CHAPTER 34
Coping with Adversity
Overcoming difficult circumstances is essential for survival. The success of
the human species depends on our ability to respond to a whole range of
problems intelligently and flexibly, to adapt adequately to a wide range
of environments – or else to control the environment so it is within
a ‘comfort zone’ and not damaging. Ideally, children and adolescent’s
upbringing ought to enable them to develop coping skills so they can deal
with the challenges they will encounter in their society as adults. However,
children and adolescents may not be in a position to overcome some
fairly fundamental violations of their lives, which may then compromise
the integrity of their development and undermine their ability to live a
reasonably successful and satisfying life. This chapter starts by reviewing
children and adolescents’ reactions to a number of difficult and painful
predicaments, and then goes on to discuss more generally how they
may cope.
Common stressors
One way to categorise difficulties is into discrete major changes, some-
times calledlife events, and ongoing obviously difficult situations, some-
times calledchronic adversities. Research on adults has shown that there
is a third type of common stressor, sometimes calleddaily hassles.This
term refers to everyday difficulties that can seem relatively insignificant
in themselves, yet have proven to be important determinants of psy-
chopathology. However, they are less well researched in children, so this
account is mainly about life events and chronic adversities. As well as
considering impact in terms of (1) psychiatric disorders, it is important to
consider impact on (2) functioning, for example, in terms of ability to make
good relationships and develop academic abilities and other competencies,
and (3) subjective distress. All three will influence the general quality of
life of the child, and their family too. Thus, if children are left without psy-
chiatric symptoms, and are not upset, that is not to say all is well: they may
have no friends and spend most of the day watching TV and not achieving
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Third Edition. Robert Goodman and Stephen Scott.
©c2012 Robert Goodman and Stephen Scott. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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