Psychological distress in adolescents: A longitudinal study of chronic and interpersonal stressors, life events and social support

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of different types of stressors and potential moderators in the adolescent stress process. The study population consisted of 705 adolescents and their mothers who participated in a longitudinal epidemiological study of the Woodlawn community in 1966 and again ten years later.; The major independent variables were chronic stressors (poverty status, mother's mental health, family structure), life events, interpersonal stressors with teachers, parents, friends, friends of the opposite sex and social support resources (family satisfaction, family involvement, confiding in adults in family, peer involvement).; The major dependent variables of this study were symptoms of anxiety, depression and anger. These were self reports from the adolescents.; The results of this study indicate that gender is of importance in identifying which stressors and resources are predictive of anxiety, depression and anger and that the predictors also vary depending upon the specific outcome. Furthermore, it lends support to the present thinking that the life stress process is complex and consists not only of the experience of life events but also includes the experience of varying types of stressors and resources which can be viewed from a developmental perspective.; The study indicates the importance of early childhood factors as risk factors for psychological distress in adolescence. For males, the antecedent factors of importance were early childhood family stressors of growing up in poverty with a mother experiencing some psychological distress. Females identified on the maladapting scale in first grade by teachers were more vulnerable to the experience of adolescent life events later in life which resulted in an increased risk of anxiety.; Multivariate models generated for psychological symptoms illustrate the combined importance of specific life event domains, chronic stressors, interpersonal stressors and social resources in predicting outcomes. These variables contributed additively to the relationships. The study found little support for the importance of cumulative life events in predicting psychological distress but interpersonal stressors were important independent contributors in all of the models. A controversial finding was that of the differing effects of family structure and poverty for males and females. For males, family structure in early childhood and poverty were risk factors while growing up in mother alone families for females seemed to have had a protective effect for the future development of psychological distress. Based on the findings, some recommendations for research and practice are made.