Psychological and Physical Health Correlates of Coping in Minority Adolescents

Abstract

In the current study the relations between coping and psychological/physical health in a sample of minority adolescents was investigated. Participants ( n = 182) were all low-income, first-generation college-bound students from historically underrepresented groups. For Mexican-Americans, positive reinterpretation, focusing and venting emotions, instrumental social support, active coping, religious, restraint, emotional support, acceptance and planning forms of coping were all associated with positive psychological and physical health; for African-Americans, coping methods were notsignificantly associated with psychological or physical health; for Asian-Americans, positive reinterpretation, active coping, religious coping, restraint, acceptance and planning forms of coping were associated with onlypsychological health. Culturalspecific (rather than genderspecific) socialization is identified as a potential explanation of these results.