ABSTRACT
The main focus of developmental psychopathology research has been on identifying factors that increase children's risk of psychological difficulties. In more recent years attention has also been given to factors that might ameliorate or lessen the impact of negative experiences on children. In adults who are under stress, social support has been found to reduce the risk of developing psychopathology (Cohen & Wills, 1985). There has been little work, however, on identifying the factors that protect children who are living in stressful circumstances from developing psychopathology. One could hypothesize that social support might also be protective to children, and might come from parents, siblings, relatives outside the nuclear family, peers, and teachers.
