Childhood Stressors and Coping Actions: A Comparison of Children and Parents’ Perspectives

At a time when many children and families are faced with enormous daily life hassles and major stressful events, it is crucial to understand issues pertaining to childhood stress and coping. The present study examined children and parents’ perceptions of childhood stressors and children’s coping actions. Findings reveal that children report higher stress levels than parents. The stressors identified by children range from peer related stressful situations such as being laughed at to internal factors such as lack of control, and major life events such as death of a loved one. Children and parents report a large range of coping actions with three predominant themes—cognitive, social, and emotional coping strategies. Implications for practice are discussed. This research was supported by a General University Research Program Grant from the University of Delaware.