Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-tsvsl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-25T19:54:31.894Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Coping Skills of Intellectually Disabled Young Adults: An Exploratory Investigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Vivian Wisniewski  and
Erica Frydenberg
Vivian Wisniewski
Affiliation:
The University of Melbourne
Erica Frydenberg*
Affiliation:
The University of Melbourne
*
Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Melbourne, PARKVILLE Vic. 3052, erica_frydenberg@muwayf.unimelb.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

The coping actions of a group of young people with an intellectual disability were investigated using an adapted version of The Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS; Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993a). Generally, the coping of this population has been addressed by focusing on adaptive behaviours that, generally, have been determined on the basis of reports by significant others rather than by self-report instruments. The lack of suitable instruments rarely gives these young people opportunities to reflect on their behaviour. In this exploratory investigation, an adapted version of the ACS, a recently developed Australian self-report measure of coping, was administered to young people with intellectual disabilities who were in employment (n = 4) or who were unemployed (n = 18). It was found that employed young people coped in more positive ways than did the unemployed group. The only distinguishing characteristic between the ways in which males and females coped was a declaration by females that they lacked the strategies with which to cope. There was a general concurrence between self-reported coping actions and those reported by significant others. The findings suggest that an adapted version of the ACS may be useful with this population of young people. Further development and validation of the instrument with this population are recommended.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , May 1995 , pp. 8 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Collins, J.K., & Harper, J.F. (1974). Problems of adolescents in Sydney, Australia. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 125, 189–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dellow, D.A., Ross, S.M., & James, T. (1980). Grades: Are they still bothering adolescents? High School Journal, 64, 55–59.Google Scholar
Erne, R., Maisiak, R., & Goodale, W. (1979). Seriousness of adolescent problems. Adolescence, 14 (53), 93–99.Google Scholar
Evans, G., & Poole, M. (1987). Adolescent concerns: A classification for life skills areas. Australian Journal of Education, 31, 55–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: A study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 150–170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1991a). Adolescent coping: The different ways in which boys and girls cope. Journal of Adolescence, 14, 119–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1991b). Adolescent coping styles and strategies: Is there functional and dysfunctional coping? Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 1 (1), 1–8.Google Scholar
Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1992). The short form of the adolescent coping scale: A brief measure of coping. Psychological Test Bulletin, 5 (2), 122–129.Google Scholar
Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1993a). The Adolescent Coping Scale: Administrator’s manual. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.Google Scholar
Frydenberg, E., & Lewis, R. (1993b). Boys play sport and girls turn to others: Age, gender and ethnicity as determinants of coping. Journal of Adolescence, 16, 253–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gadzella, B.M., Ginther, D.W., Torneala, M., & Bryant, G.W. (1991). Differences between men and women on stress producers and coping strategies. Psychological Reports, 69, 561–562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jiranek, D., & Kirby, N. (1990). The job satisfaction and/or psychological well being of young adults with an intellectual disability and nondisabled young adults in either sheltered employment, competitive employment or unemployment. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 16 (2), 133–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholson, S.I., & Antill, K.K. (1981). Personal problems of adolescents and their relationships to peer acceptance and sex role identity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10, 309–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nihira, K., Foster, R., Shellhaas, M., & Leland, H. (1975) AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale: Manual. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Deficiency.Google Scholar
Offer, D., & Offer, J.B. (1975). From teenage to young manhood: A psychological study. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Parent, W.S., & Twardzik, G. (1992). Social integration in the workplace: An analysis of the interaction activities of workers with mental retardation and their coworkers. Education and Training in Mental Retardation, 27 (1), 28–38.Google Scholar
Patterson, J.M., & McCubbin, H.I. (1987). Adolescent coping style and behaviour: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Adolescence, 10, 163–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearse, B., & Chabassol, D.J. (1976). Relationship of adolescent problems to sex, socio-economic status, school achievement, intelligence quotient and grade. Psychological Reports, 39, 1137–1148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roscoe, B. (1985). Social issues as social problems: Adolescents’ perceptions. Adolescence, 20, 377–383.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1980). Changing youth in a changing society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P., Ouston, J., & Smith, A. (1979). Fifteen thousand hours: Secondary school and its effects on children. London: Open Books.Google Scholar
Schloss, P.J., & Sedlak, R.A. (1982). Behavioral features of the mentally retarded adolescent: Implications for mainstream educators. Psychology in the Schools, 19, 98–105.3.0.CO;2-8>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seiffge-Kranke, I., & Shulman, S. (1990). Coping style in adolescence. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2, 351–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spirito, A., Stark, L.J., & Williams, C.A. (1988). Development of a brief coping checklist for use with pediatric populations. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 13, 555–574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stark, L.J., Spirito, A., Williams, C.A., & Guevremont, D.C. (1989). Common problems and coping strategies: Findings with normal adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 17, 203–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Storey, K., Rhodes, L., Loewinger, H., & Petherbridge, R. (1991). Direct observation of social interactions in a supported employment setting. Education and Training in Mental Retardation, 26 (1), 53–63.Google Scholar
Williamson, J.A., & Campbell, W.P. (1985). Parents and their children comment on adolescence. Adolescence, 20, 745–748.Google ScholarPubMed
Zeitlin, S. (1982). Assessing coping behavior in children with learning disabilities. The Exceptional Child, 29(1), 43–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar