This study contributes to literature examining the salience of ecological variables by investigating relationships between stress, coping, community resources, and residential nature. One hundred thirty-three low-income women in mid-Michigan reported on institutional resource availability, recent stressful events, and preferred coping styles. Research assistants rated yards surrounding respondents' homes for the presence of natural features. African American mothers reported greater usage of both emotion-focused and active coping strategies compared to European American mothers. Availability of community resources was found to predict significantly to the use of active and emotion-focused coping strategies, and stress intensity and natural resources predicted significantly to avoidant coping strategies. Further development of the Residential Natural Resources Inventory and investigation of the variance of environmental stressors, resources, and coping responses within racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups are recommended.
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