School transition as a stressful life event and the role of social competence and social support as protective factors during the transition to junior high school.
Creators: name: MacIntosh, Caroline C.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Psychology, Social.

description: Research has shown that children, like adults, are negatively affected by exposure to stressful life events (Sandler &amp; Mock, 1979; Garmezy, Masten, Tellegen, 1984). One such stressful event is the transition to junior high school (Simmons, Burgeson, Carlton-Ford, &amp; Blyth, 1987), which is often complicated by the onset of puberty with its attendant biological, emotional, and social changes. Many researchers have examined the effects of school transition stress (Abramowitz, Petersen, &amp; Schulenberg, 1984; Simmons, Carlton-Ford, &amp; Blyth, 1987), but few have identified those protective factors which influence the effects of stress. Subjects consisted of 189 grade six children divided into two groups according to their transition status: (1) those who were being promoted to grade seven but who remained in the same school, and (2) those who were being promoted to grade seven and were transferring to a new school. Students were asked to complete the Survey of Children's Social Support, the Social Skills Rating System the Child Behavior Checklist Youth Self Report, a stress rating scale, and a two-week daily log of social initiations (Things I Do With Others), on each of three occasions: in the spring of the school year prior to the transition (T1), in the fall at the time of the school transition (T2), and in the spring of the transition year (T3) approximately one year after the first testing. After the children changed schools, they identified those students in their classroom who had been in their classroom the previous year to yield a measure of familiarity with peers at school following the transition. Parents were asked to complete the Parent Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist at each of the three timepoints. Contrary to prediction, MANOVA results indicated that there were no significant differences between transition and no-transition subjects on measures of adjustment. Regression analyses revealed that prior levels of social competence and social support were not consistently predictive of adjustment following the school transition. However, T1 social competence predicted T2 self-reports of externalizing problems, T1 perceived social support predicted T3 parents' reports of internalizing problems, and both perceived social support and social competence at T1 predicted T3 parents' reports of externalizing problems. Moreover, when measured concurrently, perceived social support and social competence predicted self-reports of externalizing problems at T2. Stress ratings at T2 were predictive of concurrent self-reports of adjustment at T2. A comparison of subjects on extreme ends of the stress rating scale revealed that subjects who reported high levels of stress reported significantly lower levels of social support (Appraisals Scale) than did those subjects who reported low levels of stress, suggesting that stress affects appraisals of support. However, perceived support predicted concurrent levels of reported stress. It is thus unclear whether stress affects social support or social support affects perceived stress. In terms of sources of support, family support seemed most important for adjustment. The current research did not demonstrate that having a best friend was significant for adaptation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)