Gender Differences in Coping Strategies in Children and Adolescents

• Published in: Journal of individual differences Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 18 - 26
• Main Authors: Eschenbeck, Heike, Kohlmann, Carl-Walter, Lohaus, Arnold
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers 01-01-2007; Hogrefe Publishing
• Subjects: Adolescent Development; Childhood Development; Coping Behavior; Female; Human; Human Sex Differences; Male; Stress; stressor; gender; children; adolescents; coping
• ISSN: 1614-0001; 2151-2299
• DOI: 10.1027/1614-0001.28.1.18

The present study focuses on gender effects
and interactions between gender, type of stressful situation, and
age-group in coping strategies in childhood and adolescence. The sample
consisted of
N
= 1990 children and adolescents
(957 boys, 1033 girls; grade levels 3-8). Participants
responded to a coping questionnaire (Fragebogen zur Erhebung von Stress
und Stressbewältigung im Kindes- und Jugendalter, SSKJ 3-8;
Lohaus, Eschenbeck, Kohlmann, &
Klein-Heßling, 2006
) with the five subscales:
seeking social support, problem solving, avoidant coping, palliative emotion
regulation, and anger-related emotion regulation. Repeated measures
ANOVAs with Gender and Grade Level as the between-subject factors and
Situation (social, academic) as the within-subject factor were
performed separately for each of the subscales. In general, girls scored higher
in seeking social support and problem solving, whereas boys scored higher in
avoidant coping. These three main effects were further modified by significant
Gender × Situation interactions and for both seeking social support and
avoidant coping by significant Gender × Situation × Grade Level
interactions. Compared to the academic situation (homework), gender
differences were more pronounced for the social situation (argument with a
friend), especially in adolescence. The results are discussed with respect
to a gender-specific development of coping strategies.