Abstract

We examined early adolescent predictors of later distress and adaptive coping in early adulthood, using data from a prospective longitudinal cohort study (n = 786). In early adolescence (age 13), we assessed indicators of mental health (internalizing symptoms), stressor exposure (cumulative stressful life events), and family socialization (supportive parent–child interactions). In early adulthood (age 22), during the first COVID-19-related Swiss national lockdown, we assessed cumulative pandemic-related stressors, distress (poor well-being, hopelessness, and perceived disruptions to life) and adaptive coping. Early adolescent internalizing symptoms predicted lower well-being, more hopelessness, and perceived lifestyle disruptions in early adulthood, during the pandemic. Cumulative stressful life events during early adolescence moderated the association between cumulative pandemic-related stressors and perceived lifestyle disruptions. Supportive parent–child interactions fostered subsequent engagement in adaptive coping, which, in turn, predicted less hopelessness and better well-being. Findings reveal that early adolescent development is linked with distress and adaptive coping in later periods.

Rights

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Cite as

Steinhoff, A., Johnson Ferguson, L., Bechtiger, L., Murray, A., Hepp, U., Ribeaud, D., Eisner, M. & Shanahan, L. 2023, 'Early adolescent predictors of young adults’ stress experiences and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a longitudinal cohort study', Journal of Early Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316231181660

Downloadable citations

Download HTML citationHTML Download BIB citationBIB Download RIS citationRIS
Last updated: 03 May 2024
Was this page helpful?