Adjustment Challenges and Coping Mechanisms in Adolescent Girls

Adolescence is an important developmental stage characterised by major biological, psychological and social transformations. For many immigrant girls, there are unique social-emotional issues that they might face with issues of identity formation, body image pressures and concerns, peer relationships, academic challenges and demands from family members to succeed as well as regulation of a range of emotions. If not appropriately addressed, these issues can cause psychological distress, such as anxiety and depressive symptoms. This review article integrates the literature on the central stressors encountered by teenage girls and their attempts to manage. They emphasise adaptive strategies, like social support, problem-focused coping, and cognitive reappraisal, as well as maladaptive responses including rumination and avoidance. The identification of these factors is necessary for the development of psychosocial interventions aimed at fostering resilience and adaptive responding during adolescence.