Coping Strategies used by Adults and Adolescents in Distressing Parenting Style

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to investigate coping strategies (problem-focusedand emotion-focused) of adolescents and adults with respect to distressing parenting style. It wasassumed that adults will score high on problem-focused engagement while adolescents onemotion-focused disengagement Coping Strategies Scale. Another assumption was that adultshaving parents with authoritative parenting style will use problem-focused engagement copingwhilst adolescents will use emotion-focused disengagement coping strategies.Method. A sample of (N=300) participants was included in the study out of which (n=150) wereadolescents and (n=150) were adults. The sample was taken from different institutes of Peshawar.Coping strategies of both groups were investigated by using Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI)(Tobin et al; 1984) and their parents’ parental style through Parenting Style Inventory II (Darling& Toyokawa 1997).Results. Result of the study showed that adults use problem-focused adaptive coping strategiesmore than adolescents, whereas, adolescents have higher score on emotion-focused maladaptivescale of coping strategies as compared to adults. Results also showed that coping strategies ofadults is not affected by parents’ authoritative or authoritarian parenting style, however, foradolescents’ authoritarian parenting style was distressing and lead them to use emotion-focuseddisengagement coping strategies.Conclusion. It is concluded from the present study that adults choose adaptive while adolescentschoose maladaptive coping strategies. Parenting style does have major effect on coping strategiesselection of individuals.