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Shift-&-persist is a coping strategy that has been shown to lead to positive health outcomes in low-SES youth but has not yet been examined with respect to psychological health. This study tests whether the shift-&-persist coping strategy works in tandem with ethnic-racial identity to protect against depressive symptoms in the face of two uncontrol...
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Citations
... Much of the nascent research on shift-and-persist strategies has highlighted their value for reducing physical health risks of youth with substantial economic hardship (e.g., L. Chen et al. 2019;Lam et al. 2018). Findings regarding their roles in buffering the detrimental effects of low-SES contexts on adolescents' psychological well-being (e.g., depressive symptoms) seem to be inconclusive (e.g., Benner, Fernandez, and Límon 2024;Christophe et al. 2019), and positive aspects of psychological well-being (e.g., subjective well-being) have yet to be considered to date. The current study seeks to extend the research by focusing on the degree of socioeconomic disadvantage perceived by adolescents (i.e., subjective SES) and the dual indicators of psychological well-being (i.e., both the presence of subjective well-being and the absence of depressive symptoms). ...
... Chen and Miller 2012); however, the small group of studies investigating the interactive effect of shift-and-persist and SES on adolescents' psychological distress revealed mixed results. For instance, one study has found that shift-and-persist buffers the links between economic hardship and depressive symptoms (Christophe et al. 2019). Specifically, in a sample of 175 Latinx youth (aged 10−15), the positive association between perceived economic hardship and depressive symptoms was attenuated for youth high in shift-and-persist and accentuated for youth low in shift-and-persist. ...
... Additionally, although E. Chen and Miller (2012) posited that shift-and-persist could promote psychological well-being, prior studies on shift-and-persist in low-SES contexts have exclusively focused on negative aspects of psychological well-being (e.g., depressive symptoms) (Adesogan et al. 2023;Benner, Fernandez, and Límon 2024;Christophe et al. 2019;Stein et al. 2022). No previous studies on the psychological benefits of shift-and-persist in low-SES contexts have taken into account the positive aspects of psychological well-being (e.g., subjective well-being), an essential ingredient of resilience, namely, thriving despite adversity (Masten et al. 2021). ...
Objectives
Shift‐and‐persist coping strategies have been demonstrated to be beneficial for physical health of individuals in low socioeconomic status (SES); however, their impacts on psychological well‐being remain less clear. This study aimed to examine: (1) whether the protective effects of shift‐and‐persist with respect to psychological well‐being (i.e., depressive symptoms and subjective well‐being) only exist among adolescents with lower (vs. higher) subjective SES, and (2) what drives the potential benefits, shifting strategy or persisting strategy, or both of them?
Methods
This study recruited 686 middle school students (54.5% male; Mage = 12.57 years, SD = 0.65) from Guangdong Province, China, in January 2019, and they completed measures of subjective SES (i.e., perceived family social status), shift‐and‐persist strategies, depressive symptoms, subjective well‐being, and demographic information.
Results
Adolescents who engaged in more shift‐and‐persist strategies reported fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of subjective well‐being, with stronger effects among those lower (vs. higher) in subjective SES. When further exploring what drove these effects, results showed that persisting strategy was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of subjective well‐being, with more pronounced effects for adolescents with lower (vs. higher) subjective SES. The shifting strategy was associated with fewer depressive symptoms only among those with lower subjective SES, while associated with higher levels of subjective well‐being regardless of subjective SES levels.
Conclusions
Findings support the applicability of the shift‐and‐persist model to both positive and negative indicators of psychological well‐being and enrich the theory by providing preliminary evidence for the domain‐specific roles of shifting strategy in buffering the negative psychological effects of low‐SES contexts.
... Shift is the practice of cognitively reframing a stressful situation, while persist references holding onto optimism and hope for the future amid adversity (Lam et al., 2018). Shift-and-persist coping is protective against the effects of discrimination on mental health symptoms in Latinx youth and adults (Camacho de Anda & Becerra, 2023;Christophe et al., 2019). Further, higher family functioning was related to higher adolescent well-being through positive effects on adolescent hope (Lorenzo-Blanco et al., 2022). ...
