COPING AND MENTAL-HEALTH IN EARLY ADOLESCENCE

The research is fitted into a broader longitudinal project (1989-91) f ocused on mental health and protective factors in early adolescence. I n order to evaluate coping strategies and the relation with mental hea lth, a French version of the A-Cope questionnaire developed by Patters on and McCubbin was adopted. The results obtained with this questionna ire in a French-speaking Swiss population (N = 276; mean age 13 years, 8 months) are compared with those obtained by the authors and other u sers of this questionnaire in U.S.A. Strategies more frequently used b y Swiss early adolescents are very similar to those used by American e arly adolescents. Significant relations between coping strategies and mental health were found, which are different according to gender: gir ls invest in more social relations, express more negative feelings, an d more commonly adopt consumption habits such as shopping or eating; b oys often use sense of humour, or practise a hobby or sport. Many of t hese strategies protect girls and boys from distress, some others, lik e expressing negative feelings, are associated with an increase of dif ficulties (sleeping problems, depressive mood or anxiety). The relativ e impact of age and other variables (stress, coping) was tested, using longitudinal data. A regression analysis of within-subject change: wa s employed, a method adapted from the General Linear Model to analyse developmental trends with longitudinal data. Results show that mental health in early adolescence (between age 12 and 14) seems to be relati vely stable. Mental health observed in a determined time ''t'' has ess entially been influenced by previous events.