment of children and adolescents are discussed.Professor of Rehabilitation Psychology, Center of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, University of Bremen, Germany. Received her PhD from the Free University of Berlin in 1994. Major research interests are stress, coping, and stress management in children and adolescents.Professor of Psychology, Center of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, University of Bremen, Germany. Received his PhD from the University of Bonn in 1977. Major research interests are diagnostics, clinical child psychology, and rehabilitation research.     

The impact of stress and coping: Developmental changes in the transition to adolescence

Developmental change in the impact of stressful life events and coping styles were assessed among Israeli preadolescent and adolescent boys. A school sample completed a questionnaire tapping emotionally, cognitively, and practically oriented styles of coping, along with a life event survey. Teachers reported on behavior and adjustment. Analyses revealed that coping among preadolescent males was relatively undifferentiated and of limited efficacy. The transition to adolescence saw an increased qualitative differentiation of emotionally from practically or cognitively oriented coping styles, as well as quantitatively greater use of cognitively oriented coping. Further, cognitively and practically oriented coping served as effective foils to the adverse effects of stress, whereas emotionally oriented coping was counterproductive. Discussion focused on the possible contribution of cognitive growth to coping, as well as the relative utility of adult models for the study of coping in young populations.Received doctorate in educational psychology from University of California, Los Angeles. Current research interests include stress and coping across the life span, social sources of adolescent self-esteem, and intergroup relations in the junior high school.Received doctorate in clinical psychology from Hebrew University. Research interests include social and emotional development in children and adolescents.Received doctorate from Groningen University. Research interests include longitudinal studies of health and well-being in normal families and those with mentally ill members.Received master's degree in clinical child psychology from Bar-Ilan University. Research interests are in family relations and socioemotional development.     

The protective role of coping and social resources for depressive symptoms among young adolescents

Early adolescence is a period of the life course involving high levels of challenge that are stressful for some, perhaps resulting in depressive symptoms. In this study, adolescents were divided into four groups based on indices of depression and negative life events. Group differences in coping style, mastery, optimism, and social resources as well as group differences in patterns of change were investigated. Participants were 458 adolescents in sixth and seventh grade from a rural working class community. Subjects were assessed twice over a one-year period. Analyses revealed that the four groups were characterized by different levels of coping and social resources. Asymptomatic youth reported higher levels of optimism, mastery, active coping, and more positive relationships with parents and peers than did symptomatic adolescents. These same characteristics distinguished the resilient adolescents from the vulnerable adolescents, suggesting potential stress-buffering effects. One year later, the adolescents who were low on both depressive symptoms and negative life events continued to report more individual and contextual resources than the adolescents in the other groups.This research was supported by a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation (8912789) to Anne C. Petersen, Principal Investigator. The writing of this article was supported by The National Institute of Mental Health Research Training Grant 5 T32 MH18387-06 in Child Mental Health/Primary Prevention.Received Ph.D. from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, and did a postdoctoral fellowship in prevention research at Arizona State University. Research interests include adolescent development, prevention, and community psychology.(on leave to the National Science Foundation). Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Research interests include biopsychosocial development at adolescence, adolescent depression and interventions to prevent it, gender issues, and developmental methodology.     

Approach and avoidant coping: Implications for adolescent mental health

We conducted a short-term longitudinal study examining the structure of coping behavior and the relationship between coping style and depression during adolescence. The sample consisted of 603 adolescents in Grades 6–11 who were surveyed in the fall of 1989 and again in the fall of 1990. A two-dimensional model of coping was found using confirmatory factor analysis with the factors being approach and avoidant coping. Four cross-sectional and seven longitudinal coping groups were formed to explore group differences in depression. Approach copers reported the fewest symptoms of depression, while avoidant copers reported the most. Subjects who changed over time from approach to avoidant coping evidenced a significant increase in depressive symptoms, whereas subjects who switched from avoidant to approach coping displayed a significant decrease in depression over a one-year period. These findings imply that adolescents who are able to elicit social support, engage in problem solving, and cognitively restructure events within a positive light are more likely to successfully negotiate the challenges of adolescence.This research was supported by a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation (8912789), Anne C. Petersen, Principal Investigator. The writing of this article was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health Research Training Grant 5 T32MH18387-06 in Child Mental Health/Primary Prevention.Received Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include adolescent mental health and community research.Received his Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include adolescent mental health and research methodology.Received degree from the University of Chicago. Research interests are in biopsychosocial development in adolescence, with a focus on sex differences in mental health.     

