This study examined the relationship between stressful life events, internalized symptoms of stress, and academic achievement among a sample of Hispanic students in a large urban high school. Using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire, students were administered the Hispanic Children's Stress Inventory and two measures of internalized symptoms (Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory). Perceived competence was measured using the Harter Perceived Competence Scale. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed main effects for stressful life events and perceived competence on grades, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology. In addition, interaction terms were entered into the regression equations to determine if perceived competence was a moderator of stressful life events. Direct effects of stressful lifeevents and perceived competence on school grades and internalized symptoms were found. Multiplicative interactions for perceived competence were not significant moderators of psychosocial stress on grades or internalized symptoms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.