DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES IN THE STUDY OF COPING

Developmental issues generally have been ignored in the study of copin g. Thus, the goals of this paper were threefold: (1) to summarise theo ry in which coping is placed in the larger context of emotion regulati on; (2) to review briefly existing literature related to consistency a nd change in coping, interrelations among coping strategies at differe nt ages, and the relation of coping to the quality of social functioni ng at different ages; and (3) to summarise data from a longitudinal st udy pertaining to the aforementioned issues. Coping was relatively con sistent across time (over a six-year period); there were some age-rela ted changes in mean levels of children's adult-reported coping; and th ere was considerable consistency in interrelations of coping strategie s at different ages. In general, relations of coping to social functio ning were similar across age, although some age-related changes in pat terns were noted.