Coping With Interpersonal Stress and Psychosocial Health Among Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis

• NCJ Number: 214322
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 11-24
• Author(s): Angela T. Clarke
• Date Published: February 2006
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study combined the findings of 40 studies of how children and adolescents had attempted to gain control over stressful personal situations and feelings ("active coping") and the connection of these efforts to positive relationships, constructive behaviors, a reduction in anxiety, and successful school performance ("psychosocial health").

Abstract

When taken together, the findings of the studies reviewed showed that "active coping" accounted for less than 2 percent of the variance in "psychosocial" functioning among youth, whether functioning was measured in terms of behavioral problems, social functioning, or school performance. This suggests that programs designed to improve youths' skills in managing stressful situations and feelings will not achieve significant positive changes in their behaviors, feelings, attitudes, and school performance. The most significant finding from the studies is that the strength of the connection between active coping and psychosocial health depends on the extent to which the sources and/or causes of the stress are capable of being controlled; for example, youth who attempt to resolve uncontrollable interpersonal stressors, such as parental conflict or illness, are more likely to show poorer social competence and greater behavioral problems than youth who are dealing with a minor dispute with a close friend. This finding suggests that programs designed to improve the psychosocial health of children and adolescents must teach them how to assess the controllability of the stressor and how to manage their feelings and behaviors when situations cannot be controlled. The majority of the 40 studies selected for this analysis used a cross-sectional design and recruited youth from normative populations such as schools. Just over half of the studies used self-report questionnaires to measure active coping among youth. Other measurement techniques were interviews, parent or teacher questionnaires, and observation. 3 tables and 77 references