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Urban youth under stress: Empirical identification of protective factors

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Abstract

Explored the influence of life stress as mediated or moderated by locus of control, family environment, social support, and coping style on psychological adjustment and school performance in 164 ninth graders from Baltimore. Gender differences in findings were shown. For boys, family cohesion was the only variable found to protect against the effects of stress. Family cohesion did not serve protective functions for girls, and along with overall social support, was associated with increased vulnerability to school problems. The report of problem-focused coping strategies exerted a number of protective functions for girls only. External locus of control was found to increase boys' and girls' vulnerability to the effects of life stress. Empirical development of interventions to improve the psychosocial adjustment of inner-city adolescents is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSM), 645 West Redwood Street, 20201, Baltimore, Maryland

    Mark D. Weist (Assistant Professor), David A. Paskewitz (Assistant Professor) & Lois T. Flaherty (Associate Professor)

  2. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

    Abby H. Freedman (Research Assistant)

  3. Loyola College, Baltimore

    Eric J. Proescher (Graduate student)

Authors
  1. Mark D. Weist
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  2. Abby H. Freedman
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  3. David A. Paskewitz
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  4. Eric J. Proescher
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  5. Lois T. Flaherty
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Additional information

Received Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1991. Research interests include evaluation of school mental health services, empirical development of interventions for children, and the impact of violence on urban youth.

Received B.A. from Cornell University. Interests include stress and coping in children, identification of resilience factors, and evaluation of child mental health systems of care.

Received Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1967. Research interests include psychophysiology, sleep disorders, and biofeedback and instrumentation.

Received B.A. from Loyola College. Interested in applied work with adolescents and adults.

Received M.D. from Duke University in 1968. Research interests include training in child and adolescent psychiatry, adolescent psychopathology, and the development of school mental health programs.

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Weist, M.D., Freedman, A.H., Paskewitz, D.A. et al. Urban youth under stress: Empirical identification of protective factors. J Youth Adolescence 24, 705–721 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536952

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536952

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