Coping in a group of expectant adolescent fathers: an exploratory study

Twenty expectant adolescent fathers were interviewed during the course of their partners' pregnancies. Ten coping strategies used by these subjects in response to the upcoming transition to fatherhood were identified. These coping strategies were categorized according to the Lazarus paradigm as direct actions, information-seeking, intrapsychic processes, and inhibition of action. These strategies dealt either with the potential problem (i.e., fatherhood) or the accompanying stressful emotions.