Social support resources, stress, and maladjustment of poor children

The effects of the presence of social support resources as moderators of the relationship between stress and maladjustment was investigated. The sample consisted of 71 kindergarten through third-grade inner-city children referred by their teachers as experiencing adjustment problems. Stress was assessed using a 32-item recent life event scale, and maladjustment was assessed using parent ratings of children's adjustment problems. The sample was subdivided to reflect the presence versus absence of three social support resources: older sibling vs. no older sibling, one- vs. two-parent family, and ethnically congruent vs. incongruent with the community. Correlations between stress measures and maladjustment measures were computed within each subsample. The results indicate that older siblings and two parents in the family both reduce the negative effects of stress on children. The results are interpreted to be consistent with social support literature and implications for preventive interventions are discussed.