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Developmental risks and psychosocial adjustment among low-income Brazilian youth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2007

MARCELA RAFFAELLI ,
SILVIA H. KOLLER ,
ELDER CERQUEIRA-SANTOS  and
NORMANDA ARAÚJO DE MORAIS
MARCELA RAFFAELLI
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
SILVIA H. KOLLER
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil
ELDER CERQUEIRA-SANTOS
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil
NORMANDA ARAÚJO DE MORAIS
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil
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Abstract

Exposure to developmental risks in three domains (community, economic, and family), and relations between risks and psychosocial well-being, were examined among 918 impoverished Brazilian youth aged 14–19 (M = 15.8 years, 51.9% female) recruited in low-income neighborhoods in one city in Southern Brazil. High levels of developmental risks were reported, with levels and types of risks varying by gender, age, and (to a lesser extent) race. Associations between levels of risks in the various domains and indicators of psychological (e.g., self-esteem, negative emotionality) and behavioral (e.g., substance use) adjustment differed for male and female respondents. Findings build on prior research investigating the development of young people in conditions of pervasive urban poverty and reinforce the value of international research in this endeavor.This study was funded by grants from the World Bank and CNPq to Silvia H. Koller. Manuscript preparation was partially supported by a Faculty Development Fellowship to Marcela Raffaelli from the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and by a Visiting Fellowship at the Key Centre for Women's Health in Society, School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne. The authors acknowledge the assistance of J'aims Ribeiro in developing the questionnaire.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 565 - 584
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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