Socialization of coping: processes that shape child coping

Abstract

This study examines how coping develops from early family experiences through childhood behavior and into the social environments of adolescence. Using longitudinal data from 4,897 families in the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, structural equation modeling tested a developmental cascade linking problematic parental conduct and discipline practices in early childhood, child behavioral functioning in middle childhood, and adolescent social skills and delinquency at age fifteen. Results showed a stable sequence across all models: problematic parental conduct predicted both non aggressive and aggressive discipline; non aggressive discipline predicted adaptive social behavior; and aggressive discipline predicted externalizing problems. Middle childhood externalizing behavior strongly predicted adolescent delinquency, whereas adaptive social behavior predicted stronger adolescent social skills. Peer delinquency and neighborhood support and cohesion contributed unique variance in adolescent outcomes without altering the core developmental pathways. Findings indicate that coping socialization unfolds across multiple ecological layers, with family interactions establishing early appraisal and regulation tendencies that peers and neighborhoods later reinforce or redirect. The study advances theoretical integration by identifying coping socialization as a mechanism linking developmental and criminological processes and highlights multilevel intervention opportunities to strengthen adaptive coping and reduce delinquency.