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Coping While Incarcerated: A Study of Male Juvenile Offenders
Author(s) -
Shulman Elizabeth P.,
Cauffman Elizabeth
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00740.x
Subject(s) - psychology , coping (psychology) , denial , juvenile delinquency , clinical psychology , juvenile , developmental psychology , biology , psychoanalysis , genetics
The present study examines the associations between coping efforts and psychological (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and behavioral adjustment in a sample of 373 male juvenile offenders (ages 14–17) during the first month of incarceration. Social support seeking was associated with a more rapid decline in internalizing symptoms and lower levels of externalizing symptoms. Acceptance had a stress‐buffering effect with regard to internalizing symptoms, whereas denial predicted higher levels of these symptoms. The only coping variable related to violent behavior was active coping, which was associated with lower rates of violent offending among youth with any violent incidents. The importance of fostering coping skills and increasing positive coping options for incarcerated adolescents is discussed.