Ethnic Identity and Regional Context in Adolescent Coping Strategies Within Multicultural Societies

Adolescence is a critical stage of identity formation and social adaptation, in which coping with stress plays a key role in well-being. This study examines how ethnic identity and regional context shape adolescents’ coping strategies in multicultural urban environments. The sample included 306 adolescents aged 12–17 from two Russian cities with distinct sociocultural settings. Descriptive statistics and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc tests were conducted. Findings revealed that ethnicity was primarily associated with emotion-focused coping strategies, including focusing on emotions, turning to religion, and humor. Regional context showed pronounced associations with problem-focused and socially embedded strategies, such as active coping, seeking support, as well as behavioral disengagement. Adolescents occupying ethnic minority positions demonstrated more heterogeneous coping repertoires, combining avoidance-oriented strategies (e.g., distraction and social distraction) with context-sensitive adaptive strategies, including humor and seeking social support. In contrast, ethnic majority-group adolescents tended to rely on more stable patterns of problem-focused coping. Overall, the results indicate that adolescent coping is shaped not only by individual factors but also by sociocultural context. The study contributes to understanding adolescent resilience in culturally diverse settings and informs the development of culturally sensitive school-based support programs.