296 III. DEvELOPMENT
These measures have adopted Schwartz’s 
(1992) model of universal values, which 
has been widely studied in adults and, to 
a lesser extent, in adolescents. Research on 
children as young as age 7 years indicates 
that children’s values largely share the same 
basic structure as those of adults (Cieciuch, 
Davidov, & Algesheimer, 2016; Döring et 
al., 2015; Kandler et al., 2016; Uzefovsky, 
Döring, & Knafo-Noam, 2016; Vecchione, 
Döring, Alessandria, Marsicano, & Bardi, 
2016). The Schwartz (1992) model includes 
10 values, each arranged in opposite pairs 
that have consequences that conflict with 
each other (e.g., values of power over others 
inherently conflict with universalism values 
that involve concern for all others and for 
nature). These five opposite pairs of values 
form a circular structure with two axes: one 
ranging from self- enhancement  (concern 
for self) to self-  transcendence  (concern for 
others) and the other ranging from conser -
vation,  or preservation of the status quo, 
to openness to change . The basically simi -
lar structure of values in childhood and in 
adulthood speaks to the fundamental nature 
of these value dimensions.
Preliminary research on children’s values 
has explored stability and change in these 
values, effects on behavior, and genetic 
influences. In terms of rank-order stabil -
ity, children’s self-  reported values seem to 
be moderately stable by middle childhood 
and the middle school years, with increas -
ing stability with age (Cieciuch et al., 2016; 
Vecchione et al., 2016). In terms of mean-
level change, a single study (Cieciuch et al., 
2016) revealed that, over the middle child -
hood years from ages 7 to 11, mean levels 
of conservation values decreased, while 
mean openness to change values increased; 
self- transcendence increased, slightly de -
creased, and then increased, whereas self- 
enhancement followed the opposite pattern. 
Children’s values seem to predict their value- 
relevant behaviors (e.g., conservation values 
predict active avoidance of dangerous plac -
es) over short periods of time, whereas those 
same behaviors predict later values, but to a 
lesser degree (Vecchione et al., 2016). Final -
ly, in terms of the causes of values in child -
hood, there is evidence for genetic influences 
on most of the overarching values, with the 
possible exception of openness to change (Uzefovsky et al., 2016); moreover, genetic 
factors account for most of the similar -
ity between children and parents on values 
(Kandler et al., 2016). Children’s nonshared 
environments, or child-  specific experiences, 
account for the largest portion of the varia -
tion in children’s values, however, which 
suggests that these kinds of experiences will 
be important targets of future research on 
this topic.
Coping  Strategies
As children pursue their goals and develop a 
stronger sense of their personal values, they 
face daily stresses and sometimes more sig -
nificant adversity. Children develop different 
coping strategies  for handling these stresses. 
Although definitions of coping differ, coping 
is typically seen as a strategy enacted in re -
sponse to acute or chronic stress; it is viewed 
as a controlled, conscious, and goal-  directed 
process; and it involves self-  regulation of be -
havior, cognition, emotion, physiology, or 
the environment (Compas et al., 2014).
Children use a variety of strategies, de -
pending on the particular situations they are 
facing (Seiffge-  Krenke, Aunola, & Nurmi, 
2009). The cognitive, social–  emotional, and 
contextual processes that change during the 
5- to 7-year shift shape the coping strate -
gies that children may adopt during middle 
childhood. Like adults, children use primary 
control  strategies (approach-  oriented, active 
strategies for directly addressing the source 
or stress or one’s own emotions; e.g., prob -
lem solving, supportseeking, and emotion 
expression), secondary control  strategies 
(changing one’s relationship to the stressor; 
e.g., acceptance, reappraisal, distraction) 
and disengagement  strategies (avoidance-  
oriented attempts at distancing oneself from 
the stressors or one’s emotions; e.g., with -
drawal, denial) (Compas et al., 2017).
Children’s and adolescents’ repertoires of 
coping strategies develop over time. Among 
preschool- and school-  age children, the pre -
dominant forms of coping are support seek -
ing, problem solving, escape, and distraction 
(Skinner & Zimmer-  Gembeck, 2007). As 
children move into adolescence, their cop -
ing strategies become more complex and 
cognitively advanced. Although the nega -
tive strategy of withdrawal increases during 