engleski

Coping strategies in children exposed to different kinds of traumatic events

Coping refers to various behaviours and strategies used by an individual in response to stressful situations. Coping strategies are important prerequisites of growth and development and significant factors in the etiology of psychological and somatic problems. Children do not have a wide scope of coping strategies to rely on. The coping skills developed in childhood and adolescence affect the coping styles a person uses in adult life. The aim of this paperis to present coping strategies used by children after various traumatic events to which they have been exposed. The clinical study was conducted in the Child Protection Center and involved three groups of school children: those who have witnessed domestic violence (N=46), children exposed to bullying (N=43) and children exposed to traumatic events outside their families (N=35). The Coping Strategies Inventory for Children and Adolescents - SUO (Vulić Prtorić, 2002) was used. The scale is divided into 7 subscales with conceptually distinct coping categories: problem solving, cognitive restructuring, expressing feelings, disctraction, avoidance, friends' support and family support. Results form all three groups show that children most frequently use distraction and avoidance strategies, and less frequently problem solving strategies. The study also presents specific differences between the groups which can be used for further research and treatment goals.

coping strategies; children; traumatic events

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