Stressful life events, coping style and adolescent adjustment: a longitudinal analysis of the moderation effects

The aim of this paper was to study the link between occurrence of stressful life events and adjustment problems during adolescence, paying attention to the possible moderator effect of adolescents' coping strategies. The sample was made up of 90 teenagers, who were studied longitudinally from middle adolescence (15-16 years old) until emerging adulthood (21-22 years old). They completed questionnaires about stressful life events, coping strategies and adjustment problems. In a longitudinal design the evolution of coping strategies over time were analyzed as well as possible differences associated with sex are considered. Also, in the present research moderation effects of different coping strategies in the relationship between life stressors and adolescent adjustment were analyzed. The results showed that the approximate strategies (help- seeking and problem solving) increased over time, meanwhile avoidance strategies (cognitive and behavioral) decreased, although only some trajectories were statistically significant. Related to sex differences, girls frequently used help-seeking strategies compared to boys. On the other hand, the moderation analysis revealed that only avoiding coping strategy moderated the relationship between stressful life events and adolescent adjustment. However, the moderation effect was different for cognitive and behavioural avoidance coping strategies. These results extend the knowledge we have about the impact of avoidance coping strategies over adolescent adjustment and underline the need for deeper study into this topic.