Sex differences and sex-related expectancies regarding the use of coping strategies and their relations to adolescents' problem behavior

Schmitz A-K, Vierhaus M, Lohaus A. Geschlechtstypische Unterschiede und geschlechtstypische Erwartungen beim Einsatz von Bewältigungsstrategien und ihre Zusammenhänge zum Problemverhalten von Jugendlichen. Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie. 2012;20(1):13-21.This study focuses on sex differences in the use of coping strategies in early adolescence. In addition to the adolescents' reports on their use of coping strategies they were also asked to report about expected sex differences. The coping strategies used by the adolescents and the sex-role conformity of their expectancies were related to adjustment problems. Two-hundred-and-sixty adolescents with a mean age of 13.7 years (SD = 1.9) participated in this study. The results regarding the use of coping strategies revealed only few strategies with sex differences, although more differences were expected by the adolescents. Coping strategies classified as maladaptive were related to increased emotional and behavioral adjustment problems in both girls and boys. Coping strategies classified as adaptive were associated with decreased emotional problems in boys. Seeking social support showed associations with psychological adjustment in girls. The inclusion of the sex-role conformity of the adolescents' expectations increased explained variance in psychological adjustment. This is, however, restricted to girls and may be explained by the impact of sex role stereotypes, which may influence the reports on coping strategies as well as the reports on adjustment problems. This influence may generate common variance and thus be responsible for the increased explained variance