Coping Socialization in Middle Childhood: Tests of Maternal and Paternal Influences

Abstract

A theoretical model of parental socialization of children's coping behavior is described and tested with 310 elementary school children (M age = 10.5 years). Mothers and fathers reported on the coping suggestions they made to their children, their own coping strategies, and their perceptions of the family environment. Children reported on their relationships with their parents and on their usual coping behavior. Children's coping efforts were associated with family environment, the quality of the parent-child relationship, parent's own coping, and parent coping suggestions, though these relationships differed by gender and were quite specific. Maternal data were more strongly associated with children's coping than paternal data, and active and support coping were predicted more successfully than avoidance strategies. Analyses supported a model of direct, rather than mediated, effects on children's coping. There was modest support for the interactive effects of maternal coaching and modeling on girls' active coping and boys' avoidant coping.

A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys.

“…Age/Grade n Girls n Boys Significance Test Effect Size Kliewer, Fearnow, & Miller, 1996 Self report Table 5 Summary of Studies Examining Sex Differences in Peer Relationship Provisions Psychol Bull. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 August 23.…”

“…These sex differences are sometimes found in middle childhood and adolescent samples in response to stress in general (Chapman & Mullis, 1999;Copeland & Hess, 1995;Halstead et al, 1993;Herman & McHale, 1993) and peer stress in particular (Causey & Dubow, 1992;Rose & Asher, 2004). However, these effects tend to be small, and it is more common to find no sex difference for both general stress (Bernzweig et al, 1993;Brodzinsky et al, 1992;Ebata & Moos, 1994;Halstead et al, 1993;Hastings et al, 1996;Herman & McHale, 1993;Kavsek & Seiffge-Krenke, 1996;Kliewer et al, 1996;Lopez & Little, 1996;Patterson & McCubbin, 1987;Phelps & Jarvis, 1994;Seiffge-Krenke & Stemmler, 2002) and for peer stress (Bowker et al, 2002;Hunter & Boyle, 2004;Whitesell & Harter, 1996). In some cases, the sex difference even favors girls (Connor-Smith et al, 2000;Griffith, Dubow, & Ippolito, 2000).…”

“…Feldman, 1987, 7-8 year old sample). However, for older children and adolescents, the vast majority of studies indicate that girls are more likely than boys to talk about problems and to enlist emotional and instrumental support in response to stress in general (Bird & Harris, 1990;Brodzinsky et al, 1992; Chapman & Mullis, 1999;Ebata & Moos, 1994;Gomez, Holmberg, Bounds, Fullarton, & Gomez, 1999;Halstead, Johnson, & Cunningham, 1993;Hastings, Anderson, & Kelley, 1996;Hunter & Boyle, 2004;Kliewer, Fearnow, & Miller, 1996;Kurdek, 1987;Patterson & McCubbin, 1987;Phelps & Jarvis, 1994;Plancherel & Bolognini, 1995;Wertlieb et al, 1987) and in response to peer stress in particular (Bowker, Bukowski, Hymel, & Sippola, 2000; Casey & Dubow, 1992;Hunter & Boyle, 2004;Phelps, 2001;Rose & Asher, 2004). The effects for these studies generally range from small-tomedium to large.…”

“…Boys are generally thought to employ such coping strategies more than girls, and studies that find this difference are heavily cited (e.g., Copeland & Hess, 1995;Kurdek, 1987). Nevertheless, a more extensive review indicates that most studies of middle childhood and adolescent youth find no sex difference for engaging in distractions and diversions (e.g., Bernzweig et al, 1993;Bird & Harris, 1990;Kliewer et al, 1996;Patterson & McCubbin, 1987;Schwartz & Koenig, 1996). Moreover, some studies find that girls use distraction and diversion more than boys (e.g., Chapman & Mullis, 1999;Rose & Asher, 2004).…”

Longitudinal relations among parental emotional expressivity, children's regulation, and quality of socioemotional functioning.

“…Moreover, mothers' reported positive expressivity in the family was related to higher levels of toddlers' self-soothing behavior, whereas motherreported sadness was inversely related (Garner, 1995;see Garner & Power, 1996, for more mixed findings). In older children, maternal acceptance and support were linked to successful coping (Hardy et al, 1993;Kliewer, Fearnow, & Miller, 1996), and college students and adults from negatively expressive families reported less control than their peers over feelings of anger even when researchers controlled for the intensity of the anger (Burrowes & Halberstadt, 1987).…”