Prospective Associations Between Coping, Benefit-Finding and Growth, and Subjective Well-Being in Youths with Chronic Health Conditions: a Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Analysis.

OBJECTIVE:Adolescents with chronic health conditions (CCs) face unique developmental challenges that affect their psychological well-being. Benefit-finding and growth (BFG) may serve as a psychological resource for this population. However, longitudinal evidence on the hypothesized predictors of BFG and its impact on subjective well-being (SWB) remains scarce. This study explores the reciprocal associations between emotion-focused coping, BFG, and SWB in adolescents with CCs. METHODS:The sample included 498 adolescents (aged 12-21 years) with type 1 diabetes, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or cystic fibrosis receiving care in Germany. Using latent cross-lagged panel models, we analyzed the directionality of the relationships between coping strategies (acceptance, cognitive reappraisal, seeking social support), BFG, and SWB (satisfaction with life, positive well-being) over 1 year. Sociodemographic and disease-related variables were controlled. RESULTS:Seeking social support at T1 was significantly associated with higher levels of BFG at T2, whereas no significant prospective associations were observed for T1 acceptance and reappraisal. An inverse cross-lagged association was found between BFG at T1 and reappraisal at T2. Furthermore, BFG at T1 was significantly associated with higher satisfaction with life at T2. CONCLUSIONS:This study provides the first longitudinal evidence of bidirectional relationships between emotion-focused coping and BFG, as well as BFG and SWB in adolescents with CCs. The findings highlight the crucial role of seeking social support in promoting BFG, which enhances adaptive emotion regulation and satisfaction with life. Future interventions should target social resources and cognitive coping strategies to improve psychological well-being in this population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), no. DRKS00025125. Registered on May 17, 2021.