Citation

Loxton H. Anxiety Stress Coping 2009; 22(3): 361-370.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. hsl@sun.ac.za

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10615800802614130

PMID

19326276

Abstract

This descriptive study attempted to explore the coping strategies and perceived effectiveness of these strategies in response to self-reported fears among a sample of young South African children: 72 girls and 80 boys (mean age six years, two months, SD = 5.32 months, range; 5-7 years). Differences in children's coping strategies and the perceived effectiveness of these strategies with respect to socio-economic (SE) status were also assessed. Self-report data on coping strategies and the perceived effectiveness of these strategies were collected by means of individual semi-structured interviews in conjunction with children's drawings of feared objects. Social/spiritual support was perceived to be the most effective, and the most frequently utilized coping strategy in relation to self-reported fears by the children. Differences that were found with respect to young children's coping strategies in terms of SE background, points out the need for further research in this regard.

Language: en