This study examined age-related patterns in exposure and affective reactivity to daily stressors across a 20-year time span among adults who were between 22 and 77 years old at their baseline interview. Longitudinal data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) consisted of three bursts of eight consecutive nightly interviews of stress…

The development of strategies that support autonomous self-regulation of emotion is key for early childhood emotion regulation. Children are thought to transition from predominant reliance on more automatic or interpersonal strategies to reliance on more effortful, autonomous strategies as they develop cognitive skills that can be recruited for…

Drawing from a relational developmental systems (RDS) perspective (Lerner, Agans, DeSouza, & Gasca, 2013) and data from 1,427 continuously partnered young adult and midlife mixed-sex couples over the first 5 years of the German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam), this study examined the developmental course…

This study examined longitudinal changes in coping and defense mechanisms in an age- and gender-stratified sample of 392 European American adults. Nonlinear age-related changes were found for the coping mechanisms of sublimation and suppression and the defense mechanisms of intellectualization, doubt, displacement, and regression. The change…

This study sought to identify trajectories of marijuana use in the Seattle Social Development Project (n = 808) sample from age 14 through 30, and to examine the extent to which individuals in these trajectories differed in their substance use problems, mental health, problem behavior, economic outcomes, and positive functioning at age 33. In…

Older adults often report less affective reactivity to interpersonal tensions than younger individuals, but few studies have directly investigated mechanisms explaining this effect. The current study examined whether older adults' differential endorsement of goals, appraisals, and emotion regulation strategies (i.e., conflict…

How children and youth deal with academic challenges and setbacks can make a material difference to their learning and school success. Hence, it is important to investigate the factors that allow students to cope constructively. A process model focused on students' motivational resources was used to frame a study examining whether engagement in…

The present study examined the impact of the developmental timing of trauma exposure on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and psychosocial functioning in a large sample of community-dwelling older adults (N = 1,995). Specifically, we investigated whether the negative consequences of exposure to traumatic events were greater for traumas…

Extensive research has linked a greater female tendency to ruminate about depressed feelings or mood to the gender difference in depression. However, the developmental origins of the gender difference in depressive rumination are not well understood. We hypothesized that girls and women may be more likely to ruminate because rumination represents…

A short-term longitudinal study of 314 U.S. military-dependent children (grades 2-6) in Berlin, Germany, examined whether children's coping strategies mediate relations between their action-control beliefs and anxiety. Consistent with previous literature, boys reported using antisocial coping more than did girls, and younger children reported…

Compared how 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds responded to provocation by a same- or an other-gender peer in a laboratory play session. Found that responses to other-gender peer were more negative than to same-gender peer during baseline and provocation periods. With other-gender partners, participants reported liking them less, trying less to get along,…

Children six, nine, and 12 years of age were asked to recall stressful episodes to describe how they responded in each instance. Responses were coded as primary coping, secondary coping, or relinquished control. Findings indicated that children report that they cope with everyday stress and that their coping approaches are influenced by…

Assessed coping with homesickness, perceived control over homesickness, and adjustment among 8- to 10-year-olds spending two weeks at a summer camp. Found that children's most frequent and effective method of coping was engaging in distracting physical activity; coping by adjusting oneself to conditions increased through adolescence; and the most…

Children from 5 to 19 years of age viewed videotaped segments of resolved, partially resolved, and unresolved conflicts. The negativity of children's responses corresponded to the degree that fights were unresolved. Numerous age and sex effects were found. (BC)

This 4-year study of 191 girls and 185 boys living in intact families in the rural Midwest examined the trajectories of life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Compared with boys, girls experienced a greater number of depressive symptoms after age 13. Changes in uncontrollable events were associated with increases in girls'…