ABSTRACT
Adolescence is a developmental period in which the individual is confronted not only with a dramatic change in body contours, but at the same time, a series of complex and interrelated developmental tasks that have to be mastered, such as achieving independence from parents, establishing romantic relationships, and developing an occupational identity (Havighurst, 1953). Of special relevance is the way adolescents cope with these normative demands, which are manifested in numerous minor events. It should be acknowledged, however, that the theoretical conceptualization of stress and coping in adolescence has changed. Concerning stress, the earlier crisis model gave way to more appropriate concepts that considered the productive way of coping with stressors in various domains. Conceptualizations of adolescent coping were strongly tied to the research on adults, and the idea of adolescent-specific stressors, which were so important for the theory of stress, was not pursued. Instruments frequently were based on those developed for adults and, as a rule, they only assessed global stressors and did not consider the unique demands of this age group.
