Coping styles associated with victimization profiles among homeless youth

Homeless youth experience elevated rates of victimization, yet few studies have identified malleable intervention targets that could mitigate risk for such adverse experiences. Building on a prior study that used latent class analysis to identify 3 victimization profiles among homeless youth (low-victimization class, high-victimization class, and witness class), we investigate how different coping styles (active, avoidant, and social coping) were associated with each victimization profile among a large purposive sample of homeless youth (N = 601). Results indicate that youth who report employing greater avoidant coping are more likely to have a witness or high-victimization profile, while social coping is associated with having a low-victimization profile. Coping styles may represent malleable factors that offer promising intervention targets for helping homeless youth safely navigate stressful street environments.