Desirability of various life change events among adolescents: Effects of exposure, sex, age, and ethnicity

Abstract

Adolescence is a time when lifelong competencies and coping strategies develop. As a consequence, teenagers may be particularly vulnerable to stressful events. This study examines the impact (or desirability) of life change events in relation to demographic differences and previous exposure. The perceived desirability of 39 life events was reported by 1018 adolescents in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. Females typically gave more extreme responses, either positively or negatively, than males. Several small age effects were obtained, and there were ethnic differences in perception of stressfulness. Previous exposure increased the perceived desirability (or decreased undesirability) of the event relative to those who had not experienced the event. Event clusters differentially predicted averaged cluster desirabilities. Implications of these results for the development of adolescent and adult coping strategies and the efficient integration of stressful life change are discussed.