ERIC Number: EJ851254
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Apr
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1062-1024
EISSN: N/A
Coping with Family Conflict: What's Helpful and What's Not for Low-Income Adolescents
Santiago, Catherine DeCarlo; Wadsworth, Martha E.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, v18 n2 p192-202 Apr 2009
Family conflict is exacerbated by poverty-related stress and is detrimental to adolescent mental health. Adolescent coping with family conflict has the potential to buffer or exacerbate the negative effects of family conflict on internalizing symptoms. We examined coping with family conflict among 82 low-income adolescents (53.7% female, mean age = 13.5 years at Time 1, SD = 1.98; range 11-18), and their primary caregivers (95% female, mean age = 34.9 years, SD = 7.45). Adolescents were 25.9% Caucasian, 28.4% African American, 38.3% Hispanic, and 7.4% Other (Multi-racial, Native American, or Asian). Results show that family conflict is more strongly associated with internalizing symptoms for adolescents under high levels of poverty-related stress. Regression analyses indicate that secondary control coping moderates the effects of family conflict on internalizing symptoms. In addition, analyses reveal that disengagement coping exacerbates symptoms across time for both adolescent girls and boys. Regression analyses also suggest that primary control coping is helpful for coping with family conflict, but only for girls. Results highlight the importance of examining coping concurrently and across time as well as including moderating effects of gender. Intervention efforts targeting low-income adolescents should incorporate the instruction of secondary control strategies for coping with family conflict.
Descriptors: Poverty, Gender Differences, Minority Groups, Conflict, Caregivers, Adolescents, Coping, Family Environment, Family Relationship, Stress Variables, Mental Health, Low Income Groups, African Americans, Whites, Hispanic Americans, Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A