Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Associations Between Trauma Type, Timing, and Accumulation on Current Coping Behaviors in Adolescents: Results from a Large, Population-based Sample

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The development of adolescents’ coping in response to stress is critical for adaptive functioning; these coping strategies may be shaped by numerous environmental factors during childhood, including experiences such as exposure to trauma. Childhood trauma has been shown to undermine contemporaneous coping, but how does a history of exposure to trauma and the characteristics of that trauma (type, timing, and accumulation) relate to current coping among adolescents? We addressed this question using a nationally-representative sample of 9427 adolescents (ages 13–18; 48.9% female; 66% White). Adolescents reported on their lifetime exposure to 18 different traumas, including witnessing or experiencing interpersonal violence, accidents, disasters, and violent or accidental loss of loved ones, as well as their current use of coping behaviors when under stress (problem-focused, positive emotion-focused, and negative emotion-focused coping strategies). The study’s results highlight that exposure to nearly all forms of trauma was unrelated to problem-focused and positive emotion-focused coping behaviors, but strongly associated with increased negative emotion-focused coping. Use of each coping style did not vary with age at first exposure to trauma, but increased with the number of lifetime traumatic events experienced. The findings suggest that the extent of prior exposure to trauma, including variations across type and timing, may be related to a particular form of coping that has been linked to increased risk for mental health problems. Study results highlight coping strategies as a potential target for prevention and treatment efforts, and indicate a need to better understand the malleability and trajectory of coping responses to stress for promoting healthy youth development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agoston, A., & Rudolph, K. (2011). Transactional associations between youths’ responses to peer stress and depression: The moderating roles of sex and stress exposure. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39(2), 159–171. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9458-2.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Aldridge, A. A., & Roesch, S. C. (2008). Coping with daily stressors: Modeling intraethnic variation in Mexican American adolescents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 30(3), 340–356. doi:10.1177/0739986308318708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bal, S., Crombez, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Van Oost, P. (2009). Symptomatology in adolescents following initial disclosure of sexual abuse: The roles of crisis support, appraisals and coping. Child Abuse and Neglect, 33(10), 717–727. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.11.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bal, S., van Oost, P., de Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Crombez, G. (2003). Avoidant coping as a mediator between self-reported sexual abuse and stress-related symptoms in adolescents. Child Abuse and Neglect, 27(8), 883–897. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(03)00137-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Band, E. B., & Weisz, J. R. (1988). How to feel better when it feels bad: Children’s perspectives on coping with everyday stress. Developmental Psychology, 24(2), 247–253. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.24.2.247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: A practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological), 57, 289–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun-Lewensohn, O., Celestin-Westreich, S., Celestin, L. -P., Verleye, G., Verté, D., & Ponjaert-Kristoffersen, I. (2009). Coping styles as moderating the relationships between terrorist attacks and well-being outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 32(3), 585–599. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.06.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Breslau, N., Kessler, R. C., Chilcoat, H. D., Schultz, L. R., Davis, G. C., & Andreski, P. (1998). Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in the community: The 1996 Detroit Area Survey of Trauma. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55(7), 626–632.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., & Connor-Smith, J. (2010). Personality and coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 679–704.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies—A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Christiansen, D., Hansen, M., & Elklit, A. (2014). Correlates of coping styles in an adolescent trauma sample. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 7(2), 75–85. doi:10.1007/s40653-014-0011-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2009). Adaptive coping under conditions of extreme stress: Multilevel influences on the determinants of resilience in maltreated children. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 124, 47–59. doi:10.1002/cd.242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, L. A., & Watson, D. (1995). Constructing validity: Basic issues in objective scale development. Psychological Assessment, 7(3), 309–319. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.7.3.309

  • Compas, B. E. (2006). Psychobiological processes of stress and coping. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094(1), 226–234. doi:10.1196/annals.1376.024.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Compas, B. E., & Boyer, M. C. (2001). Coping and attention: Implications for child health and pediatric conditions. Journal of Developmental And Behavioral Pediatrics, 22(5), 323–333. doi:10.1097/00004703-200110000-00007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A. H., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127(1), 87–127. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.1.87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chua, L. W., Milfont, T. L., & Jose, P. E. (2015). Coping skills help explain how future-oriented adolescents accrue greater well-being over time. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(11), 2028–2041.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Danese, A., & Baldwin, J. R. (2017). Hidden wounds? Inflammatory links between childhood trauma and psychopathology. Annual Review of Psychology, 68(1), 517–544.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Bellis, M. D., Woolley, D. P., & Hooper, S. R. (2013). Neuropsychological findings in pediatric maltreatment: Relationship of PTSD, dissociative symptoms, and abuse/neglect indices to neurocognitive outcomes. Child Maltreatment, 18(3), 171–183. doi:10.1177/1077559513497420.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dempsey, M., Moely, B., & Overstreet, S. (2000). “Approach” and “Avoidance” coping and PTSD symptoms in inner-city youth. Current Psychology, 19, 28–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, E. C., Busso, D. S., Raffeld, M., Smoller, J. W., Nelson, C. A., Doyle, A. E., & Luk, G. (2016). Does developmental timing of exposure to child maltreatment predict memory performance in adulthood? Results from a large, population-based sample. Child Abuse and Neglect, 51, 181–191.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, E. C., McLaughlin, K. A., Slopen, N., Rosand, J., & Smoller, J. W. (2013). Developmental timing of child maltreatment and symptoms of depression and suicidality in young adulthood: Results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Depression and Anxiety, 30, 955–964.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ebata, A. T., & Moos, R. H. (1994). Personal, situational, and contextual correlates of coping in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 4(1), 99–125. doi:10.1111/1532-7795.ep11301479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elzy, M., Clark, C., Dollard, N., & Hummer, V. (2013). Adolescent Girls' Use of Avoidant and Approach Coping as Moderators Between Trauma Exposure and Trauma Symptoms. Journal of Family Violence, 28(8), 763–770. doi:10.1007/s10896-013-9546-5

  • Evans, L., Kouros, C., Frankel, S., McCauley, E., Diamond, G., Schloredt, K., & Garber, J. (2015). Longitudinal relations between stress and depressive symptoms in youth: Coping as a mediator. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(2), 355–368. doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9906-5.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, L. D., Kouros, C. D., Samanez-Larkin, S., & Garber, J. (2016). Concurrent and short-term prospective relations among neurocognitive functioning, coping, and depressive symptoms in youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 45(1), 6–20. doi:10.1080/15374416.2014.982282

  • Elliot, A. J., Thrash, T. M., & Murayama, K. (2011). A longitudinal analysis of self‐regulation and well-being: Avoidance personal goals, avoidance coping, stress generation, and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 79(3), 643–674. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00694.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fayyad, J., Cordahi-Tabet, C., Yeretzian, J., Salamoun, M., Najm, C., & Karam, E. G. (2016). Resilience-promoting factors in war-exposed adolescents: An epidemiologic study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. doi:10.1007/s00787-016-0871-0. (online ahead of print).

