Gender Differences in Coping and Internalizing Symptoms Between Adolescents With a Parent Diagnosed With Depression

Abstract

The current study examines a sample of children ranging from 9 - 16 years in age with at least one parent that has been diagnosed with depression. The study's primary focus is to assess whether there are gender differences in internalizing symptoms, gender differences in coping styles, if there is an association between coping strategy and internalizing symptoms, and if there are gender differences in relation to coping style and symptoms. The findings indicate there are no gender differences in the reporting of internalizing symptoms. However, boys report more use of disengagement while girls report more primary control coping. Secondary control coping has no significant reported gender difference, and it was found to have the greatest inverse relationship with internalizing symptoms as reported by both genders and parent and child. There are no significant interactions between gender and coping style to predict internalizing symptoms.