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Reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems
Kee Jeong Kim1, Rand D Conger, Glen H Elder
1Department of Human and Community Development, University of California-Davis, 95616, USA. keekim@uc-davis.edu
Child Development
|March 11, 2003
Summary
Adolescent maladjustment and stressful life events mutually reinforce each other over time. This cycle of negative experiences and adjustment problems leads to accumulating disadvantage during adolescence.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Adolescent Health
Background:
- Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by significant life changes and challenges.
- Understanding the interplay between life stressors and psychological adjustment is crucial for adolescent well-being.
- Previous research suggests links between stress and maladjustment, but longitudinal, reciprocal influences require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesized reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent maladjustment.
- To examine the long-term, bidirectional relationship between stress and internalizing/externalizing behaviors from 7th to 12th grade.
Main Methods:
- A 6-year prospective longitudinal study design was employed.
- Data were collected from a sample of 451 adolescents (215 males, 236 females) in the rural Midwest.
- Autoregressive cross-lagged panel models were used to analyze the reciprocal relationships between stressful life events, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behaviors.
Main Results:
- Stressful life events and adolescent maladjustment (internalizing and externalizing behaviors) were found to be reciprocally interrelated over time.
- Stressful life events at one time point significantly predicted delinquent behaviors one year later.
- Delinquent behaviors at one time point significantly predicted stressful life events one year later, demonstrating a reciprocal link.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a model of accumulating disadvantage, where stressful life events and maladjustment problems mutually reinforce each other.
- Adolescents experiencing stressful life events are at higher risk for developing maladjustment, which in turn can lead to more stressful situations.
- Interventions aimed at reducing adolescent maladjustment should consider addressing stressful life events to break this negative cycle.