{"title":"Coping as a factor of resilience for school-based stress in children at risk for socio-emotional difficulties","authors":"M. Helmer , J. Brandenburg , M. Hasselhorn","doi":"10.1016/j.mhp.2025.200438","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Social and academic stressors within the school environment can exert adverse effects on the socio-emotional development of children. Especially children with a learning disorder like dyslexia are facing the risk of poor socio-emotional adjustment due to school-based stress. Although effective coping might help dealing with these stressors by fostering personal resilience, little is known about which coping strategies exert a notably favourable influence on the diverse facets of school-based well-being. The present study thus examined the impact of various coping strategies—namely problem-focused, emotion-regulating, and unfavourable coping—on the socio-emotional development of elementary schoolchildren.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The sample consisted of 52 schoolchildren recruited from schools and licensed learning institutes, including 33 children diagnosed with dyslexia and 19 typically achieving peers. Participants, primarily at the end of elementary school (<em>M</em> = 9.59 years, <em>SD</em> = 0.48), were assessed two times across one academic year. Data were collected using questionnaires of coping strategies and socio-emotional outcomes. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine how interindividual differences in socio-emotional well-being can be explained by individual coping strategies.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Problem-focused coping was the predominant predictor of well-being within the school context (<em>β</em> ranging from .27 to .51), whereas emotion-regulating (<em>β</em> = .24) and unfavourable coping strategies (<em>β</em> = -.26/-.27) were of explanatory value for fewer aspects of well-being.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>A problem-focused approach in coping seems to be most effective in promoting socio-emotional well-being and resilience among schoolchildren. This highlights the importance of fostering especially problem-solving skills within educational interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55864,"journal":{"name":"Mental Health and Prevention","volume":"39 ","pages":"Article 200438"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Mental Health and Prevention","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212657025000480","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective
Social and academic stressors within the school environment can exert adverse effects on the socio-emotional development of children. Especially children with a learning disorder like dyslexia are facing the risk of poor socio-emotional adjustment due to school-based stress. Although effective coping might help dealing with these stressors by fostering personal resilience, little is known about which coping strategies exert a notably favourable influence on the diverse facets of school-based well-being. The present study thus examined the impact of various coping strategies—namely problem-focused, emotion-regulating, and unfavourable coping—on the socio-emotional development of elementary schoolchildren.
Methods
The sample consisted of 52 schoolchildren recruited from schools and licensed learning institutes, including 33 children diagnosed with dyslexia and 19 typically achieving peers. Participants, primarily at the end of elementary school (M = 9.59 years, SD = 0.48), were assessed two times across one academic year. Data were collected using questionnaires of coping strategies and socio-emotional outcomes. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine how interindividual differences in socio-emotional well-being can be explained by individual coping strategies.
Results
Problem-focused coping was the predominant predictor of well-being within the school context (β ranging from .27 to .51), whereas emotion-regulating (β = .24) and unfavourable coping strategies (β = -.26/-.27) were of explanatory value for fewer aspects of well-being.
Conclusion
A problem-focused approach in coping seems to be most effective in promoting socio-emotional well-being and resilience among schoolchildren. This highlights the importance of fostering especially problem-solving skills within educational interventions.