Coping style, personality and adolescent adjustment 10 years post-burn

An assessment carried out on adolescents aged 11–18 who had suffered severe burns in early childhood 10–11 years previously indicated that the levels of problem behavior were similar and the levels of depression lower than those reported by adolescents in comparable reference populations. Adolescents’ self-reports revealed higher levels of the personality traits emotional stability, agreeableness and extraversion. Self-reports further revealed lower levels of passive coping than are found in a normative reference population. Regression analyses showed that less emotional stability, less agreeableness and more passive coping styles were related to increased behavioral problems and symptoms of depression. The authors argue that future studies should focus on resilience and within-group differences.