Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

An Exploratory Factor Analysis of Coping Styles and Relationship to Depression Among a Sample of Homeless Youth

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The extent to which measures of coping adequately capture the ways that homeless youth cope with challenges, and the influence these coping styles have on mental health outcomes, is largely absent from the literature. This study tests the factor structure of the Coping Scale using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and then investigates the relationship between coping styles and depression using hierarchical logistic regression with data from 201 homeless youth. Results of the EFA indicate a 3-factor structure of coping, which includes active, avoidant, and social coping styles. Results of the hierarchical logistic regression show that homeless youth who engage in greater avoidant coping are at increased risk of meeting criteria for major depressive disorder. Findings provide insight into the utility of a preliminary tool for assessing homeless youths’ coping styles. Such assessment may identify malleable risk factors that could be addressed by service providers to help prevent mental health problems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alder, C. (1991). Victims of violence: The case of homeless youth. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 24(1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., Text Revision). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

  • Bender, K. A., Ferguson, K., Thompson, S., Komlo, C., & Pollio, D. (2010). Factors associated with trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder among homeless youth in three US cities: The importance of transience. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23(1), 161–168.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boals, A., vanDellen, M. R., & Banks, J. B. (2011). The relationship between self-control and health: The mediating effect of avoidant coping. Psychology and Health, 26, 1049–1062. doi:10.1080/08870446.2010.529139.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: Consider the brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 92–100.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cauce, A. M., Paradise, M., Ginzler, J. A., Embry, L., Morgan, C. J., Lohr, Y., et al. (2000). The characteristics and mental health of homeless adolescents: Age and gender differences. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8(4), 230–239. doi:10.1177/106342660000800403.

  • Chao, R. C. L. (2011). Managing stress and maintaining well-being: Social support, problem-focused coping, and avoidant coping. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89, 338–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coates, J., & McKenzie-Mohr, S. (2010). Out of the frying pan, into the fire: Trauma in the lives of homeless youth prior to and during homelessness. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 37, 65–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curry, S. L., & Russ, S. W. (1985). Identifying coping strategies in children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 14, 61–69.

  • DeVellis, R. F. (1991). Scale development: Theory & applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebata, A. T., & Moos, R. H. (1991). Coping and adjustment in distressed and healthy adolescents. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 33–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ensign, J., & Santelli, J. (1998). Health status and service use: Comparison of adolescents at a school-based health clinic with homeless adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 152(1), 20–24.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, K. M., Bender, K. A., Thompson, S. J., Xie, B., & Pollio, D. (2012). Exploration of arrest activity among homeless young adults in four US cities. Social Work Research, 36(3), 233–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 150–170.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). Ways of coping questionnaire. Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, K. E., Compas, B. E., Stuhlmacher, A. F., Thurm, A., McMahon, S. D., & Halpert, S. (2003). Stressors and child and adolescent psychopathology: Moving from markers to mechanisms of risk. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 447–466. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.447.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guada, J., Land, H., & Han, J. (2011). An exploratory factor analysis of the burden assessment scale with a sample of African-American families. Community Mental Health Journal, 47, 233–242. doi:10.1007/s10597-010-9298-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herman-Stahl, M. A., Stemmler, M., & Petersen, A. C. (1994). Approach and avoidant coping: Implications for adolescent mental health. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 649–665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidd, S. A. (2003). Street youth: Coping and interventions. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 20(4), 235–261. doi:10.1023/A:1024552808179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidd, S. A., & Carroll, M. R. (2007). Coping and suicidality among homeless youth. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 283–296. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.03.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kipke, M. D., Simon, T. R., Montgomery, S. B., Unger, J. B., & Iversen, E. F. (1997). Homeless youth and their exposure to and involvement in violence while living on the streets. Journal of Adolescent Health, 20(5), 360–367.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lecrubier, Y., Sheehan, D., Weiller, E., Amorim, P., Bonora, I., Sheehan, K., et al. (1997). The MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interivew. A short diagnostic structured interview: Reliability and validity according to the CIDI. European Psychiatry, 12, 224–231.

  • Ledesma, R. D., & Valero-Mora, P. (2007). Determining the number of factors to retain in EFA: An easy-to-use computer program for carrying out parallel analysis. http://pareonline.net/pdf/v12n2.pdf.

