Longitudinal adolescent stress study

The present research aims to provide more specific information on the precise relationship between life stress exposure and psychological problems in adolescents (15-17 years old), as well as the biological processes underlying these effects. In addition, this research will consider several other factors that may moderate the relationship between life stress and psychological problems as part of a four-wave longitudinal study over two years.In the planned research, we intend to combine three methodological qualities crucial for strengthening these findings and obtaining more precise insights that were often lacking in previous research: (a) a more complete conceptualization of stress (b) monitoring the dynamical relationship between stress and psychological problems of adolescents in a time perspective (c) stronger linking of psychological, objective and biological indicators of stress within a single research.The main part of the study will be a unique four-wave longitudinal panel survey on a sample of high school students (ages 15 to 17). who will fill out online questionnaires including measures of stress, coping, psychological problems, personality, family relationships and of other relevant constructs. Immediately upon completion of the longitudinal section of the survey, 200-300 students will be identified for further participation during which time biological samples—specifically, saliva—will be collected to obtain salivary cortisol and inflammatory cytokines (i.e., IL-6 and IL-1beta) concentration.The collected data will result in both theoretical and practical benefits. It will enable testing causal models of the possible impact of stress on the severity of adolescent psychological problems through a latent growth model (LGM), and help to improve methods for early detection of adolescent mental health problems related to stress, propose prevention measures, and recommend strategies for improving coping skills that are appropriate for Croatian adolescents.