Adolescent Social Status Insecurity and Coping Strategies

• In Event: Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

As adolescents pay increasing attention to their status among peers, they experience social status-related stress and anxiety, which has been referred to as Social Status Insecurity (SSI; e.g., Li, Wang, Wang, & Shi, 2010). The literature has revealed that adolescents show relational aggression after experiencing SSI, which implies that they may address their insecurity in maladaptive ways (e.g., Li & Wright, 2014). Despite SSI receives increasing research attention, how would adolescents cope with this type of social status-related crises have not been investigated. Thereby, the primary objective of the present study is to probe adolescent coping mechanisms for SSI through both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Furthermore, SSI is likely a multidimensional construct, so this study will examine the associations between various types of SSI and different coping strategies. This study will facilitate a better understanding of SSI and its implications on adolescents’ adjustment.

Participants were 134 (71 girls) 6th (n = 24), 7th (n = 44), and 8th (n = 62) graders from a suburban middle school in the Midwestern part of the United States. The majority of the participants identified themselves as White (82%), followed by Asian (7.4%), other (4.7%), Hispanic (3.7%), American Indian or Alaska Native (1.5%), and African American (0.7%). Eleven SSI items extending from Li and Wright (2014) were used in the present study to assess popularity insecurity (POPSSI), social preference insecurity (SPSSI), and general social status insecurity (SSI-G). Adolescents reported their social status through self-reports. The adapted version of the coping checklist for children (KIDCOPE) was applied (Spirito, Stark, & Williams, 1988) to assess coping strategies for SSI. Additionally, an open-ended question of coping patterns for SSI was also included in the study.

Hierarchical regression results show that, after controlling for the demographic variables, POPSSI, SPSSI and SSI-G were all significantly and positively related to negative coping strategy (β = .39, p < .001; R2 = .22, ΔR2 = .17, p < .001 for POPSSI; β = .39, p < .001; R2 = .26, ΔR2 = .21, p < .001 for SPSSI; and β = .30, p < .01; R2 = .19, ΔR2 = .14, p < .001 for SSI-G; see Table 1). Attained peer statuses were not significantly moderated the associations between three forms of SSI and coping strategies. The written responses regarding the open-ended question about the coping strategies of SSI were initially summarized into 17 categories (see Table 2). Major categories summarized from those codes included Seeking Social Support, Ignoring, Cognitive Strategies, and Problem Solving. Furthermore, the participants’ responses revealed some specific and unique coping methods that were not fully captured by theoretical conceptualizations (e.g., Conformity).

The findings of this study indicated that when adolescents experienced social status insecurity, they were inclined to rely on negative coping mechanisms, which may be a risk factor for their adjustment. Moreover, adolescents also implied to use constructive approaches to deal with peer status related crises, such as seeking social support and cognitive restructuring.

Authors

• Yunyi Long, DePaul University
  Presenting Author

• Yan Li, DePaul University
  Non-Presenting Author