Stress Generation and Adolescent Depression: Contribution of Interpersonal Stress Responses

This research examined the proposal that ineffective responses to common interpersonal problems disrupt youths’ relationships, which, in turn, contributes to depression during adolescence. Youth (86 girls, 81 boys; M age = 12.41, SD = 1.19) and their primary female caregivers participated in a three-wave longitudinal study. Youth completed a measure assessing interpersonal stress responses; youth and caregivers completed semi-structured interviews assessing youths’ life stress and psychopathology. Consistent with the hypothesized model, ineffective stress responses (low levels of effortful engagement, high levels of involuntary engagement and disengagement) predicted the generation of subsequent interpersonal stress, which partially accounted for the association between stress responses and depression over time. Moreover, results revealed that self-generated interpersonal, but not noninterpersonal stress, predicted depression, and that this explanatory model was specific to the prediction of depression but not anxiety. This research builds on interpersonal stress generation models of depression, and highlights the importance of implementing depression-focused intervention programs that promote effective stress responses and adaptive interpersonal relationships during adolescence.     

Gender Differences in the Effects of Community Violence on Mental Health Outcomes in a Sample of Low-Income Youth Receiving Psychiatric Care

Previous research suggests that community violence impacts mental health outcomes, but much of this research has not (a) distinguished between different types of community violence, (b) examined gender differences, and (c) focused on youth living in urban poverty. The current study addresses these questions. Participants were 306 youth (23 % girls) and one parent/guardian receiving outpatient psychiatric services for disruptive behavior disorders in a large urban city. Youth and parents reported on youth’s experience of different types of community violence (being a direct victim, hearing reports, and witnessing violence), and whether violence was directed toward a stranger or familiar. Outcomes included youth externalizing, internalizing, and posttraumatic stress symptoms assessed via parent and youth reports. Being a direct victim of violence accords risk for all mental health outcomes similarly for both boys and girls. However, gender differences emerged with respect to indirect violence, such that girls who hear reports of violence against people they know are at increased risk for all assessed mental health outcomes, and girls who witness violence against familiars are at increased risk for externalizing mental health symptoms in particular. There are gender differences in violence-related mental health etiology, with implications for intervention assessment and design.     

Exposure to maternal vs. paternal partner violence,PTSD, and aggression in adolescent girls and boys

Adolescents who witness interparental violence (IPV) are at increased risk for perpetrating aggressive acts. They are also at risk for post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, we examined the relation between exposure to maternal vs. paternal physical IPV and adolescent girls' and boys' aggressive behavior toward mothers, fathers, friends, and romantic partners. We also assessed the influence of PTSD (as assessed by the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents‐IV (DICA‐IV)) on the relation between exposure to IPV and aggressive behavior. Participants were 63 girls and 49 boys, ages 13–18, consecutively admitted to a youth correctional facility or assessment facility designated to serve aggressive and delinquent youth. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate unique relations between exposure to maternal vs. paternal IPV and youth aggression in relationships. Girls who observed their mothers' aggressive behavior toward partners were significantly more aggressive toward friends. Similarly, boys who witnessed their fathers' aggression were significantly more aggressive toward friends. Adolescent girls and boys who observed aggression by mothers toward partners reported significantly higher levels of aggression toward their romantic partners. Approximately one third of our sample met PTSD criteria; the relation between exposure to parental IPV and aggression was stronger for individuals who met criteria for PTSD. The implications of understanding the relations between parents' and their daughters' and sons' use of aggression are discussed within the context of providing support for families in breaking intergenerational patterns of violence and aggression. Aggr. Behav. 32:385–395, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Impact of Exposure to Community Violence on Anxiety: A Longitudinal Study of Family Social Support as a Protective Factor for Urban Children

