A Theoretical and Empirical Examination of Identity as Coping: Linking Coping Resources to the Self Processes of African American Youth

This chapter examines individual and physical characteristics such as gender, race and ethnicity, body type, skin color, primary language use, and facial features serve as opportunities for identifiability that are associated with the experience of stigma and chronic challenges. Margaret B. Spencer’s Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) is presented as a theoretical framework to integrate issues of context, coping, and identity in human development. A sense of purpose is described quite specifically as: “an invaluable developmental asset; not all senses of purpose are equally worthy”. The coping literature focuses on the various ways in which people handle stress, challenges, and risk factors during particular periods of the life course. PVEST integrates a phenomenological perspective with U. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, linking context with perception.