Coping while Incarcerated: A Study of Male Juvenile Offenders

Abstract

The present study examines the associations between coping efforts and psychological (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and behavioral adjustment in a sample of 373 male juvenile offenders (ages 14-17) during the first month of incarceration. Social support seeking was associated with a more rapid decline in internalizing symptoms and lower levels of externalizing symptoms. Acceptance had a stress-buffering effect with regard to internalizing symptoms, whereas denial predicted higher levels of these symptoms. The only coping variable related to violent behavior was active coping, which was associated with lower rates of violent offending among youth with any violent incidents. The importance of fostering coping skills and increasing positive coping options for incarcerated adolescents is discussed.

Figure 1

The stress-buffering effect of acceptance for internalizing symptoms at week 4 (controlling for externalizing symptoms and the effects of the other coping variables). “High” and “low” values are one SD above and below the mean for recent stress; and 4 (“A lot”) and 2 (“A little bit”) on the scale for use of acceptance because very few (4%) scored 1 on this scale.