Surviving, coping or thriving? understanding coping and its impact on social well-being in Mozambique

Abstract

This paper presents the empirical interrogation and development of the concept of coping strategies through the findings of a piece of qualitative research which used this concept to understand and promote social well-being with young women in Mozambique during unintended pregnancy. Concepts and theories of ‘coping’ during adverse life events or periods of stress can be used to reinforce capabilities and strengths, facilitating rather than constraining people's own mechanisms of resilience. However, the framework within which the concept is situated is frequently ill-defined, particularly in applied contexts. ‘Coping strategies’ are used in many models of social work practice (preventative, remedial, rehabilitative, strengths-based, recovery-ordinated, developmental), yet understandings of what it means to ‘cope’, whether it be about counter-balancing threat, ‘getting by’ or ‘getting on’, and how such coping is strategic, are crucial for determining how the concept is used by practitioners and policy makers. Research findings based on qualitative interviews with young women (fifteen to nineteen-year-olds) and key informants in Mozambique on the concept of coping strategies are used to develop a typology which will help academics, policy makers and practitioners unpick the underlying assumptions associated with the concept.