Parental support,coping strategies,and psychological adjustment: An integrative model with late adolescents

The purpose of this study was to apply an Integrative predictive model to examine interrelationships among parental support, adaptive coping strategies, and psychological adjustment among late adolescents. Findings using new measures of parental support and adaptive coping with 241 eighteen-year-old college freshmen supported hypotheses. Social support from both mother and father and a nonconflictual relationship between parents were positively associated with adolescents' psychological adjustment. Adolescents with high parental support were better adjusted and less distressed than were those with low parental support. Additionally, an integrative structural equation model showed that parental support was associated with psychological adjustment both directly and indirectly through a higher percent of approach coping strategies.This work was supported in part by grants from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the University Research Institute, University of Texas at Austin, and the William T. Grant Foundation.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Research interests include stress and coping processes among adolescents and adults and coping with chronic illness.Research interests include adolescent coping and development and anxiety processes.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Research interests include social ecological perspectives on psychological functioning, health services research and evaluation, depression, and alcoholism.     

Family influences,school behaviors,and risk for the later development of an eating disorder

Interviews were conducted with parents of 136 female and 45 male adolescents categorized into risk groups for the later development of an eating disorder. The family and school concomitants of risk status in females were demonstrated to be different from that in males. Risk group female adolescents rated family cohesion, parent-adolescent communication processes, and overall family satisfaction more negatively than the comparison group. Mothers of moderate risk group females reported lower family cohesion than the comparison group; there were no group differences for adolescent females in fathers' ratings of family measures. However, no group differences were found on any of the family measures between male risk and comparison males. For both females and males, there were no significant group differences in family history of eating and mood disorders, or alcohol dependence. Teacher ratings indicated relatively greater internalizing tendencies in the high-risk female group.This investigation was supported by NICHD Grant Number 1R01-HD24700 awarded to Gloria R. Leon.Received Ph.D. from University at Maryla. Research interests include precursors of eating disorders and stress and coping in extreme environments. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received M.A. from San Diego State University. Research interests include precursors of eating disorders, substance abuse, and personality.Received Ph.D. from Stanford University. Research interests include psychosocial aspects of health promotion and disease prevention.Received B.A. from University of Maine. Research interests life span development and family issues.     

Moderating effects of adolescent social orientation on the relation between social support and self-esteem

The study assessed whether the impact of social support on self-esteem is moderated by the adolescent's orientation toward the source of aid. Questionnaires were administered to 84 Israeli adolescents regarding self-esteem, perceived level of support from parents and peers, and preference, or orientation, for support from these sources. Regression analyses indicated that the positive effect of social figures' support on self-esteem increased as a function of interest in receiving aid from the specific source. Correlational analyses also revealed that heightened orientation toward parents was associated with higher levels of perceived parental support, whereas heightened orientation toward peers was associated with higher levels of peer support and lower levels of parental aid. These findings were consistent with self-evaluation maintenance and social provision theories, which suggest that the individual has an active role in selectively seeking out and filtering external social influences.His doctorate in educational psychology is from UCLA. Current research interests include stress and coping across the life span, social sources of adolescent self-esteem, and intergroup relations in the junior high school.Her doctorate in clinical psychology is from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her research interests include family relations, social and emotional development in children and adolescents, and developmental psychopathology.Her research interests focus on social support in the family.     

