Abstract
This study aimed to determine the effects of two types of coping strategies on wellbeing in a sample of 405 young people using structural equation modeling. A survey research design was employed. Two constructs were measured: coping strategies and well-being. Goodness of fit indices was analyzed to select, the best structural equation model of coping as a potential predictor of well-being, as measured by Ryff’s well-being scales. Problem-focused coping positively predicted a significant portion of variance in well-being, while emotion-focused coping negatively predicted well-being. Religion as a coping strategy did not end up in the final model. The results’ impact within the literature on youth well-being is discussed. It was concluded that young people do not typically use religion or magical thinking as coping strategies, and the use of negative auto-focused coping was associated with lower problem-focused coping.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott, R. A., Ploubidis, G. B., Huppert, F. A., Kuh, D., Wadsworth, M. E. J., & Croudace, T. J. (2006). Psychometric evaluation and predictive validity of Ryff’s psychological well-being items in a UK birth cohort sample of women. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 4, 76. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-4-76.
Ano, G. G., & Vasconcelles, E. B. (2005). Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61, 461–480. doi:10.1037/a0023155.
Anthony, E. (2008). Cluster profiles of youths living in urban poverty: Factors affecting risk and resilience. Social Work Research, 32, 6–16. doi:10.1093/swr/32.1.6.
Baker, J. P., & Berenbaum, H. (2007). Emotional approach and problem-focused coping: A comparison of potentially adaptive strategies. Cognition and Emotion, 21, 95–118. doi:10.1080/02699930600562276.
Baldacchino, D., & Draper, P. (2001). Spiritual coping strategies: A review of the nursing research literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34, 833–841. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01814.x.
Campbell-Sills, L., Cohan, S. L., & Stein, M. B. (2006). Relationship of resilience to personality, coping, and psychiatric symptoms in young adults. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 585–599. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.05.001.
Cappeliez, P., & Robitaille, A. (2010). Coping mediates the relationships between reminiscence and psychological wellbeing among older adults. Aging and Mental Health, 14, 807–818. doi:10.1080/13607861003713307.
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. G., & Weintraub, J. G. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267–283. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.56.2.267.
Clarke, A. T. (2006). Coping with interpersonal stress and psychosocial health among children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 35, 11–24. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-9001-x.
Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A. H., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 87–127. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.1.87.
Diehl, M., Coyle, N., & Labouvie-Vief, G. (1996). Age and sex differences in strategies of coping and defense across the life span. Psychology and Aging, 11, 127–139. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.11.1.127.
Fierro, C., & Jiménez, J. A. (1999). Bienestar y consecuencias de afrontar un suceso impactante en jóvenes. [Stressors, coping and well-being in young people]. Estudios de Psicología, 62, 39–54. doi:10.1174/02109390260288604.
Fierro, C., & Jiménez, J. A. (2002). Bienestar, variables personales y afrontamiento en jóvenes. [Well-being, personality dimensions and coping in young people]. Escritos de Psicología, 6, 85–91.
Folkman, S. (1984). Personal control and distress and coping processes: A theoretical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 839–852. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.46.4.839.
Gómez-Bustamante, E. M., & Cogollo, Z. (2010). Factores predictores relacionados con el bienestar general en adolescentes estudiantes de Cartagena, Colombia [Predictors related to the general wellbeing of adolescent students in Cartagena, Colombia]. Revista de Salud Publica, 12, 61–70.
González, R., Montoya, I., Casullo, M., & Bernabéu, J. (2002). Relación entre estilos y estrategias de afrontamiento y bienestar psicológico en adolescentes. [Relationship between coping strategies and psychological well-being in adolescents]. Psicothema, 14, 363–368.
Hamarat, E., Thompson, D., Zabrucky, K. M., Steele, D., Matheny, K. B., & Aysan, F. (2001). Perceived stress and coping resource availability as predictors of life satisfaction in young, middle-aged, and older adults. Experimental Aging Research, 27, 181–196. doi:10.1080/036107301750074051.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118.
