Life Stressors, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Resources: A Focus on Inner-City Children's Adjustment

Examined the contribution of particular stressors and resources to inner-city children's adjustment. Fourth, 5th, and 6th graders (N = 315; 66%from ethnic minority groups) reported on their recent exposure to stressful events and neighborhood disadvantage, their perceptiom of self-worth and social support, and their behavioral and academic adjustment. Hierarchical regressions indicated unique contributions of stressful events and neighborhood disadvantage to predicting antisocial behavior; higher levels of self-worth and family support were related to lower levels of antisocial behavior, but higher levels of peer support were related to higher levels of antisocial behavior. Furthermore, whereas family support buffered the relation between stressful events and antisocial behavior, peer support exacerbated the effect of stressors on behavioral maladjustment.