Citation

Rosenthal BS, Wilson WC, Futch VA. Adolescence 2009; 44(176): 693-703.

Affiliation

The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York 11451, USA. rosenthal@york.cuny.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Libra Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

20432596

Abstract

This empirical study investigated the multivariable relationship between psychological distress and the combination of a set of four trauma events (victim of violence, witness of violence, victim of accidents, and interpersonal loss) and a set of four protective factors (emotional social support, sense of personal efficacy, easygoing temperament, and gender) among a sample of 1,066 graduating high school seniors in a large urban community. Each of the eight independent variables had a statistically significant zero-order correlation with psychological distress. The set of eight variables (four trauma and four protective) had a multiple correlation of R = .61 with psychological distress accounting for 38% of the variance (considered a very large effect size by Cohen (1988)). The protective factors had a larger effect on psychological distress than did the trauma variables. The study demonstrates the desirability of using a multi-determinant approach rather than a single-determinant approach in the study of psychological distress.

Language: en