Coping with Stress and Mental Health

The study included 390 emerging adults. Coping strategies were measured with the COPE Questionnaire (Carver, 1997) and information on mental health was called using the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (Brooks, Krulewicz, & Kutcher, 2003) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985).The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with maximum likelihood (ML) estimation was used to assess the factor structure of the variables and structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. The data mostly confirmed the hypotheses. Avoidance strategies turned out to be the strongest predictor of mental health, specifically negative mental health outcomes. Problem-focused strategies were a stronger predictor of quality of life than emotion-focused and support-seeking strategies. Emotion-focused strategies did not predict depression. Importantly, the relationships we identified were similar in young adults of both sexes. Coping strategies, especially avoidance strategies, play a crucial role in mental health during emerging adulthood. Learning to cope enables youngers during emerging adulthood to deal with difficult tasks and challenges of this period more effectively, and minimizes their risk of depression and increases their life satisfaction.