Tested a model of family conflict and coercion that linked economic stress in family life to adolescent symptoms of internalizing and externalizing emotions and behaviors. Subjects were 378 seventh graders and their families in rural Iowa. Found that spousal irritability and hostile exchanges over money matters increased the likelihood of…

Used observations and family reports to examine the relationships between family economic stress factors and adjustment of adolescent boys. Economic pressures were associated with parental demoralization, which was related to marital conflict and disruptions in parenting. Disruptions in child-rearing behavior had adverse consequences for…

Investigated hypothesized reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent maladjustment using data from 6-year, prospective longitudinal study. Found that from seventh to twelfth grades, stressful life events, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behaviors were reciprocally interrelated over time. Found that stressful life…

Examined the relationship between individual interactional style, individual problem-solving behavior, and family problem-solving effectiveness in 431 intact rural families with 2 children, 1 of whom was in seventh grade. Results indicated that a hostile interactional style directly predicted destructive problem-solving behavior, whereas a warm…

Examined the effects of parental stress on adolescent adjustment in independent rural and urban samples of intact families with at least one early adolescent male child. Findings showed that parental stress was related to adjustment through stress-related parental depression that, in turn, correlated with disrupted discipline practices. (MDM)