DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations 11-2009 Coping styles of African American youth living in poverty: Understanding the role of coping in resiliency Sophia N. Thompson DePaul University Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd Recommended Citation Thompson, Sophia N., "Coping styles of African American youth living in poverty: Understanding the role of coping in resiliency" (2009). College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 2. https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/2 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact COPING STYLES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH LIVING IN POVERTY: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF COPING IN RESILIENCY A Thesis Present in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts November, 2009 BY Sophia Thompson Department of Psychology College of Liberal Arts and Sciences DePaul University Chicago, Illinois THESIS COMMITTEE Kathryn Grant, Ph.D. Chairperson Antonio Polo, Ph.D. ii VITA Sophia Thompson was born in Harlem, New York, April 15, 1983. She graduated from Rancho Cucamonga High School, received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California in 2005, and a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2007. Sophia Thompson is a Teach for America 2005 alumna. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Thesis Committee………………...……………………………………………………………….ii Vita……………………………………………………………………………………………….iii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………...v List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………..1 Resiliency ……………………...………………………………………………………….1 Coping …………………………………………………………………………………….3 Rationale ……………………………………………………..…………………………...8 Research Questions …………………………………………..…………………………...9 CHAPTER II. METHODS ……………………………………………………………………..10 Research Participants ……………………………………………………………………10 Procedure ………………………………………………………………………………..10 Measures ………………………………………………………………………………...11 CHAPTER III. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS …………………………………………………14 Descriptives………………..……………………………………………………………..14 Cluster Analysis……..…………………………………………………………………...16 Cross-sectional Analysis…………………………………………………………………..20 Longitudinal Analysis …………………………………………………………………….21 CHAPTER IV. DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………….23 CHAPTER V. SUMMARY …………………………………………………………………….31 References ……………………………………………………………………………………….32 Appendix A. Unabbreviated version of defended thesis ………………………………………39 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations and Correlations Among Coping Subscales, Risk Assessments, and Psychological and Behavioral Outcomes …………………………….15 Table 2. Cluster Means on Coping Subscales (Based on mean centered data) ………….18 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Cluster Means on Coping Subscales ……………………………………………18 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Resiliency There is a great deal of interest in the resilience of urban African American youth, as they are disproportionately at risk for poor outcomes due to the disproportionate rate of poverty among this population (Yakin & McMahon, 2003; Li, Nussbaum, & Richards, 2007; Smokowski, Reynolds & Bezruczko, 2000; Barrow, Armstrong, Vargo, & Boothroyd, 2007; Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). Despite the extraordinary risk factors faced in urban poverty, many African American youth living in urban poverty adapt. Resiliency is conceptualized as good outcomes despite serious threats to adaptation or normal development (Masten, 2001). Resiliency requires that two conditions be met: 1) the existence of high risk that threatens normal development; and 2) observable, successful adaptation as indicated by better than predicted outcomes given the high risk status (Masten, 2001; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998). Key Determinants of Adaptation in Adolescence Successful adaptation refers to overcoming or coping with adversities in a manner that produces better than expected outcomes. Adaptation can be defined based on the presence of an observable track record of meeting the major expectations for the behavior of children of the appropriate age and particular situation (Masten, 2001; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998). These adaptation determinants are typically age appropriate behavioral functioning, including conduct and low rates of delinquency and aggression. Adaptation can also be defined as the absence of psychopathology or a low level of symptoms and/or impairment (Masten, 2001; Grant, Compas, Thurm, McMahon, & Gipson, 2004; Compas, Connor-Smith, Saltzman, Thomsen, & Wadsworth, 2001). Examples of these psychological markers include the absence or low levels 1 of anxiety, depression, and other forms of internal distress (Masten, 2001; Compas et al., 2001; Gaylord-Harden, Gipson, Mance, & Grant, 2008). Youth can display resilient outcomes in as few as one or two domains or as many as all domains. Establishing Risk: The Multi-systemic Impact of Poverty The other requirement of resiliency is the presence of extreme risk that threatens adaptation or normal development. Risk is defined as “an elevated probability of a negative outcome” (Wright & Masten, 2005, p.20) whereby a group of people with a specific risk factor is less likely overall to do well in some regard (Wright & Masten, 2005; Yates, & Masten, 2004). Poverty is one of the most profound and debilitating risk factors (Masten, 2001; Schorr & Schorr, 1988; Luthar, 1991; Werner, 1990). As a result of historical and contemporary racism and discrimination, a disproportionate number of African Americans live in poverty, and generally live among other African Americans who are also poor (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). While 11% of all U.S. families have incomes below the federal poverty line, about 23% of all African American families have incomes below the federal poverty line and are more likely to live in severe poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Further, African Americans tend to have longer periods in poverty and, therefore, are more likely to suffer from its long-term effects (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). Nearly 34% of African Americans under the age of 18 live in poor homes, while the national poverty rate is 17% for all U.S. youth under the age of 18 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Schorr and Schorr (1988) described that “family poverty is relentlessly correlated with school-aged childbearing, school failure, and violent crime, [and] virtually all other risk factors that make rotten outcomes more likely are also found disproportionately among poor children” 2 (p. 22). As Schorr and Schorr’s (1988) description implies, the negative effects of poverty on normal development arise from the multisystemic impact that poverty has on youth’s lives, including the individual, family, educational structures and broader community (Schorr & Schorr, 1988). Poverty encompasses many risk factors, including exposure to violence, strain of financial resources and increased stressful life experiences. African American youth in impoverished neighborhoods are often exposed to violence, and are more likely to be victimized, abused and neglected (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). Due to the constant exposure to violence, they are less likely to encounter opportunities for safe, structured recreational and constructive activities (National Research Council, 1993; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001; Gaylord-Harden et al., 2008). As a result of limited financial means, poor African American youth and their families are more likely to have compromised housing, medical care, and nutrition and are more likely to attend substandard schools and receive a substandard education (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). Among youth living in poverty, constant stressful life experiences are experienced to a greater degree than their counterparts not living in poverty (Grant, Poindexter, Davis, Cho, McCormick, & Smith, 2000) and have negative effects on well-being. In a review, Grant and colleagues (2004) found that youth experienced increased symptoms of emotional and behavioral problems following exposure to stressors and general stressful experiences (Grant et al., 2004). Coping Successful adaptation despite poverty’s extreme threats to normal development is accomplished by means of protective factors. Protective factors are individual, familial and extrafamilial processes that provide youth with positive support and impact youth in such a way that buffer the negative imprints of high risk and promote resilience (Utsey, Bolden, Lanier, & 3