Author(s): Suzanna M Martinez, Marcela Castillo, Betsy Lozoff and Sheila Gahagan
Informed by the reserve capacity model, we examined pathways between socioeconomic status (SES) and internalizing symptoms (IS) in 1119 Chilean 10-year-olds. Mediators included parental disciplinary style and reserve capacity resources (RCR), namely home environment, parent-child engagement, and self-esteem, and conduct problems. Using structural equation modeling, the model was stratified by gender. For boys, the SES-IS relationship was mediated by the home environment and parental disciplinary style. For girls, the SES-IS relationship was mediated by the home environment, parent-child engagement, self-esteem, and conduct problems. Findings suggest different RCR may protect against IS in a sample of Chilean children.
