development and to help guide the design of appro-
priate interventions. For example, the premise un-
derlying the majority of life-stress research is that
exposure to certain environmental demands over-
whelms children’s coping abilities, thereby precipitat-
ing psychological and health-related problems.
Nevertheless, this focus on how stress affects chil-
dren’s development is somewhat limited. Instead, Ru-
dolph and Hammen argued in a 1999 article that a
more complete understanding of the developmental
context of stress requires consideration of not only
how children react to external events and circum-
stances but also how they construct and contribute to
their environments. This stress-generation approach
highlights the importance of studying characteristics
of children that lead them to create stressful condi-
tions, which then interfere further with their develop-
ment.
Also, researchers have only begun to examine the
processes through which stress undermines children’s
development. Thus, researchers need to learn more
about how and why different types of stress create
emotional, behavioral, and physical problems in chil-
dren, as well as why some children are more likely to
generate stress in their lives.
A more in-depth understanding about the com-
plex linkages between stress and developmental out-
comes is essential for the creation of effective
intervention programs. Identifying personal qualities
of children or environmental contexts that either ex-
acerbate or dampen the negative effects of stress will
provide essential information about how health pro-
fessionals, teachers, and parents can promote effec-
tive coping strategies. Moreover, discovering which
types of stress create a risk for particular problems
and exploring how these effects occur will facilitate
the development of targeted intervention programs
that are tailored to the needs of the individual. Final-
ly, identifying which children may be at highest risk
for exposure to, or generation of, stress will lay the
groundwork for early intervention programs de-
signed to prevent the onset of the complicated cycle
linking stressful life experiences and unhealthy devel-
opment.
See also: RESILIENCY; VIOLENCE
Bibliography
Eccles, Jacquelynne S., and Carol Midgley. ‘‘Stage-Environment
Fit: Developmentally Appropriate Classrooms for Young Ad-
olescents.’’ In Russell E. Ames and Carole Ames eds., Research
on Motivation in Education. New York: Academic Press, 1989.
Hammen, Constance. ‘‘Life Events and Depression: The Plot
Thickens.’’ American Journal of Community Psychology 2
(1992):179–193.
Holmes, Thomas H., and Richard H. Rahe. ‘‘The Social Readjust-
ment Rating Scale.’’ Journal of Psychosomatic Research 11
(1967):213–218.
Lazarus, Richard S., and Susan Folkman. Stress, Appraisal, and Cop-
ing. New York: Springer, 1984.
Rudolph, Karen D., and Constance Hammen. ‘‘Age and Gender as
Determinants of Stress Exposure, Generation, and Reactions
in Youngsters: A Transactional Perspective.’’ Child Develop-
ment 70 (1999):660–677.
Seyle, Hans. Stress in Health and Disease. Woburn, MA: Butterworth,
1976.
Karen D. RudolphSUBSTANCE ABUSE
Adolescent substance abuse and its resulting harms
are major concerns of parents, policymakers, teach-
ers, and public health officials. Nevertheless, experi-
mentation with substances, particularly alcohol and
tobacco, is progressively more common behavior
from pre- to late adolescence. When adolescents try
substances a few times, with peers, this experimenta-
tion is generally not associated with any long-term im-
pairment of functioning. Experimentation is
considered problematic when substance use occurs at
a very young age, with increasing frequency, while the
child is alone, or in the context of behavioral or emo-
tional difficulties. If use becomes more frequent, neg-
ative consequences can develop, including
impairment at school or work, legal problems, acci-
dents, and interpersonal difficulties. Substance use
becomes abuse when an adolescent suffers negative
and harmful consequences because of the use of sub-
stances—and yet continues using. Substance abuse
has been strongly linked to risky sexual behavior, de-
linquent behavior, and low school achievement.
Heavy and prolonged substance use can result in
drug dependence, with a syndrome of significant dis-
tress if the drug use is stopped or reduced.
Adolescents tend to follow a particular pattern of
involvement with drugs. Typically, the first substance
an adolescent uses is one that is legal for adults (to-
bacco or alcohol). The next stage is often experimen-
tation with marijuana. Tobacco, alcohol, and
marijuana have been labeled ‘‘gateway drugs’’ be-
cause they precede the use of other harder drugs.
High frequency of use and early age of initiation are
both associated with movement to higher stages of
substance use.
Early initiation of substance use is linked to sub-
stance abuse and dependence. A 1997 study by Brid-
get Grant and Deborah Dawson found that more than
40 percent of individuals who began drinking before
age fourteen developed a dependence on alcohol. In
comparison, only 10 percent of those who began
drinking at age twenty or older developed alcohol de-
pendence. Similarly, individuals who began using
drugs at an early age tend to experience greater drugSUBSTANCE ABUSE 391