Situational Coping in the Context of Poverty-Related Stress: Examining the Concurrent and Predictive Validity of Situational Coping Fit Indices in Low-Income Youth
Open Access
Author:
Mayo, Chelsea
Graduate Program:
Psychology
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
June 13, 2023
Committee Members:
Karen Bierman, Major Field Member Steffany Fredman, Outside Unit & Field Member Rina Eiden, Major Field Member Martha Wadsworth, Chair & Dissertation Advisor Kristin Buss, Program Head/Chair
Low socioeconomic status (SES) youth experience psychopathology at greater rates in part due to the experience of poverty-related stress – the biopsychosocial impact of the stressors exacerbated and maintained by poverty. Coping strategies mitigate the development of psychopathology, and new evidence suggests that situational coping, defined as the ability to match a specific coping strategy to a corresponding stressor, may be an essential aspect of coping within at-risk contexts. However, thus far research on situational coping’s relationship to psychological adjustment has been mixed, and situational coping in low SES youth has not been examined. Validating conceptualizations of situational coping in this population can enhance understanding of coping in low SES youth and improve scientists’ ability to develop well-timed and targeted interventions that can reduce disparities. This study aimed to investigate the concurrent and predictive validity of three situational coping fit indices and the potential of an intervention to alter these indices. A diverse sample of pre-adolescents (N = 111, Mage = 11.76) and their caregivers completed measures of coping, trauma symptoms, internalizing and externalizing behavior, perceived control, and stress exposure. Results found some positive associations between two situational coping fit indices and psychopathology, though predominately non-significant results, and no evidence of intervention effect on situational coping. The counterintuitive and null findings that emerged underscore the need for continued measurement and theoretical development of situational coping.
