Premium
A Prospective Study of Life Stress, Social Support, and Adaptation in Early Adolescence
Author(s) -
DuBois David L.,
Felner Robert D.,
Brand Stephen,
Adan Angela M.,
Evans Elizabeth G.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01645.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social support , transactional analysis , developmental psychology , distress , multilevel model , longitudinal study , transactional leadership , stress (linguistics) , psychological distress , psychological adaptation , stress management , clinical psychology , social psychology , mental health , psychotherapist , linguistics , statistics , philosophy , mathematics , machine learning , computer science
This study employed a 2‐year longitudinal design to examine the relation of stressful life events and social supports to psychological distress and school performance among 166 early adolescents (mean age = 13.5 years). A prospective approach was utilized to control for initial levels of adjustment when examining the relation of Time 1 stress and support variables to Time 2 psychological distress and school performance. Both stress and support variables made significant contributions to the prediction of subsequent psychological distress. Stresses, but not supports, made a significant contribution to the prediction of subsequent school performance. Evidence for reciprocal and interactive linkages was also found, including effects of psychological distress and school performance on subsequent stresses and supports, and greater adaptive impact of school‐based supportive resources under conditions of heightened risk outside of school. Implications for ecological and transactional models of development relating to the targeting and efficacy of preventive efforts are discussed.