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Adolescent Coping Theoretical and research perspectives Erica Frydenberg London and New York -iiiQuestia Media America, Inc. www.questia.com

Publication Information: Book Title: Adolescent Coping: Theoretical and Research Perspectives. Contributors: Erica Frydenberg - author. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year: 1997. Page Number: iii.

First published 1997by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Reprinted 1999 © 1997 Erica Frydenberg Typeset in Times by LaserScript, Mitcham, Surrey Printed and bound in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wiltshire All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised inany form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in PublicationData Frydenberg, Erica, 1943Adolescent coping: theoretical and research perspectives/Erica

Frydenberg. p. cm.—(Adolescence and society) Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. 1. Adjustment (Psychology) in adolescence. I. Title. II. Series. BF724.3.A32F78 1996 96-14317 155.5′1824-dc20 CIP ISBN 0-415-11211-7 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-11212-5 (pbk)

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Publication Information: Book Title: Adolescent Coping: Theoretical and Research Perspectives. Contributors: Erica Frydenberg - author. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year: 1997. Page Number: iv. Adolescence Stresses and concerns There are two different sorts of problems—those that don’t go away so you have to sort them out and those that you haveto think about. Introduction Coping is: handling life (Lindy); not breaking down (Sarah); just living (Bridgit); just getting through things (Lyn); being able to deal with things (Adrian); being able to get past things (Jake); being in control (Rob); being strong (Rachel); trying to turn the negative into the positive, to make the best out of the situation (Rebecca). From the beginning of timethere have been dangers, hopes and aspirations for people to deal with. Today’s youth, like generations before them, have an inherent capacity to cope. From young people’s descriptions of what they understand coping to be, it is clear that their perceptions range from mere day-to-day living to taking charge of life and being in command. It is evident that some young people cope differently fromothers; the search to understand what makes the difference to how they cope is what preoccupies researchers, practitioners, parents, teachers and youth workers. Young people need to cope in a variety of contexts. These settings include school, home, peer groups, the juvenile justice system, the workplace and so on. Regardless of the location, all sections of the population have matters that concern andworry them: youth are no exception. Whether the concerns relate to personal matters or to matters of

social consequence beyond the subjective, personal world of the individual, they are important at any given time in an individual’s life. Increasing numbers of adolescents have concerns that may be both overwhelming and disabling. In extreme circumstances the problems that weigh on the minds ofyouth may lead to severe depression and suicide. The increase in adolescent suicide, especially in the 15- to 19-year age group, has been clearly documented (Fish & Waldhart-Letzel, 1981; Schaffer, 1986; WHO, 1994). Youth who choose death do so because they cannot cope with the problems at a time when they are vulnerable to increasing pressures and uncertainties. -1Not all worries are so...