Processes of child risk in family and community contexts

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this research is to understand the processes underlying associations among forms of family and community adversity on children's mental health. Several primary hypotheses are proposed. First, it is predicted that greater adversity will be associated with greater concurrent and subsequent maladjustment in children; furthermore, neighborhood and family adversity are explored as potentially impacting children's adjustment additively as well as mediationally (community impacting through the family). Second, the mediating processes by which adversity relates to psychopathology will be considered. Guided by theories of attachment and emotional security, it is hypothesized that adversity increases children's vulnerability to adjustment problems by fostering children's negative internal representations of the family and the neighborhood. Third, parental communication patterns are proposed as potential buffers of the impact of family and community adversity. Consistent with socialization models, it is predicted that parental explanations that emphasize family cohesion and coping efficacy will buffer children from the effects of adversity. To test the proposed hypotheses, two multimethod, prospective longitudinal studies will be completed with two groups of children, their primary caregivers, and their teachers.