Coping styles of adolescents experiencing multiple forms of discrimination and bullying: Evidence from a sample of ethnically diverse urban youth

Background: There is limited research examining the coping strategies of youth and their associations with discrimination and bullying. We used a latent class analysis (LCA) to characterize coping styles of ethnically diverse 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 (BYS), where students were asked to select two behaviors they do most often when they are upset, from a list of 14 options. A total of 927 (75%) students contributed to the LCA analytic sample (45% Non-Hispanic Black, 29% Hispanic and 58% female). Relative and absolute fit indices determined the number of classes. An interaction term between types of discrimination/bullying experienced and coping style tested for moderation. Results: The LCA revealed that 3-class solution had the best fit (LMR-LRT, 4-class vs. 3-class, p-value 0.12). The largest coping style class was characterized by high endorsement of distractive coping strategies (59%), the second class by using supportive coping strategies (27%), and the third class by using avoidant coping strategies (12%). We found a significant interaction between discrimination and coping style for depressive symptoms, indicating avoidant coping style exacerbated the risk of depressive symptoms associated with experiencing discrimination/bullying. Conclusion: Further research is needed to understand the coping strategies that youth use to buffer the effects of bullying and discrimination and which may have the most protective effects.