Elsevier

Journal of Affective Disorders

Volume 186, 1 November 2015, Pages 312-319
Journal of Affective Disorders

Research report
Adolescent coping profiles differentiate reports of depression and anxiety symptoms

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.07.031Get rights and content

Highlights

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    LPA classified 10th and 11th grade students into 4 distinct groups based on responses on the COPE.

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    Groups differed in their amount of coping with relative preference for certain strategies.

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    One group reported moderate amounts of coping and the least depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify groups of adolescents based on their reported use of different coping strategies and compare levels of depression and anxiety symptoms across the groups. Tenth and eleventh grade public school students (N=982; 51% girls; 66% Caucasian; M age=16.04, SD=0.73) completed a battery of self-report measures that assessed their use of different coping strategies, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Latent profile analysis (LPA) classified the participants into four distinct groups based on their responses on subscales of the COPE inventory (Carver et al., 1989). Groups differed in amount of coping with participants in each group showing relative preference for engaging in certain strategies over others. Disengaged copers reported the lowest amounts of coping with a preference for avoidance strategies. Independent copers reported moderate levels of coping with relatively less use of support-seeking. Social support-seeking copers and active copers reported the highest levels of coping with a particular preference for support-seeking strategies. The independent copers reported the lowest levels of depressive symptoms compared to the three other groups. The Social Support Seeking and Active Coping Groups reported the highest levels of anxiety. Although distinct coping profiles were observed, findings showed that adolescents between the ages of 14 and 16 engage in multiple coping strategies and are more likely to vary in their amount of coping than in their use of specific strategies.

Section snippets

Adolescent coping profiles differentiate reports of depression and anxiety symptoms

Coping refers to the ways in which individuals respond to and manage stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). In line with the diathesis-stress model of depression, individual differences in coping have been used to differentiate people who develop depressive symptoms following stressful events from those who experience stress but do not develop depressive symptoms (Compas et al., 1993, Evans et al., 2015, Ingram and Luxton, 2005, Sawyer et al., 2009). Thus, coping can serve as a protective factor

Approach versus avoidant coping

Coping strategies have been categorized conceptually into approach and avoidance strategies (Carver and Connor-Smith, 2010, Litman, 2006, Roth and Cohen, 1986). Approach strategies, also referred to as engagement strategies or problem-focused strategies, include primary control (e.g., problem solving) and secondary control (e.g., cognitive restructuring) strategies utilized in an attempt to alter the stressfulness of a situation. Seeking emotional support from others also is typically

Coping in adolescence

Adolescence is a critical period for studying coping (Hussong and Chassin, 2004). Numerous changes occur during this time period, including pubertal development, the development of autonomy, identity formation, and increases in cognitive, behavioral, and emotional capacities for self-regulation (Compas et al., 2001; Garcia, 2010; Griffith et al., 2000; Smetana et al., 2006). Changes in family and peer relationships occur as well as adolescents spend increasing amounts of time with peers (

Participants

All of the participating adolescents were involved in a larger research project (Ohannessian, 2009). During the spring of 2007, 10th and 11th grade students attending public high schools in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. were invited to participate in the study. The sample included 982 15–17 year-old girls (54%) and boys from seven public high schools. The mean age of the adolescents was 16.09 (SD=0.68). Sixty-five percent of the youth were Caucasian, 19% were African-American, 11% were

Descriptive statistics and preliminary analyses

Descriptive statistics and correlations for the nine COPE scales are shown in Table 1. Overall, the adolescents were most likely to seek instrumental and emotional support as a coping strategy when faced with a stressor and least likely to engage in denial as a coping strategy. All of the COPE scales were significantly correlated with one another, with small correlations between the approach-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping scales (e.g., emotional support and denial), and large

Discussion

Despite the multidimensional nature of adolescent coping (Ohannessian et al., 2010, Skinner and Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007), prior research has focused on risk associated with the use of individual strategies, including approach strategies (e.g., social support; Cicognani, 2011) and avoidant strategies (e.g., behavioral disengagement; Horwitz et al., 2011). Rather than studying a single type of coping, the current study identified patterns of coping across nine different strategies. Latent profile

Acknowledgments

We thank the members of the Adolescent Adjustment Project for their help with data collection.

This research was supported by a Grant from the National Institute of Health, USA (K01-AA015059).

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