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer Publishing Company LLC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21(3), 219–239. doi:10.2307/2136617.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). Manual for the ways of coping questionnaire. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, J. G., Avenevoli, S., Gruber, M. J., Kessler, R. C., Lakoma, M. D., & Merikangas, K. R., et al. (2012). Validation of diagnoses of distress disorders in the US National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 21(1), 41–51. doi:10.1002/mpr.357.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Griffith, M. A., Dubow, E. F., & Ippolito, M. F. (2000). Developmental and cross-situational differences in adolescents’ coping strategies. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(2), 183–204. doi:10.1023/A:1005104632102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardt, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: Review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(2), 260–273.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, S. T., & Taylor, J. E. (2010). A meta-analysis of the effects of psychotherapy with sexually abused children and adolescents. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(5), 517–535. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, J. P., VanElzakker, M. B., & Shin, L. M. (2012). Emotion and cognition interactions in PTSD: a review of neurocognitive and neuroimaging studies. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 6(89), 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howell, K. H., Kaplow, J. B., Layne, C. M., Benson, M. A., Compas, B. E., & Katalinski, R., et al. (2015). Predicting adolescent posttraumatic stress in the aftermath of war: Differential effects of coping strategies across trauma reminder, loss reminder, and family conflict domains. Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal, 28(1), 88–104. doi:10.1080/10615806.2014.941209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaser, S. S., Champion, J. E., Reeslund, K. L., Keller, G., Merchant, M. J., Benson, M., & Compas, B. E. (2007). Cross-situational coping with peer and family stressors in adolescent offspring of depressed parents. Journal of Adolescence, 30(6), 917–932.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Avenevoli, S., Costello, E. J., Green, J. G., Gruber, M. J., & Heeringa, S., et al. (2009). National comorbidity survey replication adolescent supplement (NCS-A): II. Overview and design. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(4), 380–385.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., & Merikangas, K. R. (2004). The national comorbidity survey replication (NCS-R): background and aims. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13(2), 60–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, D. G., Resnick, H. S., Milanak, M. E., Miller, M. W., Keyes, K. M., & Friedman, M. J. (2013). National estimates of exposure to traumatic events and PTSD prevalence using DSM-IV and DSM‐5 criteria. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(5), 537–547. doi:10.1002/jts.21848.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Knauper, B., Cannell, C. F., Schwarz, N., Bruce, M. L., & Kessler, R. C. (1999). Improving the accuracy of major depression age of onset reports in the US National Comorbidity Survey. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 8(1), 39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, E. (2004). Sensitive periods in the development of the brain and behavior. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16, 1412–1425.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koenen, K. C., Roberts, A., Stone, D., & Dunn, E. (2010). The epidemiology of early childhood trauma. In R. A. Lanius, E. Vermetten, C. Pain (Eds.). The impact of early life trauma on health and disease: The hidden epidemic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, D. N., & Landolt, M. A. (2010). Characteristics and efficacy of early psychological interventions in children and adolescents after single trauma: a meta-analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 1, 1–24. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v2i0.7858.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kronenberg, M. E., Hansel, T. C., Brennan, A. M., Osofsky, H. J., Osofsky, J. D., & Lawrason, B. (2010). Children of Katrina: Lessons learned about postdisaster symptoms and recovery patterns. Child Development, 81(4), 1241–1259. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01465.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, R. T. (2013). Stress generation: Future directions and clinical implications. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(3), 406–416. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2013.01.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mc Elroy, S., & Hevey, D. (2014). Relationship between adverse early experiences, stressors, psychosocial resources and wellbeing. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(1), 65–75. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.07.017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, K. A., Green, J. G., Alegria, M., Jane Costello, E., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., & Kessler, R. C. (2012). Food insecurity and mental disorders in a national sample of U.S. adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatry, 51(12), 1293–1303. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2012.09.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McQuaid, R. J., Bombay, A., McInnis, O. A., Matheson, K., & Anisman, H. (2015). Childhood adversity, perceived discrimination, and coping strategies in relation to depressive symptoms among First Nations adults in Canada: The moderating role of unsupportive social interactions from ingroup and outgroup members. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21(3), 326–336. doi:10.1037/a0037541.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mohammad, E. T., Shapiro, E. R., Wainwright, L. D., & Carter, A. S. (2015). Impacts of family and community violence exposure on child coping and mental health. Journal Of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(2), 203–215. doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9889-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moritz, S., Jahns, A. K., Schröder, J., Berger, T., Lincoln, T. M., Klein, J. P., & Göritz, A. S. (2016). More adaptive versus less maladaptive coping: What is more predictive of symptom severity? Development of a new scale to investigate coping profiles across different psychopathological syndromes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 191, 300–307.