What does “negative coping strategy” mean in humanitarian aid?
A negative coping strategy meets an immediate need by creating serious future costs or protection risks.
What the figure or term means
Examples can include selling productive assets, taking harmful debt, reducing essential health spending, or withdrawing children from school.
Repeated negative coping signals that resilience is being depleted.
Do not publish an individual family’s sensitive coping behavior without a clear protection reason and consent.
When the term affects eligibility, safety, funding, or program design, check the complete cited standard rather than relying on a short definition.
How to use this information responsibly
Humanitarian terms are useful only when their technical meaning is preserved. These explainers translate common language without replacing the source standards used by professional responders.
Organizations may apply a term under a specific policy, assessment framework, or program design. Read the cited standard before using a glossary page for an operational decision.
Check the underlying information.
Editorial standard: This page is reviewed by a person, sourced to Famidi records or authoritative references, and revised when the program or underlying guidance changes. It does not replace legal, tax, medical, or financial advice.