In a longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between exposure to community violence and anxiety, and the extent to which family social support moderated this relationship within a predominantly African American sample of 385 children in an urban public school system. Children reported notably lower anxiety levels compared to normative data for African American children. A high percentage reported witnessing a variety of violent acts. Cross-sectional results indicated that among girls exposure to violence was significantly correlated with total, physiological, and concentration anxiety. Among boys violence exposure was not associated with anxiety. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for gender, exposure to violence at Time 1 did not significantly predict changes in anxiety. A significant interaction was found for gender and exposure to violence on concentration anxiety; girls who reported higher initial violence exposure reported greater increases in subsequent concentration anxiety than boys. Whereas findings from our study did not support a moderating relationship of family social support on children's exposure to violence and anxiety, a strong negative relationship was found between anxiety and family support. Among children with initially low worry anxiety, those with low family social support showed greater increases in subsequent worry anxiety.     

Sex-specific pathways to early puberty, sexual debut, and sexual risk taking: tests of an integrated evolutionary-developmental model

The current study tested sex-specific pathways to early puberty, sexual debut, and sexual risk taking, as specified by an integrated evolutionary-developmental model of adolescent sexual development and behavior. In a prospective study of 238 adolescents (n = 129 girls and n = 109 boys) followed from approximately 12-18 years of age, we tested for longitudinal relations between ecological stressors, family relationships, pubertal maturation, self-perceived mate value, and sexual risk taking in both boys and girls. Consistent with the theory, (a) higher levels of familial and ecological stress predicted earlier sexual debut and greater sexual risk taking; (b) pubertal maturation partially mediated these relations among girls but not among boys; (c) father absence had unique effects on female sexual outcomes but not on male sexual outcomes; (d) higher self-perceived mate value directly predicted earlier sexual debut and, through it, greater sexual risk taking; and (e) relations between pubertal maturation and early sexual debut were partially mediated by higher self-perceived mate value in boys but not in girls. Discussion focuses on the contribution of an integrated evolutionary-developmental theory to the adolescent sexual health literature.     

Mothers as a Resource in Times of Stress: Interactive Contributions of Socialization of Coping and Stress to Youth Psychopathology

This study examined the hypothesis that maternal socialization of coping would make a differential contribution to youth depression and externalizing psychopathology depending on youths’ level of exposure to life stress. A sample of 155 youth (M age = 12.41, SD = 1.21) and their maternal caregivers completed semi-structured interviews and questionnaires in a two-wave longitudinal study over a 1-year period. Results provided evidence for two types of socialization × stress interactions—an amplification-effects model and a differential-effects model. In the context of interpersonal stress, findings supported an amplification-effects model wherein the risk and protective effects of engagement and disengagement socialization of coping emerged in youth exposed to high but not mild levels of stress. In the context of noninterpersonal stress, findings supported a differential-effects model wherein disengagement socialization of coping contributed to heightened risk among youth exposed to high stress but dampened risk among youth exposed to mild stress. This research identifies maternal socialization of coping as a noteworthy contributor to risk for youth psychopathology, and highlights the need to consider parenting × environment interactions when investigating parenting processes related to youth psychopathology.     

Testing Posttraumatic Stress as a Mediator of Childhood Trauma and Adult Intimate Partner Violence Victimization

This study examined whether potential posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) mediated the relationships between different forms of childhood trauma (sexual abuse, physical abuse, violence between caregivers) and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization (psychological, physical, sexual). Participants were 1,150 female nurses and nursing personnel. Path analytic findings revealed potential PTSD partially mediated the relationships between childhood sexual abuse and psychological IPV and childhood sexual abuse and sexual IPV. Potential PTSD did not mediate the relationship between other types of childhood trauma and IPV. This study adds to the literature indicating PTSD as a risk factor for revictimization in the form of adult IPV among women. Screening for and treatment of PTSD among female child sexual abuse survivors could prevent future IPV victimization.     

Family income,parental education and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology among 2–3‐year‐old Chinese children: The mediator effect of parent–child conflict

Using a sample of 156 Chinese children aged 2–3 years and their parents, this study examined the effects of socio‐economic status, specifically family income and parental education, on the children's internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and whether these effects were mediated by mother–child and father–child conflict. Results indicated that family income, maternal education and paternal education all negatively predicted externalizing symptoms. Income also negatively predicted internalizing symptoms among boys but not girls. Maternal education negatively predicted internalizing symptoms among girls but not boys. The effects of income on psychopathology were fully mediated by mother–child and father–child conflict. In contrast, the effects of education were not mediated or only partially mediated by conflict. Findings are discussed in the framework of the family stress model.     

