A 2-YEAR LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND SOCIAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS - CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHILDRENS BEHAVIORAL AND ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENT

We investigated the contributions of stressful life events and resources (social support and social problem‐solving skills) to predicting changes in children's adjustment. At Time 1, 361 third through fifth graders completed measures of social support and social problem‐solving skills. Their parents completed a stressful life events scale and a child behavior rating measure. The children's teachers provided ratings of behavioral and academic adjustment. 2‐year follow‐up data (Time 2) were obtained for approximately half of the sample on the same measures. Time 1 stressful life events and resources showed some significant but modest zero‐order correlations with the Time 2 adjustment indices. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed prospective effects for Time 1 social support on later teacher‐rated competencies and grade‐point average. In addition, increases over time in social support and social problem‐solving skills (a composite score) were significantly related to improvement in behavioral and academic adjustment, whereas stressful life events were not predictive of adjustment. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved