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Psychopathology and prosocial behavior in adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged families: the role of proximal and distal adverse life events

Psychopathology and prosocial behavior in adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged families: the role of proximal and distal adverse life events
Psychopathology and prosocial behavior in adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged families: the role of proximal and distal adverse life events
The study investigated if proximal contextual risk (number of adverse life events experienced in the last year) or distal contextual risk (number of adverse life events experienced before the last year) is a better predictor of adolescent psychopathology and prosocial behavior. It also tested for the specificity, accumulation and gradient of contextual risk in psychopathology and prosocial behavior, and for the interaction between proximal and distal contextual risk in psychopathology and prosocial behavior. The sample was 199 11–18 year old children from a socioeconomically disadvantaged area in North-East London. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which measures four difficulties (hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and peer problems) and prosocial behavior, was used. Confounders were age, gender, and maternal educational qualifications. To model the relationship between the five SDQ scales and contextual risk multivariate response regression models and multivariate response logistic regression models that allow the error terms of the scale specific models to be correlated were fitted. This study highlighted the importance of proximal contextual risk in predicting both broad and externalizing psychopathology, and the importance of considering risk accumulation rather than specificity in predicting psychopathology. By showing that the number of proximal adverse life events experienced had a steady, additive effect on broad and externalizing psychopathology, it also highlighted the need to protect adolescents experiencing current risk from further risk exposure. By showing that the number of distal adverse life events experienced did not affect the proximal risk’s impact on either broad or externalizing psychopathology, it highlighted the need to protect all adolescents, irrespective of experience of early life adversities, from risk.
adolescence, contextual risk, multivariate response models, psychopathology
1018-8827
498-506
Flouri, Eirini
551bd46e-a001-4f0a-a6cc-8e4d0a69442b
Tzavidis, Nikos
431ec55d-c147-466d-9c65-0f377b0c1f6a
Flouri, Eirini
551bd46e-a001-4f0a-a6cc-8e4d0a69442b
Tzavidis, Nikos
431ec55d-c147-466d-9c65-0f377b0c1f6a

Flouri, Eirini and Tzavidis, Nikos (2008) Psychopathology and prosocial behavior in adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged families: the role of proximal and distal adverse life events. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 17 (8), 498-506. (doi:10.1007/s00787-008-0693-9).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The study investigated if proximal contextual risk (number of adverse life events experienced in the last year) or distal contextual risk (number of adverse life events experienced before the last year) is a better predictor of adolescent psychopathology and prosocial behavior. It also tested for the specificity, accumulation and gradient of contextual risk in psychopathology and prosocial behavior, and for the interaction between proximal and distal contextual risk in psychopathology and prosocial behavior. The sample was 199 11–18 year old children from a socioeconomically disadvantaged area in North-East London. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which measures four difficulties (hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and peer problems) and prosocial behavior, was used. Confounders were age, gender, and maternal educational qualifications. To model the relationship between the five SDQ scales and contextual risk multivariate response regression models and multivariate response logistic regression models that allow the error terms of the scale specific models to be correlated were fitted. This study highlighted the importance of proximal contextual risk in predicting both broad and externalizing psychopathology, and the importance of considering risk accumulation rather than specificity in predicting psychopathology. By showing that the number of proximal adverse life events experienced had a steady, additive effect on broad and externalizing psychopathology, it also highlighted the need to protect adolescents experiencing current risk from further risk exposure. By showing that the number of distal adverse life events experienced did not affect the proximal risk’s impact on either broad or externalizing psychopathology, it highlighted the need to protect all adolescents, irrespective of experience of early life adversities, from risk.

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More information

Published date: December 2008
Keywords: adolescence, contextual risk, multivariate response models, psychopathology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 181913
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/181913
ISSN: 1018-8827
PURE UUID: 566315be-5618-44c9-a187-db7ac8d9a1bf
ORCID for Nikos Tzavidis: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8413-8095

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 19 Apr 2011 16:28
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:11

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Contributors

Author: Eirini Flouri
Author: Nikos Tzavidis ORCID iD

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