Stress and adjustment in the transition to adolescence: Moderating effects of neuroticism and extroversion

Research on adult populations (P.T. Costa and R. R McCrae [1986] From Catalog to Classification; Murray's Needs and the Five Factor Model, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,Vol. 55, pp. 258–265) has indicated that neuroticism tends to exacerbate the dynamic link between stressful life events and maladjustment, whereas extroversion tends to ameliorate it. The present study examined the developmental relevance of this model during the transition to adolescence. Questionnaire data regarding stressful life events, neuroticism, and extroversion were provided by 51 males aged 10–11 and by 68 males aged 12–13, with parallel data on adjustment provided by homeroom teachers. As expected, regression analyses revealed significant interactions between personality traits and life events in the prediction of adjustment among adolescents, but not preadolescents. Further, significant but low correlations appeared in both age groups between personality traits and the appearance of stressful events as well as adjustment problems. Discussion focused on the dynamically differing processes linking personality, stress, and adjustment during the transition to adolescence.Received doctorate in educational psychology from UCLA. Research interests include stress and coping across the life span, social sources of adolescent self-esteem, and intergroup relations in the junior high school.Received doctorate in clinical psychology from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Research interests include family relations, social and emotional development in children and adolescents, and developmental psychopathology. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Research interests focus on social support in the family.     

Risk and resilience in young adolescents

This exploratory study focused on the role of risk and protective factors in 179 adolescents from a middle and lower income northeastern school district. The protective factors examined were family cohesion, locus of control, mother/father communication, and relationship with a nonparent adult. The study found that the protective factors were powerful predictors of adaptation in their own right independent of risk. Protective factors were found to be highly context specific and there was no evidence of broadly applicable protective factors. Gender was found to be an important aspect of context, and there were significant sex differences. Most strikingly, the study did not find any significant interactions between protective factors and risk for girls or boys. Thus, these results support the growing view that researchers must identify specific rather than global protective factors that provide protection in the space of specific risks for youth in specific life contexts.A grant from the Boston University Graduate School provided initial support for this project.Received Ph.D. from Yale University in clinical psychology. Research interests include effects of risk, particularly sexual and physical abuse, and resiliency.Received M.A. from Boston University. Research interests include risk and developmental factors in psychopathology.Received Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Boston University Department of Psychology. Research interests include study of adolescence and risk factors.Received Ph.D. from Boston University.Received M.A. from Eastern Nazarine College, Quincy, MA.Received B.A. from Boston University Department of Psychology, Boston, MA 02215.     

Children's responses to interpersonal obstacles as a predictor of social competence

Children's responses to interpersonal obstacles and the relationship of these responses to social competence were investigated using the Social Problem Situation Analysis Measure. In this procedure, children respond to standard vignettes and then have their initial response negated by the examiner. The data showed that indices of problem-solving skills instandard andobstacle situations were indeed complementary. Problem solving in response to obstacles was the strongest predictor of self-concept and teachers' ratings of studients' adjustment. Expectancies in standard situations were most predictive of behavioral problem solving and social isolation. The discussion emphasized implications for theory and research into the way in which social problem solving under obstacle conditions relates to different indices of social competence.This study was supported in part by grants to the first author from the William T. Grant Foundation (with John Clabby) and NIMH.Received Ph.D. from University of Connecticut. Research interests include primary prevention and social competence promotion.Received Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Research interests include stress and coping processes.Received Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Research interests include theory and assessment, self and psychopathology.     

The self-image of physically abused adolescents

Thirty physically abused adolescents were compared via the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire to thirty nonabused adolescents who were from a similar background. Another control group was comprised of normal adolescents tested by Offer, Ostrov, and Howard (1981). Results showed that physically abused adolescents feel worse in a number of areas when compared to nonabused adolescents. These areas include family relations, emotional stability, psychopathology, impulse control, coping skills, as well as poorer overall self-image. Implications are drawn for the professional's treatment of abused children and their responsibility to report abuse.This study was completed as part of the first author's doctoral dissertation at California Graduate Institute.Received Ph.D. from California Graduate Institute. Current research interests are psychoanalytic therapy and adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.