A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF STRESS BUFFERING FOR ADOLESCENT PROBLEM BEHAVIORS

A 2-wave longitudinal design, with a 6-month interval between occasions of measurement, was used to study the interrelations between stressful life events, perceived social support from family and friends, and the internalizing (e.g., depressive symptoms) and externalizing (e.g., alcohol use and delinquent activity) of problems of a sample of 277 middle adolescents (mean age = 15.7 years). Although little support was found for the stress-buffering effects of either family or friend social support, the main effects of stressful life events and low family support were significant prospective predictors of problem behaviors for adolescent girls but not adolescent boys. Results are discussed with regard to mechanisms of differential gender socialization, such as the adolescent gender intensification hypothesis (Hill & Lynch, 1983).