Abstract
An assessment instrument was developed to measure children's perceptions of stressors in their lives, as well as their experiences and emotional reactions to these stressors. Two approaches from the adult literature, major life events and daily hassles, were compared for children. In addition, a comparison between children's and professionals' ratings of the severity of various stressors was made, as well as an examination of the relationship of experience and self-reported reaction to children's ratings. Results indicate that children's ratings of the severity of stressors do differ from adults', particularly when children have experienced the stressor. Further investigation in the study of childhood stress incorporating children's perceptions is proposed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association (1980).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Antonovsky, A. (1979).Health, stress and coping. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Beech, H. R., Burns, L. E., & Sheffield, B. F. (1982).A behavioural approach to the management of stress. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Chandler, L. A. (1981a). The source of stress inventory.Psychology in the Schools, 18, 164–168.
Chandler, L. A. (1981b). What teachers can do about childhood stress.Phi Delta Kappan, Dec., 276–277.
Chandler, L. A. (1982a). The stress assessment system: Assessing emotional adjustment reactions. Paper presented at the convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Toronto, Canada.
Chandler, L. A. (1982b). The stress response scale: A preliminary report. Paper presented at the convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Chandler, L. A. (1983). The stress response scale: An instrument for use in assessing emotional adjustment reactions.School Psychology Review, 12, 260–265.
Chandler, L. A. (1984). Towards a stress assessment system for children. Paper presented at the convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Philadelphia, PA.
Chandler, L. A., & Lundahl, W. T. (1983). Empirical classification of emotional adjustment reactions.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 53, 460–467.
Coddington, R. D. (1972). The significance of life events as etiologic factors in the diseases of children. II. A study of a normal population.Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 16, 205–213.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests.Psychometrika, 16, 297–334.
DeLongis, A., Coyne, J. C., Dakof, G., Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1982). Relationship of daily hassles, uplifts, and major life events to health status.Health Psychology, 1, 119–136.
Dobson, C. B., & Metcalfe, R. J. A. (1983). Reliability and validity of the student stress inventory (sixth form version).British Journal of Educational Psychology, 53, 121–125.
Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale.Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213–218.
Kanner, A. D., Coyne, J. C., Schaefer, C., & Lazarus, R. S. (1981). Comparison of two modes of stress measurement: Daily hassles and uplifts versus major life events.Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 1–39.
Levi, L. (1972).Stress and distress in response to psychosocial stimuli: Laboratory and real life studies in sympathoadreno medullary and related reaction. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press.
McDermott, P. A., & Watkins, M. W. (1981). Dimensions of maladaptive behavior among kindergarten-level children.Behavioral Disorders, 7, 11–17.
McGrath, J. E. (Ed.) (1970).Social and psychological factors in stress. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Oakeshott, E. (1973).The child under stress. London: Priory Press.
Phillips, B. N. (1978).School stress and anxiety. New York: Human Sciences Press.
Schultz, E. W., & Heuchert, C. M. (1983).Child stress and the school experience. New York: Human Sciences Press.
Wertlieb, D. L. (1983, August). Stress, coping and health in middle childhood: Developmental perspectives. In D. Pellegrini (Chair),Stress: Its effects and mediators in children at risk. Symposium conducted at the convention of the American Psychological Association, Anaheim, CA.
Wertlieb, D. L., Demby, A., Harrison, A., Holzman, T., & Weigel, C. (1984). Stress and coping in childhood: An agenda for inquiry (submitted for publication).
Yamamoto, K. (1979). Children's ratings of the stressfulness of experiences.Developmental Psychology, 15, 581–582.
Yamamoto, K., & Davis, O. L., Jr. (1982). Views of Japanese and American children concerning stressful experiences.The Journal of Social Psychology, 116, 163–171.
Yamamoto, K., & Felsenthal, H. M. (1982). Stressful experiences of children: Professional judgements.Psychological Reports, 50, 1087–1093.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Colton, J.A. Childhood stress: Perceptions of children and professionals. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 7, 155–173 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00961081
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00961081