Katherine Gross and Dr. Amira Ibrahim
Abstract
The lack of adaptive coping skills has been known to lead to mental illness over time. Previous studies have shown that a lack of healthy coping skills is associated with an increase in depression, anxiety, suicide rates and a decrease in resiliency. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between three coping strategies (acceptance, use of emotional social support, and positive reinforcement and growth) predicting levels of depression and life satisfaction among emerging adults. This study was a secondary data analysis of a dataset collected by (Konaszewski, K. et al., 2019) of 390 emerging adults between the ages of 20-28. Measures used in the analysis were three coping subscales taken from the larger COPE Questionnaire (acceptance, use of emotional social support, and positive reinterpretation and growth, Carver, 1989), Kutcher Adolescent Depression and Satisfaction with Life scales. Multiple regression analysis revealed the full model consisting of the three coping subscales positively predicted life satisfaction (F(3, 389) = 28.46, p < .001, r² = 0.18) and depression, (F(3,389)=18.88, p < 0.001, r² = 0.12. However when assessing individual predictors, only positive reinterpretation and growth significantly predicted depression 𝛃 = -.36, t (386) = -7.02 and p < 0.001, while positive reinterpretation and growth 𝛃 = .95, t (386) = 7.89 and p < 0.001 as well as use of emotional social support 𝛃 = .22, t (386) p < .05 significantly predicted life satisfaction. These findings suggest that the more individuals utilize positive interpretation and growth the lower their depression and the higher their life satisfaction, while use of emotional social support may be associated with higher life satisfaction.
Presentation
Session 1 – 1:30p.m. – 2:45p.m.
Room B – Sierra 1422
