Developmental changes in children's awareness of strategies for coping with uncontrollable stress

Abstract

Children at 3 age levels (5-6 1/2, 7 1/2-9, and 10-12 years) were interviewed to determine their spontaneous suggestions of coping strategies designed to manage frustration caused by waiting for a desired object (positive valence) and fear caused by waiting for an unpleasant event (negative valence) in uncontrollable situations. Subjects' responses were grouped into categories based on coping techniques discussed in the adult coping literature on a continuum from approach to avoidance techniques. The avoidance tactics, the main focus of interest, were further divided into 4 distinct forms. In contrast to investigations of children's coping in more controllable situations, approach strategies were very infrequently mentioned. An age increase was found in the proportion of cognitive distraction strategies suggested, but behavioral distraction strategies were most frequently suggested by children at all age levels and did not differ significantly across age. The developmental differences were particularly evident for the negative valence scenarios and, within the negative valence scenarios, for the story likely to be the most stressful to young children--getting a shot. The results are discussed in terms of possible reasons for age differences in cognitive but not behavioral distraction and their implications for children's ability to cope with uncontrollable stress.