Adolescent adjustment in at-risk families: The role of psychosocial stress and parental socialization

Introduction The study of factors associated with internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents living in at-risk families is a subject of recent interest in mental health in Spain. The presence of mental health problems in children and adolescents is too frequent in these families due to their high exposure to a variety of risk factors and the lack of protection factors. However, few studies have examined the contribution of specific factors to each type of mental health problem in adolescents from at-risk Spanish families. This study strives to contribute to knowledge in this field, by analyzing the role of two important dimensions frequently linked to adolescents’ adjustment: psychosocial stress and parental socialization. Likewise, this study seeks to identify whether both dimensions predict differently for two types of mental health problems in adolescents from at-risk families.