... In prior research, shift-and-persist coping was protective against the effects of economic hardship and peer discrimination on youth depressive symptoms, particularly among Latinx youth who felt less positively about their heritage (Christophe et al., 2019(Christophe et al., , 2022. Our findings build on this work to indicate that amid a stressful and persistent life event, shift-and-persist coping that imbues individuals with hope and optimism about the future may foment greater familial resilience as well. ...
El presente estudio examinó los recursos culturales en las familias latinas (es decir, valores, apoyo, afrontamiento de problemas) que pudieran haber contribuido a la capacidad de recuperación (resiliencia) familiar durante los primeros años de la pandemia por COVID-19. Los datos de la encuesta se recopilaron desde octubre de 2020 hasta septiembre de 2021 y luego seis meses después utilizando una muestra comunitaria de 135 adolescentes latinos (Medad = 16.00 años, SD = 1.27; 59.3% mujeres; 85.2% nacidos en EE.UU.). Un modelo de análisis de rutas reveló que los valores del familismo y el apoyo de los padres estaban relacionados positivamente con las percepciones simultáneas de la capacidad de recuperación familiar. El apoyo de los padres, las prácticas de socialización étnico-racial de los padres que infunden conocimiento y orgullo culturales a los jóvenes, y el afrontamiento de problemas mediante el cambio y la perseverancia se asociaron positivamente con la capacidad de recuperación familiar seis meses después. En conjunto, aunque la adolescencia frecuentemente se considera como un período marcado por la disminución de la influencia de los padres, estos resultados ponen en evidencia el papel fundamental que los padres desempeñan en la percepción que tienen los jóvenes acerca de la capacidad de recuperación familiar durante los eventos estresantes de la vida. Además, en el contexto de un factor estresante prolongado, los recursos culturales tal como la socialización étnico-racial y el afrontamiento de problemas mediante el cambio y la perseverancia podrían servir particularmente como fuentes de capacidad de recuperación en las familias latinas.
... Consistent with prior approaches (e.g., Christophe et al., 2019), responses from these two subscales were aggregated to create a more parsimonious construct of regard/centrality. All eight items were scored using the originally proposed scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree) with higher scores reflecting higher regard/ centrality (α = .88). ...
Colloquially referred to as the “lunchbox moment” in popular media and anecdotal accounts, food-related discrimination appears to be a common, shared experience among Asian Americans. Yet, empirical research on culinary racism is scarce. Using a mixed methods approach with 241 Asian Americans (Mage = 21.6 years, 62% women, 34% first generation), the present study examines the prevalence, underlying themes, and correlates of lunchbox moments. Approximately half of the sample (48.5%) reported ever having a lunchbox moment. Content analysis of open-ended responses suggests that the experiences represent a range of themes, many of which involve negative reactions (e.g., bullying, negative emotions, rejecting heritage traditions). The most consistent correlates of having these experiences could be found with more negative attitudes toward current Asian-inspired food trends, though some associations with ethnic–racial identity and well-being were also evident. Culinary racism is an understudied microaggression that warrants continued investigation given its personal salience and impact.
... Higher values on these items indicated stronger ethnic-racial identity. In primary analyses, centrality and private regard were averaged together, similar to what was done in Christophe et al. (2019) investigation of discrimination, shift-and-persist, and ethnic-racial identity in Latinx adolescents. This composite scale showed good internal consistency (α = .78). ...
... Low levels of discrimination are characterized as discrimination 1 SD below the mean, while high levels of discrimination are characterized as 1 SD above the mean. effect of shift-and-persist on depressive and anxiety symptoms (Chen et al., 2015;Christophe et al., 2019;Mello et al., 2020). Chen's original theory conceptualizing shift-and-persist coping (2012) is not clear with respect to whether shift-and-persist should be consistently associated with better mental and physical health as a main effect, instead asserting that shift-and-persist would be efficacious and protective in the context of high risk and high exposure to uncontrollable stress. ...
