This chapter makes explicit the role of context and coping processes for identity formation among diverse youths. The study of coping is enriched by a human developmental theoretical approach that acknowledges the shared status of vulnerability for all humans given that encountered risks are mitigated (or not) by myriad protective factors and accompany all individuals’ developmental journeys. The application of Spencer’s phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory facilitates the study of coping strategies. The authors discuss the social ramifications of endemic economic inequality on developmental contexts, which frames the cultivation of coping strategies, i.e., whether adaptive or maladaptive; thus, experiences ultimately become incorporated into an individual’s identity. To highlight the multifaceted nature of risk, the chapter examines the experiences of Black youths in urban areas and the radiating effects of the exogenous shocks on youths’ domains of development. The authors call for new avenues of study and the provision of risk-mitigating supports to ensure cultivation of productive adaptive coping strategies, which enhance diverse youths’ positive identity outcomes.