Are affluent youth truly "at risk"? Vulnerability and resilience across three diverse samples

Abstract

Building upon prior findings of elevated problems among East Coast suburban youth through the 11th grade, this study establishes disproportionately high incidence of maladjustment across three disparate samples: East Coast Suburban youth at the end of their senior year in high school, and 11th and 12th graders in (a) a Northwest suburb and (b) an East Coast city. Both East Coast samples showed pronounced elevations in substance use, whereas the Northwest suburban sample showed marked vulnerability in serious internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Across all samples, parents' low perceived containment for substance use (lax repercussions on discovering use) was a major vulnerability factor, followed by parents' knowledge of their teens' activities. Overall, adolescents' symptom levels were more strongly related to their relationships with mothers than with fathers. An exception was boys' apparent vulnerability to fathers', but not mothers', perceived depressive symptoms. As with affluent eighth graders, we found that "overscheduling" in extracurriculars is not a critical vulnerability factor among these high school students. Finally, youth reports suggested that most affluent parents do not indiscriminately bail their children out of all problem situations (although a small subset, apparently, do). Results are discussed along with the implications for practice and for future research.

Figure 1

The percentage of students reporting substance use in the past month, compared to national norms (2006). National normative data are not available for girls and boys separately.

Figure 2

The incidence of clinically significant self-reported symptoms among participants, compared to national norms.

Figure 3

Mean scores on the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment subscales compared with normative values. Values representing “norms” are from an economically diverse sample of teens (Fosco & Grych, 2010). M, mother; F, father; Alien., alienation; Comm., communication.

Figure 4

Descriptive data on student responses to parent bailing out items.

Figure 5

Descriptive data on the frequency of alcohol use, being drunk, and marijuana use in the past year, by parent containment for drugs. The numbers in the graphs represent random subject ID numbers. (○) Outlier and (★) extreme outlier. The y axis values represent the number of times used per year: 0 = never, 1 = once or twice, 2 = 3–5 times, 3 = 6–9 times, 4 = 10–19 times, 5 = 20–39 times, and 6 = 40+ times. [A color version of this figure can be viewed online at http://journals.cambridge.org/dpp]