Life events and psychological distress: A prospective study of young adolescents.

Seventh and 8th graders were administered measures of negative and positive life experiences and psychological distress on 2 occasions approximately 5 mo apart to examine the etiologic role of negative life events in the maladjustment of early adolescents. 233 7th–8th graders were administered the Junior High Life Experiences Survey, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and a child development inventory at Time 1. 79 of the 233 Ss completed the 3 measures at Time 2. Cross-sectional regression analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between negative events and distress but generally failed to support the stress-buffering effects of positive events. However, in the prospective analyses, negative events were not predictive of psychological distress and were, in fact, themselves partly determined by previous distress. Results are compared with previous studies of adult life events and suggest the importance of ongoing stressful processes as engendering both maladjustment and stressful events in the lives of early adolescents. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)