Bidirectional Influences of Violence Exposure and Adjustment in Early Adolescence: Externalizing Behaviors and School Connectedness

This study utilized cross-lagged longitudinal models to examine prospective, bidirectional relationships between witnessing violence and victimization and three adjustment variables—delinquency, conduct problems, and school connectedness. Participants included 603 early adolescent boys and girls (78% African American, 20% Caucasian). Witnessing violence was related to subsequent lower levels of school connectedness and more conduct problems. For Caucasian but not African American adolescents, witnessing violence also predicted later delinquency. Victimization was linked with lower school connectedness over time, and for boys but not girls also with more conduct problems. Only adolescent delinquency was associated with subsequent witnessing violence and victimization. This research was partially supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Grant No. R49–CCR418569.     

Secondary traumatic stress and adjustment in therapists who work with sexual violence survivors: the moderating role of posttraumatic growth

ABSTRACT

Due to their secondary exposure to the traumatic events disclosed by clients, therapists who work with sexual violence survivors are at risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress. We examined whether the negative effects of secondary traumatic stress on therapist adjustment would be buffered by posttraumatic growth. Sixty-one therapists who work with sexual violence survivors completed measures of secondary traumatic stress, posttraumatic growth and a range of adjustment indicators. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that posttraumatic growth moderated the negative impact of secondary traumatic stress on therapist depression, anxiety, personal meaning and satisfaction with life. Posttraumatic growth sustained positive affect through a direct effects model only. This study provides support for the protective role of posttraumatic growth in adjustment to secondary traumatic stress.     

Posttraumatic stress symptoms in a population of rural children in South Africa

The purpose of the study was to identify exposure to experiences such as violence and the consequences for health in children in a rural South African community. The stratified random sample included 148 children below 17 yr., which comprised 68 (46%) boys and 80 (54%) girls in the age range of 6 to 16 years (M = 12.1 yr., SD = 3.1). Their ethnicity was Northern Sotho. The interviews included the Children's Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Inventory and the Reporting Questionnaire for Children. The experiences could be grouped into either traumatic or other events. 99 (67%) had directly or vicariously experienced a traumatic event which included witnessing someone killed or seriously injured, serious accident, violent or very unexpected death or suicide of loved one, sexual abuse or rape of relative or friend, violent crime, child abuse, and other life-threatening situations. Scores on the Children's Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Inventory of 17 (8.4%) fulfilled the criterion for posttraumatic stress disorder. 71% had more than one score and 53% had more than four scores on the Reporting Questionnaire for Children. Posttraumatic stress symptoms were significantly related to age and experiences such as those mentioned above.     

Violence Exposure Mediates the Relation Between Callous-Unemotional Traits and Offending Patterns in Adolescents

The link between callous-unemotional (CU) traits in youth and delinquent, aggressive and violent behavior is well-replicated in the literature. However, the mediating effects of violence exposure on this relationship are unclear. The current study addresses this important gap in the literature with a sample of 88 detained, primarily ethnic minority adolescent boys (M age?=?15.57; SD?=?1.28). Results indicate that exposure to violence fully mediated the relationship between CU traits and violent delinquency, and this pattern of mediation was accounted for by exposure to witnessed violence, but not direct violent victimization. Secondly, exposure to violence, both direct and witnessed forms, also mediated the relationship between CU traits and drug delinquency. These findings suggest that (a) the well-established link between CU traits and violence may be attributed to high rates of witnessed violence among this subpopulation, and (b) specific types of violence exposure may be important for predicting the offending patterns of youth high on CU traits. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Predictors of Stress Generation in Adolescents in Mainland China

The current longitudinal study examined whether the personality vulnerabilities of self-criticism and dependency prospectively predicted stress generation in Chinese adolescents. Participants included 1,116 adolescents (588 girls and 528 boys), aged 15 to 18 years from rural, urban and ultra-urban mainland China. Participants completed self-report measures of personality, depressive and anxious symptoms and participated in a clinical interview assessing lifetime history of depression. The occurrence of negative life events was measured using a contextual-threat interview every 6-months for a total period of 18-months. Logistic regression analyses showed that after controlling for past depressive episodes and current depressive and anxious symptoms, self-criticism was prospectively associated with the occurrence of interpersonal stress generation, but not noninterpersonal stress generation. Dependency also predicted interpersonal stress generation, although only in girls and not boys. In line with previous Western findings, girls reported more interpersonal stress generation. Analyses across 3 levels of urbanization revealed several significant differences including higher reported interpersonal stress generation in urban girls than urban boys and overall higher levels of negative life events in ultra-urban youth. In sum, findings from the current study suggest that the stress generation process may be generalizable to Chinese youth.     

Marital Conflict and Risk for Child Maladjustment over Time: Skin Conductance Level Reactivity as a Vulnerability Factor

Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined as a longitudinal mediator and moderator of relations between parental marital conflict and psychopathology among children and young adolescents. Participants were 157 boys and girls (M age at T1 = 9.31 years; SD = 1.97); there was a 2-year lag between T1 and T2 assessments. At T1, participants' SCLR was assessed in response to lab challenges. Parents completed measures of aggressive marital conflict and child adjustment at T1 and T2. Supportive of moderation effects, T1 marital conflict interacted with T1 SCLR and gender in the prediction of changes in maladjustment. The link between marital conflict and increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms was stronger for girls with higher SCLR than girls with lower SCLR. Marital conflict predicted increased externalizing behaviors for boys with lower SCLR but not higher SCLR, although levels of externalizing behaviors were similar among boys with lower and higher SCLR especially at higher levels of marital conflict. Findings build on the literature by illustrating the importance of examinations of both family risk and youth biological vulnerability for the prediction of psychopathology.     

Predicting adolescent posttraumatic stress in the aftermath of war: Differential effects of coping strategies across trauma reminder,loss reminder,and family conflict domains

Background and Objectives: The vast majority of youth who lived through the Bosnian war were exposed to multiple traumatic events, including interpersonal violence, community destruction, and the loss of a loved one. This study examined factors that predict post-war psychological adjustment, specifically posttraumatic stress, in Bosnian adolescents. Design: Regression analyses evaluated theorized differential relations between three types of post-war stressors – exposure to trauma reminders, loss reminders, and intrafamilial conflict – specific coping strategies, and posttraumatic stress symptom dimensions. Methods: We examined 555 Bosnian adolescents, aged 15–19 years, to predict their long-term posttraumatic stress reactions in the aftermath of war. Results: Findings indicated that post-war exposure to trauma reminders, loss reminders, and family conflict, as well as engagement and disengagement coping strategies, predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. Secondary control engagement coping responses to all three types of post-war stressors were inversely associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms, whereas primary control engagement coping responses to family conflict were inversely associated with hyperarousal symptoms. Disengagement responses to trauma reminders and family conflict were positively associated with re-experiencing symptoms. Conclusions: These findings shed light on ways in which trauma reminders, loss reminders, and family conflict may intersect with coping responses to influence adolescent postwar adjustment.     

An Examination of Gender Differences in Adolescent Adjustment: The Effect of Competence on Gender Role Differences in Symptoms of Psychopathology

Numerous studies have documented gender differences in psychopathology; girls generally report more internalizing symptoms and boys generally report more externalizing symptoms. These gender differences are partially accounted for by the gender-typed personality characteristics of boys and girls. This study was designed to investigate how gender roles influence symptoms of psychopathology by examining the mediating effects of self- and peer-rated competencies. Using a multiple regression approach to path analysis with a sample of primarily White, middle-class high school students, gender roles significantly predicted symptoms of psychopathology and mediated the gender differences in those symptoms. In addition, the adolescents' self- and peer-rated competence in various domains helped to explain the effect of gender roles on symptoms of psychopathology. Specifically, self-rated social attractiveness and global self-worth fully mediated the relation between instrumentality (i.e., masculinity) and internalizing symptoms. Global self-worth and both self- and peer-rated achievement/conduct partially mediated the relation between expressivity (i.e., femininity) and externalizing symptoms. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Urban youth disruptive behavioral difficulties: exploring association with parenting and gender

The current study will examine behavioral difficulties among a sample of African American urban youth who were exposed to violence. Possible gender differences in disruptive behavioral difficulties, as well as possible associations between parental practices, family relationships, and youth disruptive behavioral difficulties are examined. A secondary data analysis from baseline data for 125 African American urban mothers and their children collected as part of a large-scale, urban, family-based, HIV prevention research study was analyzed. Findings reveal that externalizing behavioral problems in youth are associated with exposure to violence. Girls displayed significantly higher levels of externalizing behavioral difficulties than boys. Mothers' parenting practices and family relationships were associated with youths' externalizing behavior problems. Implications for interventions to reduce youths' exposure to violence and to develop gender sensitive interventions for youth and supportive interventions for their parents are discussed.     

Exposure to Violence in Young Inner-City Adolescents: Relationships With Suicidal Ideation, Depression, and PTSD Symptomatology

This study examined the relationship of exposure to violence to suicidal ideation, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in 94 young adolescents from an inner-city school. Participants completed self-report measures of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire—Junior, Adolescent Psychopathology Scale—Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Subscale, and the Exposure to Violence Questionnaire. Using a hierarchical multiple regression design, exposure to violence demonstrated a unique relationship with PTSD symptomatology. Specifically, the relationship between violence exposure and PTSD symptomatology remained significant after controlling for depression and suicidal ideation severity. Controlling for PTSD symptomatology resulted in nonsignificant relationships between violence exposure and depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents. Additional analyses suggest that PTSD functions as a mediating variable between exposure to violence and depression and suicidal ideation. The implication of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Natural Disasters in Indonesia: Relationships Among Posttraumatic Stress,Resource Loss,Depression, Social Support,and Posttraumatic Growth

ABSTRACT

Indonesia is at significant risk for catastrophic natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Few studies have examined psychological functioning following disaster exposure in Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world. This study assesses variables associated with posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth following a devastating earthquake in Central Java that ranks as one of the costliest in Indonesia. The participants were 85 men and women living in rural farming villages. Almost all (95%) experienced major home damage or total home destruction. Posttraumatic stress symptoms were associated with resource loss, depression, and concerns about future earthquakes. Participants reported moderate posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth was associated with energy resource loss and social support. The findings support conservation of resources stress theory. The implications of the findings for intervention and recovery programs are discussed.     

Transactional Associations Between Youths’ Responses to Peer Stress and Depression: The Moderating Roles of Sex and Stress Exposure

This study examined transactional associations between responses to peer stress and depression in youth. Specifically, it tested the hypotheses that (a) depression would predict fewer effortful responses and more involuntary, dysregulated responses to peer stress over time; and (b) fewer adaptive and more maladaptive responses would predict subsequent depression. Youth (M age = 12.41; SD = 1.19; 86 girls, 81 boys) and their maternal caregivers completed semi-structured interviews and questionnaires at three annual waves. Multi-group comparison path analyses were conducted to examine sex and stress-level differences in the proposed reciprocal-influence model. In girls and in youth exposed to high levels of peer stress, maladaptive stress responses predicted more depressive symptoms and adaptive stress responses predicted fewer depressive symptoms at each wave. These findings suggest the utility of preventive interventions for depression designed to enhance the quality of girls’ stress responses. In boys, depression predicted less adaptive and more maladaptive stress responses, but only at the second wave. These findings suggest that interventions designed to reduce boys’ depressive symptoms may help them develop more adaptive stress responses.