Citation

Garnett BR, Masyn KE, Austin SB, Williams DR, Viswanath K. J. Sch. Health 2015; 85(2): 109-117.

Affiliation

College of Education and Social Services, University of Vermont, 533 Waterman Building, 85 South Prospect St., Burlington, VT 05405.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American School Health Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/josh.12225

PMID

25564979

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We used a latent class analysis (LCA) to characterize coping styles of urban youth and examined if coping styles moderated the association between experiencing discrimination and bullying and depressive symptoms.

METHODS: The data come from the 2006 Boston Youth Survey, where students were asked to select 2 behaviors they do most often when they are upset, from a list of 15 options. A total of 927 (75%) students contributed to the LCA analytic sample (44% non-Hispanic Blacks, 29% Hispanics, and 58% girls). Relative and absolute fit indices determined the number of classes. An interaction term between types of discrimination and bullying experienced and coping style tested for moderation.

RESULTS: The LCA revealed that a 3-class solution had the best fit (Lo-Mendell-Rubin likelihood ratio test, 4-class vs 3-class, p-value.12). The largest coping style class was characterized by high endorsement of distractive coping strategies (59%), the second class was characterized by using supportive coping strategies (27%), and the third class was characterized by using avoidance coping strategies (12%). We found a significant interaction between discrimination and coping style for depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between experiencing discrimination and depression varied based on coping style and the type of discrimination and bullying experienced.

Language: en