... Looking beyond the main effects, and consistent with our hypothesis, shift-and-persist interacted with discrimination in predicting depressive and anxiety symptoms. This is consistent with past research on symptoms of depression (Benner et al., 2022;Christophe et al., 2019;Stein et al., 2022) and anxiety (Benner et al., 2022) in other populations and extends the literature on shift-and-persist showing that it is protective against ERD for Black youth. Another study examining the impact of shift-and-persist in African-American adolescents observed that shiftand-persist did not buffer the effects of discrimination on depressive symptoms (Adesogan et al., 2023). ...
Ethnic‐racial discrimination has pervasive negative effects on Black youth's mental health; therefore, it is crucial to identify factors that provide resilience against discrimination. Two promising factors to help youth cope are ethnic‐racial identity (how one feels about their ethnicity/race) and shift‐and‐persist coping (reappraising and accepting an uncontrollable stressor while remaining optimistic about the future). While there is existing scholarship on ethnic‐racial identity among Black youth, this work has not yet assessed the impacts of shift‐and‐persist in this population. Using a sample of 155 Black youth (ages 13–17), the current study examined the interplay between discrimination, ethnic‐racial identity, shift‐and‐persist coping, and internalizing symptoms. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were positively associated with discrimination and negatively associated with shift‐and‐persist. Significant interactions between discrimination and shift‐and‐persist predicting both depressive and anxiety symptoms revealed significant negative associations between shift‐and‐persist and internalizing symptoms at low and average, but not high discrimination levels. Effects are, thus, protective‐reactive; the protective effects of shift‐and‐persist are not significant for youth facing high levels of discrimination. Ethnic‐racial identity, surprisingly, was not significantly associated with either depressive or anxiety symptoms, nor did it interact with shift‐and‐persist as it has in studies of Latinx youth. By understanding the protective benefits of shift‐and‐persist and ethnic‐racial identity in Black youth, during a pivotal period for mental health, we can provide this growing population with tools to lessen the maladaptive outcomes associated with discrimination.
... When an individual practices shifting, they may use cognitive reappraisal to find alternative ways to interpret and accept an uncontrollable stressor and to practice emotion regulation (Lam et al., 2018). In persisting, the individual may engage in meaning finding and hold onto optimism or hope about the future (Christophe et al., 2019;Lam et al., 2018). These skills are thought to minimize the harmful impact of uncontrollable stressors and to promote better selfregulation skills. ...
... These skills are thought to minimize the harmful impact of uncontrollable stressors and to promote better selfregulation skills. Shift-and-persist coping was protective against the effects of economic hardship and peer discrimination on youth depressive symptoms, particularly among Latinx youth who felt less positively about their heritage (Christophe et al., 2019. Higher levels may reflect higher communal and familial socialization around shifting away from cultural stressors and maintaining optimism and harmony, which may in turn promote less conflictual interactions between parents and youth (Moore & Constantine, 2005;Yeh et al., 2006). ...
... Shift-and-Persist Coping. Adolescent reports from two different measures were combined to create a shift-and-persist coping measure (Christophe et al., 2019). From the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced inventory (Carver et al., 1989), eight items were utilized from the Positive Reinterpretation and Growth subscale (α = .62; ...
