Psychology Commons^™

The Structure Of Parent-Child Coping Interactions As A Predictor Of Adjustment In Middle Childhood: A Dynamic Systems Perspective, Sarah Budney Stanger

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This study applied a contemporary dynamic systems methodology (state space grids) to examine how the structure of parent-child coping interactions, above and beyond the content of such interactions, influences adjustment (i.e., internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and coping efficacy) over time in middle childhood. A community sample of children (N = 65) completed a stressful laboratory task with a parent present, during which parent and child behavior were observed. Parent behavior during the task was coded using a socialization of coping framework. Parents' verbal suggestions to their child about how to cope with the stressful task were coded as primary control …