Comparison of Coping Styles in Runaway and Non-Runaway Girls

The present research was aimed at comparing the coping styles of runaway and non-runaway girls in the city of Tehran. For this purpose, a sample of 120 girls were selected from 3 groups; runaway girls from Tehran's shelters, girls who were third year high school students, and non-runaway girls chosen from the parks and cultural centers of southern areas of Tehran. The sampling method for runaway and student groups was multistage random sampling, and accessible simple random sampling for non-runaway girls from parks and cultural centers. Non-runaway groups were selected from districts 16 and 18 of Tehran to match the socio-economic status of the runaway group. Tehran Coping Styles Scale (TCSS) was administered to all three groups. Results showed significant differences between runaway and non-runaway groups in the negative emotional-focused coping styles. Runaway girls scored significantly higher in negative emotional-focused coping styles. However, there was not any significant difference between the positive emotional-focused and problem-focused coping styles of runaway and non-runaway girls.