Mediators of control beliefs, stressful life events, and adaptive behavior in school age children: The role of appraisal and social support

The authors examine the role of appraisal and social support as mediators of the relation between control belief and adaptive behavioral outcome. Using the responses from 297 children, ages 8 to 12 years old, the results suggest two significant mediational pathways. Social support was a mediator of the relation between unknown control for negative events and adaptive behavior and the relation between unknown control for positive events and adaptive behavior. Negative appraisal demonstrated no mediation relations. The role of social support and negative appraisal in the display of adaptive behavior and the implications for further model testing are discussed.