A STUDY OF THE COPING STYLES OF EARLY ADOLESCENTS IN RELATIONSHIP TO DELINQUENCY PRONENESS AND GENDER (CHILD WELFARE)

MARY ANN BROMLEY, Fordham University

Abstract

One hundred forty-seven students from the tenth grade of two inter-city parochial schools participated in a study that tested the following hypotheses: (1) Adolescents at risk of delinquency will exhibit less variation in coping styles than adolescents who are not at risk of delinquency, (2) whatever coping style variation is found between adolescents at risk of delinquency and those not at risk will be associated with the type of interactive relationship, adult or peer, (3) adolescents at risk of delinquency will utilize an external manifestation of coping type significantly more frequently than adolescents not at risk, (4) female adolescents will utilize an external manifestation of coping type significantly more frequently than male adolescents, and (5) female adolescents will exhibit significantly less variation in coping style than male adolescents. One-way analysis of variance and analysis of co-variance showed significant differences in the styles of coping used by the male and female adolescents in the study. Female adolescents used internalized coping types (particularly internalized denial) when interacting with their peers more frequently than their male counterparts. And, male adolescents used externalized attack and externalized denial when interacting with their peers more frequently than the female adolescents. Further, female adolescents, regardless of their delinquency proneness or their ethnic identity, varied their coping style responses less than male adolescents. Delinquency proneness accounted for very little of the explained variance among the coping style responses. The overall findings indicated that gender, rather than delinquency proneness was associated with the variety of coping responses used by the adolescents.

Subject Area

Social work

Recommended Citation

BROMLEY, MARY ANN, "A STUDY OF THE COPING STYLES OF EARLY ADOLESCENTS IN RELATIONSHIP TO DELINQUENCY PRONENESS AND GENDER (CHILD WELFARE)" (1985). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8619272.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8619272

Share

COinS