title: The transition to adolescence: the role of gender and stress in problem behavior and competence.
abstract: The differential change of boys and girls across pre-adolescence, early adolescence, and middle adolescence was examined. The participants were 259 children, their mothers, and their social studies teachers. The children completed a measure of internalizing problems and adults completed measures of the child's externalizing and internalizing problems and competence. Relative to girls, boys had more problems and less competence at pre-adolescence and/or less problems and more competence by mid-adolescence. A stressor, parental divorce, did not exacerbate the gender by developmental age period interaction. The differential vulnerability of boys and girls at different developmental periods is considered.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Forehand
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Neighbors
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wierson
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004243:Divorce / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010553:Personality Development