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4 - Social Context, Psychological Needs, and the Development of Coping

from Part I - Theoretical Perspectives on the Development of Coping

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2023

By
Jacquelyn N. Raftery-Helmer  and
Wendy S. Grolnick
Edited by
Ellen A. Skinner  and
Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck
Ellen A. Skinner
Affiliation:
Portland State University
Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Queensland
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Summary

This chapter explores the specific coping strategies that children employ following a variety of stressful situations. In our efforts to understand why children differ in their appraisals of stressors and the coping strategies they use, we will hone in on the social context, with a particular focus on the impact of parents and teachers. Our chapter is informed by self-determination theory, a motivational perspective that articulates the psychological resources that children need when confronted with stressful situations, and explains how interpersonal contexts that do or do not meet these needs subsequently affect children’s coping responses. In doing so, this perspective answers two important questions about children’s coping – what features of a person’s environment predict coping responses and why. We end by delineating limitations to the current body of research on coping and directions for future research.

Keywords

copingmotivationparentingteachersself-determination theory
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of the Development of Coping , pp. 109 - 127
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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