Dispositional Coping, Coping Effectiveness, and Cognitive Social Maturity Among Adolescent Athletes
in Journal of Sport and Exercise PsychologyClick name to view affiliation
It is accepted among scholars that coping changes as people mature during adolescence, but little is known about the relationship between maturity and coping. The purpose of this paper was to assess a model, which included dispositional coping, coping effectiveness, and cognitive social maturity. We predicted that cognitive social maturity would have a direct effect on coping effectiveness, and also an indirect impact via dispositional coping. Two hundred forty-five adolescent athletes completed measures of dispositional coping, coping effectiveness, and cognitive social maturity, which has three dimensions: conscientiousness, peer influence on behavior, and rule following. Using structural equation modeling, we found support for our model, suggesting that coping is related to cognitive social maturity. This information can be used to influence the content of coping interventions for adolescents of different maturational levels.
Adam R. Nicholls is with the Department of Psychology, University of Hull, Hull, UK. John L. Perry is with the Department of Sport, Health, and Nutrition, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, UK. Leigh Jones is with the School of Health and Social Science, University of Wales, Newport, Wales. Dave Morley is with the Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK. Fraser Carson is with the Department of Sport, Health, and Exercise, University of Hull, Hull, UK.
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