[Coping in the family context: active and avoidance strategies in adolescents from divorced families]

Studies on children's response to divorce have mainly emphasized negative psychological sequalae such as poor social adjustment and emotional disorders. In many studies children's coping strategies were important moderator variables. In a meta-analysis, Suls and Fletcher (1985) found better short-term outcomes related to avoidant coping. On the long run, however, active strategies were better off. To date, little is known about family climate influences on adolescents' coping. In the current study, 128 children (62 girls, 66 boys) from German middle class families were observed 6 months, 1, 2, and 7 years after the divorce of their parents. At the time of divorce their mean age was 14,8 years (SD = 2,5). The models presented in this article are based on 39 adolescents (17 girls, 22 boys) for whom complete data were available. The study relates adolescents' coping strategies to measures of family functioning, as assessed through Family Environment Scale (Moos 1974). Coping strategies were assessed by Ways of Coping (Lazarus 1980), Impact of Event Scale (Horowitz 1979), and Stressverarbeitungs-Fragebogen (Janke 1985). Results, analyzed with LISREL models, indicate that supportive family climate, operationalized by openness and control, are good cumulative predictors for active coping. In a second model constraining family climates predicts avoidant coping in adolescents. Clinical implications are discussed.