Profiles and Correlates of Children’s Self-Reported Coping Strategies Using a Cluster Analytic Approach

We used cluster analysis to identify children’s coping profiles and to examine self- and parent-reported correlates of coping in a community sample. Participants included 135 children (M age = 11.27, s.d. = .59) recruited from local public elementary and junior high schools and 116 of their parents. Analyses included hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s method), followed by non-hierarchical (k-means) cluster analysis to confirm the cluster solution. Results yielded four clusters reflecting high, active, low, and indiscriminant patterns of coping strategies. Members of the active coping group self-reported the fewest symptoms of distress and the greatest number of prosocial competencies after controlling for social desirability. No differences emerged for parent-reported psychosocial functioning across coping profiles. Our results suggest that a combination of active coping strategies may be associated with better psychosocial functioning than a combination of active and avoidant coping strategies.