Family Relations, Stressful Events and Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescence: a Longitudinal Study

This study aimed to examine how emotional and behavioral problems of parents and children and the characteristics of family relationships can be predictors of internalizing symptoms manifested by children after one year. This was a quantitative research study, of the longitudinal type, with a one year interval between the first and second evaluation. Participants were 139 adolescents, and their parents, with ages ranged from 11 to 16 years (M-age = 12.90, SD = 1.07). The instruments used were: a Socio-Demographic Data Sheet, Youth Self-Report of 11 to 18 years old (YSR), Adult Self-Report of 18 to 59 years old (ASR), Familiogram (FG), the Family Climate Inventory (FCI) and Inventory of Stressful Events in Adolescence (ISEA). Results indicated that family relationships did not have a significant explanatory power in relation to internalizing symptoms of the adolescent after a year. Based on this study, it is possible to think that during adolescence, the power of the family to influence becomes more restricted in comparison with social and peer influence.