Accepting or rejecting the label: how gay employees cope with harassment at work

an article by Dilusha Madushanka Liyanage and Arosha Adikaram (University of Colombo, Sri Lanka) published in Gender in Management Volume 34 Issue 8 (2019)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how gay employees, as labeled deviants, cope with heterosexist harassment at work in an Asian culture of hegemonic heterosexual masculinity, using the modified labeling theory.

Design/methodology/approach
Using qualitative research approach, in-depth interviews were carried out with 16 self-identified gay employees.

Findings
Results revealed how the coping strategies of gay employees, in the face of harassment, are entwined with the labeling and stigma leading to diverse and complex coping strategies. Several broader coping strategies were thus identified based on whether the participants accepted the label of deviance and stigma and whether they were open about their sexuality. These broader coping strategies are support seeking, confrontation, inaction, quitting and, stigma and labeling avoidance strategies. Under these broader strategies, there were also sub strategies such as seeking social support, organizational support, legal support the support of the wise, as well as secrecy and social withdrawal.

Originality/value
These findings will advance the knowledge in coping strategies of heterosexist harassments at work as well as knowledge in harassment of gay employees, in hegemonic heterosexual cultures.

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Household Instability and Unpredictable Earnings Hinder Coping in Households with Food Insecure Children

an article by Karla L. Hanson, Leah Connor and Christine M. Olson (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York) and Gregory Mills (The Urban Institute, Washington, DC, USA) published in Journal of Poverty Volume 230 Issue 4 (2016)

Abstract

This mixed-methods study explored the circumstances and coping strategies of households at risk of food insecurity among children. Quantitative analyses guided the selection of two samples of households: (1) at risk for food insecure children, yet children were food secure (n = 19) and (2) with food insecure children (n = 54). Qualitative interviews with parents revealed that households with food insecure children were complex and fluctuating in composition and had unpredictable earnings.

Coping strategies were similar in both samples, except that households with at risk yet food secure children described home cooking, a household coping strategy that may be attributed to their stable household composition and resources.

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‘I was bullied too’: stories of bullying and coping in an online community

an article by Katie Davis, David P. Randall, Anthony Ambrose and Mania Orand (Information School, University of Washington) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 18 Issue 4 (2015)

Abstract

The American Academy of Pediatrics has identified bullying as a serious health risk for adolescents. In today’s age of social media and smartphones, this health risk has taken on new forms and extended its reach. Strategies to reduce the prevalence of and negative consequences associated with both traditional bullying and cyberbullying require knowledge of victims’ lived experiences as well as the coping strategies they employ – both effectively and ineffectively – to respond to their tormentors.

This article presents findings from an in-depth content analysis of the entire set of 1,094 comments from a viral blog post about cyberbullying in which people shared their personal stories of bullying and coping. These stories included a mix of both traditional and online forms of victimization, as well as more general reflections about the distinct qualities of networked publics that serve to magnify, spread, and exacerbate the effects of bullying.

The findings suggest that victims of both traditional bullying and cyberbullying are often targeted because they do not conform in one way or another to mainstream norms and values. Victims employed similar coping strategies to respond to their online and offline tormentors. Common behavioral strategies included seeking social support, ignoring/blocking, and finding a creative or expressive outlet.

The two most commonly cited cognitive strategies were self-talk and taking the bully's perspective. Not all strategies were judged to be effective. The findings have relevance to researchers seeking to understand bullying from the perspective of victims and to practitioners seeking to develop effective interventions to support bullying victims.

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Subjective Well-Being in Urban, Ethnically Diverse Adolescents: The Role of Stress and Coping

an article by Elizabeth M. Vera et al (Loyola University Chicago) published in Youth & Society Volume 44 Number 3 (September 2012)

Abstract

This study examines stressors, general stress levels, coping strategies, and subjective well-being in a sample of 144 ethnically diverse, urban adolescents (mean age of 13).

The most frequently reported stressors include the death of a family member, feeling socially isolated, family financial problems, injury of a family member, and parents arguing.

The most common coping strategies are seeking support, acceptance, active coping, using distraction, and venting.

Positive and negative affect are related to many coping strategies, but only humor buffered the relationship between stress and negative affect.

Venting exacerbates the negative relationship between stress and life satisfaction. Implications for helping ethnically diverse, urban adolescents cope with stressors and maintain well-being are discussed.

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