Family protective factors and behavioral outcome: The role of appraisal in family life events

In this study we examined the relation among family life events, appraisal, and family protective factors in predicting behavioral outcome in 260 school-age children. Hierarchical analyses were conducted using appraisal-based calculations of family events and ratings on three potential family protective factors: family relations, personal growth, and systems maintenance. The results indicated several main effects for personal growth experiences, the negatively appraised, and the positively appraised family stress scores on adaptive behavior. In addition, two significant interactions were found among negatively endorsed family events and personal growth experiences, positive family relationships,and internalizing behavior. The forms of these interactions indicate that personal growth and family relationships appear to increase internalizing behavior as negatively endorsed family stress events increase.The contextual role of potential family protective factors and the influence of differential appraisal are discussed.