Vanderbilt-Adriance, Ella
(2010)
PSYCHOSOCIAL, COGNITIVE, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROTECTIVE FACTORS AND THE ABSENCE OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF LOW INCOME BOYS.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The present study sought to advance our understanding of resilience by examining the timing and continuity of multiple domains of protective factors (i.e., psychosocial, cognitive, physiological) measured in early childhood and the transition to adolescence as they related to low antisocial behavior in adolescence among an ethnically diverse cohort of 310 low-income boys. While antisocial behavior was the main outcome of interest, given its huge societal and personal costs (Kazdin, 1996), the study also examined positive functioning across domains (i.e., internalizing, school achievement) to address issues of cross-domain adjustment. Although the entire sample could be considered at high risk due to low socioeconomic status, levels of risk were further differentiated by investigating the accumulation of other risk factors (e.g., single parent status, neighborhood disadvantage, overcrowding in the home) as they related to outcomes across domains. Furthermore, in addition to more ubiquitously researched psychosocial and cognitive protective factors such as child IQ and parenting, this study also included measures of physiological variables (i.e., vagal tone, sleep, testosterone). In line with hypotheses, several parenting protective factors, as well as child IQ and sleep, were significantly associated with low antisocial behavior at ages 15 and 17. With the exception of vagal tone, the relations between protective factors and antisocial behavior did not vary across levels of cumulative risk. Hypotheses regarding the importance of continuity and timing of protective factors were generally not supported, in that it was equally helpful to have a protective factor present at one or two time periods, in either early childhood or the transition to adolescence. Finally, in line with hypotheses, there did appear to be some fluctuation across positive outcomes; while youth who had low antisocial behavior at ages 15 and 17 were more likely than youth high on antisocial behavior to being doing well in school, they were not more likely to have low internalizing symptoms. Both cumulative risk and cumulative protective factors were related to the number of positive outcomes that youth had across domains. Results highlight the importance of both cumulative risk and protection in the development of positive adaptation.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Vanderbilt-Adriance, Ella | elv4@pitt.edu | ELV4 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
1 October 2010 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
21 May 2009 |
| Approval Date: |
1 October 2010 |
| Submission Date: |
29 May 2009 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
cumulative risk; resilience |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-05292009-075726/, etd-05292009-075726 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:46 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:44 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7974 |
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