  • Lindsay, E. W., Kurtz, D., Jarvis, S., Williams, N. R., & Nackerud, L. (2000). How run-aways and homeless youth navigate troubled waters: Personal strengths and resources. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 17, 115–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayordomo-Rodríguez, T., Meléndez-Moral, J. C., Viguer-Segui, P., & Sales-Galán, A. (2014). Coping strategies as predictors of well-being in youth adult. Social Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s11205-014-0689-4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melander, L. A., & Tyler, K. A. (2010). The effect of early maltreatment, victimization, and partner violence on HIV risk behavior among homeless young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47(6), 575–581.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, M. B., & Knardahl, S. (2014). Coping strategies: A prospective study of patterns, stability, and relationships with psychological distress. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 55(2), 142–150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pina, A. A., Villalta, I. K., Ortiz, C. D., Gottschall, A. C., Costa, N. M., & Weems, C. F. (2008). Social support, discrimination, and coping as predictors of posttraumatic stress reactions in youth survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(3), 564–574. doi:10.1080/15374410802148228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D., Mallett, S., & Myers, P. (2007). Why do homeless young people leave home? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 30(3), 281–285. doi:10.1111/j.1467-842X.2006.tb00872.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rytwinski, N. K., Avena, J. S., Echiverri-Cohen, A. M., Zoellner, L. A., & Feeny, N. C. (2013). The relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder severity, depression severity and physical health. Journal of Health Psychology, 19(4), 509–520.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saha, R., Huebner, S., Hills, K. J., Malone, P. S., & Valois, R. F. (2014). Social coping and life satisfaction in adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 115, 241–252. doi: 10.1007/s11205-012-0217-3

  • Sheehan, D., Lecrubier, Y., Sheehan, K., Amorim, P., Janavs, J., Weiller, E., et al. (1998). The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI): The development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 59, 22–33.

  • 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:10.1037/0022-2909.129.2.216.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, M., Reutter, L., Letourneau, N., & Makwarimba, E. (2009). A support intervention to promote health and coping among homeless youths. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 41, 51–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, S. J., Pollio, D. E., & Bitner, L. (2000). Outcomes for adolescents using runaway and homeless youth services. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 3, 79–97. doi:10.1300/J137v03n01_05.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unger, J. B., Kipke, M. D., Simon, T. R., Johnson, C. J., Montgomery, S. B., & Iverson, E. (1998). Stress, coping, and social support among homeless youth, 13(2), 134–157. doi:10.1177/0743554898132003.

  • Votta, E., & Manion, I. G. (2003). Factors in the psychological adjustment of homeless adolescent males: The role of coping style. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(7), 778–785. doi:10.1097/01.CHI.0000046871.56865.D9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitbeck, L. B. (2009). Mental health and emerging adulthood among homeless young people. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitbeck, L. B., Hoyt, D. R., & Ackley, K. A. (1997). Abusive family backgrounds and later victimization among runaway and homeless adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 7(4), 375–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitbeck, L. B., Hoyt, D. R., & Yoder, K. A. (1999). A risk-amplification model of victimization and depressive symptoms among runaway and homeless adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(2), 273–296.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, R. B., Walford, W. A., & Espnes, G. A. (2000). Coping styles and psychological health in adolescents and young adults: A comparison of moderator and main effects models. Australian Journal of Psychology, 52, 155–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Human and Animal Rights

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 South High Street, Denver, CO, 80208, USA

    Samantha M. Brown, Stephanie Begun & Kimberly Bender

  2. Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York, 2180 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10035, USA

    Kristin M. Ferguson

  3. School of Social Work, University of Texas, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd. D3510, Austin, TX, 78712−0358, USA

    Sanna J. Thompson

Authors
  1. Samantha M. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephanie Begun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kimberly Bender
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kristin M. Ferguson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sanna J. Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samantha M. Brown.

Additional information

The project was approved by the researchers’ university Institutional Review Board.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Brown, S.M., Begun, S., Bender, K. et al. An Exploratory Factor Analysis of Coping Styles and Relationship to Depression Among a Sample of Homeless Youth. Community Ment Health J 51, 818–827 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9870-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9870-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation