Follow-up study of young stress-affected and stress-resilient urban children

Abstract

Reports follow-up study of 181 young highly stressed urban children, classified as stress-resilient (SR) and stress-affected (SA) 1½–2 years earlier. At follow-up (T₂), children were retested on five initial (T₁) test measures: self-rated adjustment, perceived competence, social problem solving, realistic control attributions, and empathy; parents and teachers did new child adjustment ratings, and parents participated in a phone interview focusing on the T₁–T₂ interval. Child test and adjustment measures and parent interview responses at T₂ sensitively differentiated children classified as SR and SA at T₁. Test and interview variables used at T₁ and T₂ correlated moderately across time periods. At T₂, four child test indicators (i.e., rule conformity, global self-worth, social problem solving, and realistic control attributions) and four parent interview variables (positive future expectations for the child, absence of predelinquency indicators, good parent mental health in the past year, and adaptive parent coping strategies) sensitively differentiated children classified as SR and SA at T₁. No relationship was found between family stress experienced in the T₁–T₂ interval and changes in children's adjustment during that period.