title: Exposure to Childhood Poverty and Mental Health Symptomatology in Adolescence: A Role of Coping Strategies.
abstract: Childhood poverty is associated with stress dysregulation which contributes to psychological illness in later ages. The adverse effects of childhood poverty on stress regulation may be mediated in part by the use of disengaging strategies to cope with stress. However, the relations among childhood poverty, coping strategies and psychopathology throughout childhood to adolescence have not been explored. This prospective, longitudinal study included 185 low- and middle-income adolescents at age 17. Chronic exposure to poverty from birth to early adolescence (age 13) was prospectively associated with increases in the use of disengagement versus engagement coping four years later. Increased use of disengagement coping between the ages of 13 and 17 explained the indirect link between poverty exposure since birth and both externalizing and internalizing symptoms at age 17. The findings provide evidence for a coping pathway underlying the link between prolonged exposure to childhood poverty and mental health sequelae. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Pilyoung
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Neurobiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neuendorf
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.affiliation: Department of Design and Environmental Analysis and Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011203:Poverty
keywords: adolescence; disengagement coping; externalizing symptoms; internalizing symptoms; poverty