Inge Seiffge-Krenke

Coping Style in Adolescence A Cross-Cultural Study

The present study compares the coping styles of adolescents in two different cultures. Two carefully equated samples, consisting of 353 German and 187 Israeli adolescents, aged 15 to 17 years, were investigated. Coping styles were defined by a matrix of 20 coping strategies applied across eight different developmental areas. Factor analysis revealed comparable dimensional structures of coping styles. Both German and Israeli adolescents most frequently employed functional forms of coping. The samples differed with respect to their relative emphasis on direct action and help-seeking behavior as compared to internal reflection of possible solutions. In both cultures withdrawal was not used very often. In addition, significant main effects for age and gender were found. Coping behavior among German adolescents was more influenced by situational demands, with pronounced approach-avoidance behavior. Their Israeli counterparts showed less variability in coping behavior across situations, laid greater stress on cognitive factors, and showed a striking decrease in overall coping behavior with increasing age. The discussion focuses on cultural universals and differences in coping behavior and considers the impact of environmental and historical conditions.

The Differentiation of Coping Traits in Adolescence

The present study investigates the process of coping with daily problems during adolescence. Coping is conceptualised as a trait-like construct and, as such, is seen as being stable over time. This assumption is tested by constructing coping factors for two different age groups of adolescents (11- to 16 year-olds vs. 17- to 19-year-olds). According to the results, the younger subjects use approach and avoidance coping factors. However, for the older adolescents, the approach dimension is differentiated into behavioural and cognitive components, whereas the avoidance dimension remains the same. The results also indicate that the girls in both age groups have significantly higher values in approach-oriented coping than boys.

Adolescent Coping Style as a Function of Perceived Family Climate

The study compares adolescent coping styles across different perceived family climates. Analyses indicated that the perception of family cohesion and organization, combined with respect for individual development, were related to a higher level of functional coping in the adolescent. A sense of lack of family support, or a sense of an over-controlling family climate, was related to a higher level of dysfunctional coping. Adolescent perception of family climate was found to be related to the nature of the task or situation the adolescent encounters. Findings are discussed in terms of the interface between adolescent development and perception of family processes.

The Many Faces of Adolescent Egocentrism: Two European Replications

Measures of adolescent egocentrism were administered to 228 Belgian and 241 German adolescents in order to explore (a) the intercorrelations between different aspects of the construct and (b) their developmental functions. Correlational results argue in favor of the multidimensional nature of the construct. The Imaginary Audience Scale (IAS) exhibited low to moderate associations with the Adolescent Egocentrism Scale (AES) and the Low Probability Events (LPE) questionnaire, so that these measures may not be used interchangeably. However, both the imaginary audience (LAS) and the personal fable (PF) measures evidenced construct validity in that they were significantly related to self-image in the German sample. Some egocentric phenomena decreased from early or middle adolescence onwards, but other manifestations were still on the increase by the end of adolescence in both samples. The need for further cross-cultural research in the domain of adolescent egocentrism is stressed.