Parent and Adolescent Agreement for Reports of Life Stressors

Abstract

In this article, we investigated the extent and nature of informant discrepancies on parent- and adolescent self-report versions of a checklist measuring youth exposure to life stressors. Specifically, we examined (a) mean-level differences, relative consistency, and consensus for family-level and youth-specific stressors and (b) the utility of parent-youth discrepancies in accounting for variance in youth temperament and psychopathology. Participants were 106 parent-child dyads (47 male, 59 female; 90.6% mothers) aged 13 to 18 years old ( M = 16.01, SD = 1.29). The results revealed evidence for both congruence and divergence in parent and youth reports, particularly with respect to respondents' accounts of youth-specific stressors. Discrepancies for youth-specific stressors were associated with adolescents' negative affectivity, surgency, effortful control, and internalizing problems. Discrepancies for youth stressors may therefore reveal individual differences in emotionality and self-regulation, thus reflecting meaningful variance in adolescents' functioning.

Facet-level personality development in the transition to adolescence: Maturity, disruption, and gender differences.

“…Further, adolescence is a time in which youth distance themselves somewhat from family relationships and invest much more in peer relationships (Allen, Hauser, Bell, & O’Connor, 1994; Steinberg & Morris, 2001) and, therefore, parents likely do not have access to complete information about their child’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors across a wider variety of situations outside the home. This interpretation is corroborated by findings that parent- and youth-reports are more discrepant for events that are youth-specific, rather than family level events (Kushner & Tackett, 2017). Future research would benefit from the incorporation of multiple informants of youth personality.…”

Facet-Level Personality Development in the Transition to Adolescence: Maturity, Disruption, and Gender Differences

“…Further, adolescence is a time in which youth distance themselves somewhat from family relationships and invest much more in peer relationships (Allen et al, 1994;Steinberg & Sheffield Morris, 2001), and therefore, parents likely do not have access to complete information about their child's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors across a wider variety of situations outside the home. This interpretation is corroborated by findings that parent-and youth-reports are more discrepant for events that are youth-specific, rather than family-level events (Kushner & Tackett, 2017). Future research would benefit from the incorporation of multiple informants of youth personality.…”

Does socioeconomic status mediate racial differences in the cortisol response in middle childhood?

“…Primary female caregivers were asked to complete the 50-item LEQ (adapted from the Life Events Interviews; Billig, Hershberger, Iacono, & McGue, 1996) to assess the presence or absence of specific life events at any point during the child's life. For this study, a family-level events score (FAM; Kushner & Tackett, 2015) was calculated using life event items related to family financial problems (e.g., parent lost job), family legal problems (e.g., family member arrested), family mental health problems (e.g., family member treated for emotional problems), and parental discord/divorce/changes that happened at any point during the child's life. The scores on the FAM scale ranged from 0 to 9 in this sample.…”