Objective: This study examined the associations between cultural stressors (i.e., foreigner-based discrimination and acculturation gap conflict) and mother–adolescent relational conflict and the moderating effects of youth coping on these relations. Method: Within a sample of 175 Latinx mothers (Mage = 41.84 years; 88% born in Mexico) and adolescents (Mage = 12.89 years; 52% female; 87% U.S. born), we used actor–partner interdependence models to test the dyadic associations of one’s cultural stress experiences with their own (i.e., self-effect) and the other family member’s (i.e., mother or adolescent effect) perception of relational conflict, and we examined youth coping as a moderator. Results: Adolescents’ experiences of cultural stress were positively related to their own perception of relational conflict but not their mother’s. Amid higher maternal discrimination experiences, higher youth shift-and-persist coping was related to lower youth-reported relational conflict. Higher youth discrimination experiences were correlated with higher reports of youth support-seeking, but youth support-seeking did not moderate the relation between cultural stress and relational conflict. Conclusions: Shift-and-persist coping may play a critical role in exacerbating or mitigating the harmful relations between cultural stress and relational conflict, depending upon whether the cultural stressor is external (i.e., foreigner-based discrimination) or family-based (acculturation gap conflict).
... Although some studies have focused on the moderating effects of coping strategies on the association between ethnic discrimination and internalizing symptoms among adolescents, few have looked at anxiety symptoms, and most were conducted among African American adolescents (e.g., Christophe et al., 2019;Park et al., 2018;Wei et al., 2010). A study among 268 African American early adolescents (M age = 12.90) explored the impact of racial discrimination (discrimination stress) and coping strategies (mainstream coping strategies, culturally-relevant coping) on internalizing symptoms (depressive and anxiety symptoms) (Gaylord-Harden & Cunningham, 2009). ...
Many biopsychosocial changes occur in early adolescence. Adolescents with an immigrant background face additional challenges, such as ethnic discrimination, which is associated with anxiety symptoms. Studies among immigrant adults have shown that using strategies to cope with ethnic discrimination is associated with decreased anxiety. Little is known on how coping strategies could alleviate or perpetuate anxiety symptoms in the context of ethnic discrimination in early adolescence. This study assessed the coping strategies that moderate the association between ethnic discrimination and anxiety symptoms in 512 first- (born abroad; n = 241) and second-generation (at least one parent born abroad; n = 271) adolescents ( M age = 12.97; SD = .75; 55% girls). Results suggest that religious coping and substance use have a positive moderating effect on the association between ethnic discrimination and anxiety symptoms. These findings add to knowledge on coping strategies among immigrant early adolescents facing discrimination.
... The significant protective effect of Latinx identity on the symptom class outcome further indicates that racial and cultural identity may have critical buffering effects on negative macrosystemic influences on the relationship between socioeconomic variables and children's internalizing symptoms. Positive racial and ethnic identification (99), values and commitments to maintain family connections represented by familism (100), and perceived family resilience (101) have meaningful associations with positive child mental health outcomes, including internalizing and depressive symptoms, among Latinx children and adolescents. Although these effects were not tested in the present study, extant literature highlights the importance of attending to these factors in future research. ...
Introduction
Children and adolescents with elevated internalizing symptoms are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, and other psychopathology later in life. The present study examined the predictive links between two bioecological factors in early childhood—parental hostility and socioeconomic stress—and children’s internalizing symptom class outcomes, while considering the effects of child sex assigned at birth on internalizing symptom development from childhood to adolescence.
Materials and Methods
The study used a sample of 1,534 children to test the predictive effects of socioeconomic stress at ages 18 and 27 months; hostile parenting measured at child ages 4–5; and sex assigned at birth on children’s internalizing symptom latent class outcomes at child ages 7–9, 10–12, 13–15, and 16–19. Analyses also tested the mediating effect of parenting on the relationship between socioeconomic stress and children’s symptom classes. Other covariates included parent depressive symptoms at child ages 4–5 and child race and ethnicity.
Results
Analyses identified three distinct heterogenous internalizing symptom classes characterized by relative symptom levels and progression: low (35%); moderate and increasing (41%); and higher and increasing (24%). As anticipated, higher levels of parental hostility in early childhood predicted membership in the higher and increasing symptom class, compared with the low symptom class (odds ratio (OR) = .61, 95% confidence interval (CI) [.48,.77]). Higher levels of early childhood socioeconomic stress were also associated with the likelihood of belonging to the higher-increasing symptom class compared to the low and moderate-increasing classes (OR = .46, 95% CI [.35,.60] and OR = .56, 95% CI [.44,.72], respectively). The total (c = .61) and direct (c’ = .57) effects of socioeconomic stress on children’s symptom class membership in the mediation analysis were significant (p <.001).
