Coping of Young Refugees in Germany: Relations to Gender, Age, and Gender Role Attitudes

Background: Coping is considered to have an important influence on well-being, especially in adolescent refugees dealing with a high amount of stress. In addition, gender differences in coping are a common topic for research and are often attributed to differences in socialization between boys and girls. Aims: The study aims at clarifying the gender differences in coping strategies used by non-Western adolescents. Additionally, associations with aspects of socialization, in particular Gender Role Attitudes (GRA), on gender differences are investigated. Method: Refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan (N = 106, 55% male) aged 11-18 years completed questionnaires in schools or housing facilities. Associations between gender, GRA, coping strategies, and well-being were investigated using moderation and regression analyses. Results: Gender differences found in previous literature could, in part be replicated. Refugee girls reported more anger-related emotion regulation than boys did. However, GRA did not show any connections to coping strategies. Limitations: Most limitations result from low reliabilities and possible biases due to the use of self-reports. Conclusion: The more frequent use of anger-related emotion regulation as the only gender difference replicated in this study highlights the importance of research with refugee samples to prevent over-generalization of previous results from Western cultures.