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Youth Withdrawal Moderates the Relationhips Between Neighborhood Factors and Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescence

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Abstract

Adolescents higher in temperamental withdrawal are at risk for anxiety and depressive symptoms; however, not all youth higher in withdrawal exhibit internalizing symptoms, suggesting that contextual factors may influence these relationships. We examined whether youth withdrawal moderates the relationships between neighborhood processes (crime, social cohesion) and internalizing symptoms and whether findings were consistent with the diathesis-stress or differential susceptibility hypotheses. Participants were 775 adolescents (M = 15.50 ± 0.56 years, 72 % male, 76 % White). Adolescents higher in withdrawal manifested higher internalizing symptoms in the context of lower neighborhood crime and lower neighborhood social cohesion than youth lower in withdrawal, supporting diathesis-stress. These findings elucidate neighborhood processes associated with internalizing symptoms, which can inform models of risk and resilience for these symptoms among children who differ in temperamental withdrawal.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all study participants, in addition to Dr. Ralph Tarter, the Principal Investigator of the current project, Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR). We also thank the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) for funding for this work (P50 DA 005605). Lastly, we are grateful to Steve Knopf for his assistance with compiling the data. This research was supported in part by NIDA Grant P50 DA 005605 awarded to Ralph E. Tarter.

Authors’ contributions

JR contributed to the theoretical framework for choosing the study variables and writing the manuscript. JR also ran the analyses. DD edited the manuscript to ensure clarity and accuracy of the content and analyses. MR assisted in study design and coordination of the study and provided suggestions for revision of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA

    Jill A. Rabinowitz & Deborah A.G. Drabick

  2. School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Maureen D. Reynolds

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  1. Jill A. Rabinowitz
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Correspondence to Jill A. Rabinowitz.

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Rabinowitz, J.A., Drabick, D.A. & Reynolds, M.D. Youth Withdrawal Moderates the Relationhips Between Neighborhood Factors and Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 45, 427–439 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0324-y

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