Discussion
Study findings suggest that intervening on modifiable bioecological stressors—including parenting behaviors and socioeconomic stressors—may provide important protective influences on children’s internalizing symptom trajectories.
... Research has established links between stress exposure and coping responses in youth of color (Brittian et al., 2013;Forster et al., 2022;Gaylord-Harden & Cunningham, 2009). However, the majority of studies on stress and coping responses has been conducted with cross-sectional designs (Forster et al., 2022;Gaylord-Harden & Cunningham, 2009), investigates mainstream coping strategies (e.g., problem-focused versus emotion-focused, active coping versus distraction coping; Pelekanakis et al., 2022;Wicks et al., 2022) or examines the moderating (Christophe et al., 2019;Forster et al., 2022;Gaylord-Harden & Cunningham, 2009) rather than the mediating role of coping on the association between stress exposure and youth's socioemotional adaptation. Nevertheless, theoretical and empirical evidence suggest that youth of color use different coping strategies in response to different types of sociocultural stress (Clark et al., 1999;Gaylord-Harden et al., 2012) and the use of distinct coping strategies, in turn, are associated with divergent adaptational outcomes Gaylord-Harden & Cunningham, 2009). ...
... Similarly, literature examining the moderating role of cultural processes on chronic stress and coping is still in its nascent stage. However, the emerging literature suggests that cultural processes may either amplify or attenuate the effects of youth's coping responses to stressful life experiences (Brittian et al., 2013;Christophe et al., 2019;Forster et al., 2022). For example, a study with Mexican-American adolescents revealed that the association between perceived discrimination and internalizing symptoms was buffered by distraction coping among youth who score low on Anglo orientation, but not among youth who were high on Anglo orientation (Brittian et al., 2013). ...
... For example, a study with Mexican-American adolescents revealed that the association between perceived discrimination and internalizing symptoms was buffered by distraction coping among youth who score low on Anglo orientation, but not among youth who were high on Anglo orientation (Brittian et al., 2013). Similar findings emerge with a sample of Latine/x youth (Christophe et al., 2019), indicating that greater use of shift-and-persist coping strategies attenuated the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms, but not among youth with high ethnic-racial identity. More research is needed to understand the effects of cultural processes on the associations among stress exposure, coping, physiological functioning, and adaptation. ...
Contemporary biological and contextually based theoretical frameworks have conceptualized how stress exposure may influence adaptation in youth. However, nearly all of this scholarship neglects the role of specific contextual features and/or biological processes that are involved in ethnic-racial minority youth’s responses and adaptation to sociocultural stressors. Drawing on the theoretical principles of the developmental psychopathology framework and contemporary models of stress and adaptation, this article proposes a new multisystem model that explains how multiple levels and systems within and outside of individual youth influence their sociocultural adaptation. We provide empirical evidence to support components of this multisystem model. We propose that research based on our new theoretical framework will capture the sociocultural experiences of ethnic-racial minority youth by centering processes that are relevant to their lived experiences, coping, and adjustment. In doing so, this model will inform psychosocial interventions focused on promoting healthy adaptation among ethnic and racial diverse youth. Finally, we offer recommendations to guide future research on stress and adaptation among ethnic and racial diverse youth, in particular, and developmental psychopathology more broadly.
... One such coping strategy is shift-and-persista constellation of strategies that involves both shifting the self (adjusting oneself in response to stressors, for example through emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisals that allow one to reframe the meaning of a stressor in a less threatening manner), as well as persisting (enduring adversity with strength, finding meaning in difficult situations, and maintaining optimism in the face of adversity) (Chen & Miller, 2012). The combination of shifting and persisting has been found to buffer youth growing up in low SES circumstances from inflammation, obesity, asthma symptoms, and depression (Chen et al., , 2015aChristophe & Stein, 2022;Christophe et al., 2019;Kallem et al., 2013;Lam et al., 2018). However, developmental research suggests that such strategies take time to emerge in the life span. ...
