Abstract
Ample evidence demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with disruptive family adjustment and heightened early adolescent internalizing symptoms. The current study used a diverse sample of 259 female caregivers and early adolescents (ages 11–14) to examine the association between caregiver proactive co**, caregiver perceived stress, adaptive caregiver personality, and early adolescent internalizing symptoms. We tested whether (1) caregiver perceived stress (as an indirect effect) could explain the relationship between caregiver proactive co** and early adolescent internalizing symptoms, and (2) adaptive caregiver personality moderated the indirect effect. Moderation-mediation results revealed (1) caregiver perceived stress was a significant indirect effect in the relationship between female proactive co** and early adolescent internalizing symptoms; (2) adaptive caregiver personality moderated the indirect effect. For caregivers with lower adaptive caregiver personality, the magnitude of the indirect effect became larger. These results highlight the interplay between caregiver proactive co**, caregiver stress, and adaptive caregiver personality on adolescent internalizing symptoms.
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The authors would like to acknowledge the members of the Alabama Rural Families and Well-Being Workgroup: Ansley T. Gilpin, Joan M. Barth, Laura Hopson, Kristina McDonald, Karl M. Hamner, Amber M. Ingram, Danny Mack, and Michael A. Lawson. This project was funded by the University of Alabama Joint Institute Pandemic Pilot Project Program.
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M. Blake Berryhill played a lead role in data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing and an equal role in software, supervision, validation, and visualization. Abby G. Horton played an equal role resources, supervision, validation, visualization, and writing—review and editing, conceptualization, and writing—original draft. Stephanie L. Masters and Jeff G. Parker played lead role in data curation, funding acquisition, investigation, and project administration. Gabrielle Curry played a supporting role in writing—review and editing.
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Berryhill, M.B., Horton, A.G., Masters, S.L. et al. The Interplay Between Female Caregiver Proactive Co**, Stress, and Adaptive Caregiver Personality on Early Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated-Mediation Model. ADV RES SCI (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-024-00148-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-024-00148-x