Kafka, G. J., & Kozma, A. (2002). The construct validity of Ryff’s scales of psychological well-being and their relationship to measures of subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 57, 171–190. doi:10.1023/A:1014451725204.
Krause, N. (2008). The social foundation of religious meaning in life. Research on Aging, 30, 395–427. doi:10.1177/0164027508316619.
Lazarus, R. S. (2006). Emotions and interpersonal relationships: Toward a person-centered conceptualization of emotions and coping. Journal of Personality, 74, 9–46. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00368.x.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
Mclntosh, D. N., Silver, R., & Wortman, C. B. (1993). Religion’s role in adjustment to a negative life event: Coping with the loss of a child. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 812–821. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.4.812.
Meléndez, J. C., Mayordomo, T., Sancho, P., & Tomás, J. M. (2012). Coping strategies: Gender differences and development throughout life-span. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15, 1089–1098. doi:10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n3.39399.
Meléndez, J. C., Tomás, J. M., & Navarro, E. (2011). Actividades de la vida diaria y bienestar y su relación con la edad y el género en la vejez. [Everyday life activities and well-being: Their relationships with age and gender in the elderly]. Anales de Psicología, 27, 164–169.
Meléndez, J. C., Tomás, J. M., Oliver, A., & Navarro, E. (2009). Psychological and physical dimensions explaining life satisfaction among elderly: A structural model examination. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 48, 291–295. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2008.02.008.
Moreira-Almeida, A., Neto, F. L., & Koenig, H. G. (2006). Religiousness and mental health: A review. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatría, 28, 242–250. doi:10.1590/S1516-44462006005000006.
Park, C. L. (2013). Religion and meaning. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 357–379). New York: Guilford Press.
Park, C. L., & Folkman, S. (1997). Meaning in the context of stress and coping. Review of General Psychology, 1, 115–144. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.1.2.115.
Penley, J. A., Tomaka, J., & Wiebe, J. S. (2002). The association of coping to physical and psychological health outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 25, 551–603. doi:10.1023/A:1020641400589.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069–1081. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719.
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719–727. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719.
Sandín, B., & Chorot, P. (2003). Cuestionario de Afrontamiento del Estrés (CAE): Desarrollo y validación preliminar. [The Coping Strategies Questionnaire: Development and preliminary valdation]. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 8, 39–54.
Shaw, A. S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Religion, spirituality, and posttraumatic growth: A systematic review. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 8, 1–11. doi:10.1080/1367467032000157981.
Skinner, E. A., Edge, K., Altman, J., & Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: A review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 216–269. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.216.
Skinner, E. A., & Zimmmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2007). The development of coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 119–144. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085705.
Steinhardt, M., & Dolbier, C. (2008). Evaluation of a resilience intervention to enhance coping strategies and protective factors and decrease symptomatology. Journal of American College Health, 56, 445–454. doi:10.3200/JACH.56.44.445-454.
Tomás, J. M., Meléndez, J. C., & Navarro, E. (2008). Modelos factoriales confirmatorios de las escalas de Ryff en una muestra de personas mayores. [Factorial confirmatory models of Ryff’s scales in a sample of elderly people]. Psicothema, 20, 298–304.
Williams, K., & McGillicuddy-De Lisi, A. (2000). Coping strategies in adolescents. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20, 537–549. doi:10.1016/S0193-3973(99)00025-8.
Zeidner, M., & Saklofske, D. (1996). Adaptive and maladaptive coping. In M. Zeidner & N. S. Endler (Eds.), Handbook of coping: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 505–531). Oxford: Wiley.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mayordomo-Rodríguez, T., Meléndez-Moral, J.C., Viguer-Segui, P. et al. Coping Strategies as Predictors of Well-Being in Youth Adult. Soc Indic Res 122, 479–489 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0689-4
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0689-4