EPA-0867 – Life Trajectory and Coping Strategies in Adults with Family Care and Substitute Family Care Childhood Experience

Abstract

Nature of early life experiences (especially social-emotional background) has influence on development of coping strategies of each person, which consequently develops overall management of life goals. Objective of our research is exploration of relations between coping strategies and life trajectories. We are trying to verify hypothesis, that people with better coping strategies have better adapted life trajectories and vice versa. Development of certain coping strategies and life trajectories and relation between them are studied in two groups of adults with different form of early life experiences. Particularly we compare people, which underwent any form of substitute family care (n=127) and people without this experience (n=104). Relations between coping strategies on one hand and life trajectory on the other were statistically compared in specific groups of respondents according different forms of substitute family care.

Respondents from researched and control group were administered with questionnaire Strategies for coping with stress SVF 78 and anamnestic questionnaires, which followed a plenty of variables from respondents lives. From anamnestic questionnaire we chose through factor analysis specific categories (for example duration of unemployment, highest achieved level of education, starting of family, prosecution) and from them we compiled typology of life trajectories, to which there were counted indexes. Results of SVF 78 questionnaire were statistically compared with life trajectories of respondents.

Results clearly indicate that different forms of substitute family care specifically influence development of concrete coping strategies and their assertion in their lives. Research in the field of coping strategies in adults with substitute family care experience and their ability in management of life goals are considered important for future alterations in social welfare laws of public services and their day-to-day work.