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, M. C., Kouros, C. D., Fox, K. R., Rao, U., & Garber, J. (2014). Interactive models of depression vulnerability: The role of childhood trauma, dysfunctional attitudes, and coping. British Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 53(2), 245–263. doi:10.1111/bjc.12038.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mullett-Hume, E., Anshel, D., Guevara, V., & Cloitre, M. (2008). Cumulative trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder among children exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 78(1), 103–108. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.78.1.103.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, M. Y., Eckshtain, D., & Weisz, J. R. (2016). Assessing fit between evidence-based psychotherapies for youth depression and real-life coping in early adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 45(6), 732–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogle, C. M., Rubin, D. C., & Siegler, I. C. (2013). The impact of the developmental timing of trauma exposure on PTSD symptoms and psychosocial functioning among older adults. Developmental Psychology, 49(11), 2191–2200.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Santucci, L. C., Thomassin, K., Petrovic, L., & Weisz, J. R. (2015). Building evidence-based interventions for the youth, providers, and contexts of real-world mental-health care. Child Development Perspectives, 9(2), 67–73. doi:10.1111/cdep.12118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sawyer, M. G., Pfeiffer, S., & Spence, S. H. (2009). Life events, coping and depressive symptoms among young adolescents: A one-year prospective study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 117(1–2), 48–54. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2008.12.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, K. M., McLaughlin, K. A., Smith, D. A. R., & Ellis, P. M. (2012). Childhood maltreatment and DSM-IV adult mental disorders: Comparison of prospective and retrospective findings. British Journal of Psychiatry, 200, 469–475.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sledjeski, E., Speisman, B., & Dierker, L. (2008). Does number of lifetime traumas explain the relationship between PTSD and chronic medical conditions? Answers from the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R). Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(4), 341–349. doi:10.1007/s10865-008-9158-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, L. K., & Weems, C. F. (2009). What do youth report as a traumatic event? toward a developmentally informed classification of traumatic stressors. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 1(2), 91–106. doi:10.1037/a0016012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teicher, M. H., Andersen, S. L., Polcari, A., Anderson, C. M., Navalta, C. P., & Kim, D. M. (2003). The neurobiological consequences of early stress and childhood maltreatment. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 27(1-2), 33–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tierens, M., Bal, S., Crombez, G., Van de Voorde, P., Rosseel, Y., Antrop, I., & Deboutte, D. (2012). The traumatic impact of motor vehicle accidents in high school students. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 37(1), 1–10. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsr058.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tolin, D. F., & Foa, E. B. (2006). Sex differences in trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder: a quantitative review of 25 years of research. Psychological Bulletin, 132(6), 959–992.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wadsworth, M. E., Raviv, T., Compas, B. E., & Connor-Smith, J. K. (2005). Parent and adolescent responses to povertyrelated stress: Tests of mediated and moderated coping models. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 14(2), 283–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weems, C. F., Scott, B. G., Russell, J. D., Reiss, A. L., & Carrión, V. G. (2013). Developmental variation in amygdala volumes among children with posttraumatic stress. Developmental Neuropsychology, 38(7), 481–495.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wittchen, H. U. (1994). Reliability and validity studies of the WHO—Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI): a critical review. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 28(1), 57–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported, in part, by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under award number (K01 MH102403: Dunn). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Authors’ Contributions

R.V. participated in the design and coordination of the current study, performed the statistical analysis, interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript; Y.W. participated in the design and coordination of the study, performed the initial statistical analyses, and reviewed drafts of the manuscript; J.K. participated in the design and coordination of the study, performed early statistical analyses, and helped draft sections of the manuscript; J.W. helped interpret findings and critically revised the manuscript; E.C.D. conceived of the current study, and participated in its design and coordination, interpreted the data, and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachel A. Vaughn-Coaxum.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of The Human Subjects Committees of Harvard Medical School and the University of Michigan, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent from parents and informed assent from adolescents was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vaughn-Coaxum, R.A., Wang, Y., Kiely, J. et al. Associations Between Trauma Type, Timing, and Accumulation on Current Coping Behaviors in Adolescents: Results from a Large, Population-based Sample. J Youth Adolescence 47, 842–858 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0693-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0693-5

Keywords

Navigation