Coping Style in Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Study

The present study compares the coping styles of adolescents in two different cultures. Two carefully equated samples, consisting of 353 German and 187 Israeli adolescents, aged 15 to 17 years, were investigated. Coping styles were defined by a matrix of 20 coping strategies applied across eight different developmental areas. Factor analysis revealed comparable dimensional structures of coping styles. Both German and Israeli adolescents most frequently employed functional forms of coping. The samples differed with respect to their relative emphasis on direct action and help-seeking behavior as compared to internal reflection of possible solutions. In both cultures withdrawal was not used very often. In addition, significant main effects for age and gender were found. Coping behavior among German adolescents was more influenced by situational demands, with pronounced approach-avoidance behavior. Their Israeli counterparts showed less variability in coping behavior across situations, laid greater stress on cognitive factors, and showed a striking decrease in overall coping behavior with increasing age. The discussion focuses on cultural universals and differences in coping behavior and considers the impact of environmental and historical conditions.