Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Oct;34(5):1077-85.
doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.10.004. Epub 2010 Nov 12.

Specific coping behaviors in relation to adolescent depression and suicidal ideation

Adam G Horwitz  1 , Ryan M Hill, Cheryl A King
Affiliations

Specific coping behaviors in relation to adolescent depression and suicidal ideation

Adam G Horwitz et al. J Adolesc. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

The coping strategies used by adolescents to deal with stress may have implications for the development of depression and suicidal ideation. This study examined coping categories and specific coping behaviors used by adolescents to assess the relation of coping to depression and suicidal ideation. In hierarchical regression models, the specific coping behaviors of behavioral disengagement and self-blame were predictive of higher levels of depression; depression and using emotional support were predictive of suicidal ideation. Results suggest that specific behaviors within the broad coping categories of emotion-focused coping (e.g., self-blame) and avoidant coping (e.g., behavioral disengagement) account for these categories' associations with depression and suicidal ideation. Specific problem-focused coping strategies did not independently predict lower levels of depression or suicidal ideation. It may be beneficial for interventions to focus on eliminating maladaptive coping behaviors in addition to introducing or enhancing positive coping behaviors.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Aldridge AA, Roesch SC. Developing coping typologies of minority adolescents: A latent profile analysis. Journal of Adolescence. 2008;31(4):499–517. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andersen SL, Teicher MH. Stress, sensitive periods and maturational events in adolescent depression. Trends in Neurosciences. 2008;31(4):183–191. - PubMed
    1. Apter A, Gothelf D, Offer R, Ratzoni G, Orbach I, Tyano S, et al. Suicidal adolescents and ego defense mechanisms. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 1997;36(11):1520–1527. - PubMed
    1. Arnett JJ. Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American Psychologist. 1999;54(5):317–326. - PubMed
    1. Baker JP, Berenbaum H. Emotional approach and problem-focused coping: A comparison of potentially adaptive strategies. Cognition and Emotion. 2007;21(1):95–118.

Publication types