Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Adolesc. 2022 Apr;94(3):390-400. doi: 10.1002/jad.12030. Epub 2022 Feb 23.
Identifying specific contextual factors that contribute to the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescents in poverty is critical for prevention. This study examined the longitudinal effects of neighborhood disadvantage, family cohesion, and teacher-student relationship on adolescent internalizing symptoms from economically disadvantaged families.
Participants were 1404 Taiwanese adolescents (49% female) in the nationally representative Taiwan database of children and youth in poverty. Youth were enrolled in the seventh, eighth, or ninth grades (Time 1; M = 14.85, SD = 0.95) and completed biennial follow-up assessments 2 (Time 2; M = 16.47, SD = 0.74) and 4 years after baseline (Time 3; M = 18.21, SD = 0.70). Latent growth models examined longitudinal associations between contextual factors and internalizing symptoms over time.
Adolescents reported declines in neighborhood disadvantage and teacher-student relationship but increases in family cohesion over the 4 years. At baseline, greater neighborhood disadvantage was associated with higher levels of internalizing symptoms, whereas higher family cohesion was associated with lower levels of internalizing symptoms. Over time, an increase in family cohesion was associated with a decrease in internalizing symptoms.
This study provides empirical support that family cohesion plays a critical role in shaping the development of adolescent internalizing symptoms despite poverty. There was an increase in family cohesion from early to late adolescence among Taiwanese adolescents in poverty and such change was correlated with decreases in youth internalizing symptoms. Family cohesion may be a key target of prevention programs aiming to reduce internalizing symptoms for youth in poverty.
确定导致贫困青少年内化症状发展的特定情境因素对于预防至关重要。本研究考察了邻里劣势、家庭凝聚力和师生关系对来自经济贫困家庭的青少年内化症状的纵向影响。
参与者是来自台湾儿童和贫困青年全国代表性数据库的 1404 名台湾青少年（49%为女性）。青年在七年级、八年级或九年级（第 1 次；M = 14.85，SD = 0.95）注册，并在基线后 2 年（第 2 次；M = 16.47，SD = 0.74）和 4 年（第 3 次；M = 18.21，SD = 0.70）进行了两年一次的随访评估。潜在增长模型考察了情境因素与内化症状随时间的纵向关联。
青少年报告说，在 4 年期间，邻里劣势和师生关系下降，但家庭凝聚力增加。在基线时，更大的邻里劣势与更高水平的内化症状相关，而更高的家庭凝聚力与更低水平的内化症状相关。随着时间的推移，家庭凝聚力的增加与内化症状的减少相关。
这项研究提供了经验证据，表明家庭凝聚力在塑造贫困青少年内化症状的发展方面起着关键作用。台湾贫困青少年的家庭凝聚力从早期到晚期都有所增加，这种变化与青少年内化症状的减少有关。家庭凝聚力可能是旨在减少贫困青年内化症状的预防计划的关键目标。