Resilience research has long sought to understand how factors at the child, family, school, community, and societal levels shape adaptation in the face of adversities such as poverty and war. In this article we reflect on three themes that may prove to be useful for future resilience research. First is the idea that mental and physical health can sometimes diverge, even in response to the same social process. A better understanding of explanations for this divergence will have both theoretical and public health implications when it comes to efforts to promote resilience. Second is that more recent models of stress suggest that stress can accelerate aging. Thus, we suggest that research on resilience may need to also consider how resilience strategies may need to be developed in an accelerated fashion to be effective. Third, we suggest that if psychological resilience interventions can be conducted in conjunction with efforts to enact system-level changes targeted at adversities, this may synergize the impact that any single intervention can have, creating a more coordinated and effective set of approaches for promoting resilience in young people who confront adversity in life.
... Shift-&-persist coping has emerged as one set of coping strategies that may be particularly efficacious in protecting low-SES and minoritized youth against the negative effects of uncontrollable (Chen & Miller, 2012) and-most relevant to this study-racialized stress (Christophe et al., 2019). Shift-&-persist coping broadly involves the reappraisal and acceptance of uncontrollable stressors (shift) combined with optimism and endorsement of meaning and purpose in life in the context of this stress exposure (Chen & Miller, 2012). ...
... Assessing general 'unfair treatment' via Williams's et al.'s (1997) Everyday Discrimination Scale, Lam et al. (2018) found that youth (50% non-white) who faced greater unfair treatment were protected against worse asthma profiles; this study provided initial evidence that shift-&-persist could be protective in the context of discrimination. More recently, research on shift-&-persist has also extended past health outcomes to the study of ethnic-racial discrimination and depressive symptoms in samples of Latinx youth (Christophe et al., 2019(Christophe et al., , 2021. These studies broadly found that Latinx youth lower in ERI (i.e., private regard, centrality) were protected against discrimination if they endorsed high levels of shift-&-persist coping. ...
... These studies broadly found that Latinx youth lower in ERI (i.e., private regard, centrality) were protected against discrimination if they endorsed high levels of shift-&-persist coping. By contrast, discrimination was equally, positively associated with depressive symptoms for high ERI youth regardless of their level of shift-&-persist coping (Christophe et al., 2019). These studies support theoretical assertions (e.g., Brondolo et al., 2009) that coping factors and identity are related to one another and to the resilience process, but, due to their variable-centered analytic approaches, these studies could not test whether complex patterns of ERI endorsement and other cultural and coping processes exist within groups of people and collectively confer promotive effects. ...
Models of resilience in minoritized youth posit that youth need to draw upon multiple different cultural (e.g., identity, values, etc.) and general factors (e.g., coping) to thrive in the face of discrimination. Nonetheless, the integration of these factors in empirical scholarship is lacking, as scholars have typically focused on single factors within these models in isolation. To provide a more holistic test of these theoretical models, we utilized latent profile analysis, a technique well-suited to examine the simultaneous impact of multiple factors, to identify patterns of cultural promotive factors (ethnic-racial identity, religious coping, and familism) and a general coping factor (shift-&-persist) in 694 minoritized (Mage = 17.24, 73.5% women, 46.1% black) youth. We observed four profiles: High Cultural High Coping, Average Cultural Average Coping, Low Religious Low Coping, and Low Cultural Low Coping. Despite a lack of developmental differences, several profile differences emerged with respect to gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Additionally, Average Promotive Average Coping youth experienced the greatest amount of discrimination. Finally, after accounting for the effects of discrimination and covariates, those in the High Cultural High Coping profile displayed fewer depressive symptoms than those in the Average Cultural Average Coping and Low Religious Low Coping profiles.
