Arenas of Comfort in Adolescence: A Study of Adjustment in Context (Research Monographs in Adolescence Series)

184 Pages·2001·0.66 MB·English

by  Jeylan T. Mortimer

Arenas of Comfort in
Adolescence
A Study of Adjustment in
Context
Kathleen Thiede Call
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Arenas of Comfort in Adolescence:
A Study of Adjustment in Context
Research Monographs in Adolescence
Nancy L. Galambos/Nancy A. Busch-Rossnagel, Editors
Coté • Adolescent Storm and Stress: An Evaluation of the Mead-Freeman
Controversy
Cohen/Cohen (cid:127) Life Values and Adolescent Mental Health
Seiffge-Krenke (cid:127) Stress, Coping, and Relationships in Adolescence
East/Felice (cid:127) Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting: Findings From a Ra-
cially Diverse Sample
Bachman/Wadsworth/O’Malley/Johnston/Schulenberg (cid:127) Smoking,
Drinking, and Drug Use in Young Adulthood: The Impacts of New
Freedoms and New Responsibilities
Alsaker/Flammer (cid:127) The Adolescent Experience: European and American
Adolescents in the 1990s
Leadbeater/Way (cid:127) Growing Up Fast: Transitions to Early Adulthood of In-
ner-City Adolescent Mothers
Call/Mortimer (cid:127) Arenas of Comfort in Adolescence: A Study of Adjust-
ment in Context
Arenas of Comfort in Adolescence:
A Study of Adjustment in Context
Kathleen Thiede Call
University of Minnesota
Jeylan T. Mortimer
University of Minnesota
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS
2001 Mahwah, New Jersey London
Copyright © 2001 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other
means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers
10 Industrial Avenue
Mahwah, New Jersey 07430
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Call, Kathleen Thiede.
Arenas of comfort in adolescence : a study of adjustment in context /
Kathleen Thiede Call, Jeylan T. Mortimer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8058-2786-2 (alk. paper)
1. Adolescence. 2. Adjustment (Psychology) in adolescence.
3. Stress in adolescence. I. Mortimer, Jeylan T., 1943– . II. Title.
HQ796.C313 2000
305.235—dc21 00-057678
CIP
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper,
and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedication
In memory of Roberta G. Simmons,
whose work inspired this research.

Contents
Preface ix
1 Arenas of Comfort and Adolescent Stress 1
2 The Youth Development Study 26
3 The Social Location of Comfort in Adolescence 37
4 Arenas of Comfort and Adolescent Adjustment 61
5 Arenas of Comfort as Stress Moderators 93
6 Arenas of Comfort in Adolescence 120
References 136
Appendix A
Measures 148
Appendix B
Dichotomous Specification of Comfort Measures
and Tenth-Grade Frequencies 153
Author Index 160
Subject Index 165
vii

Preface
Adolescence is a time when the social world expands—a time of increas-
ing engagement beyond the family sphere to the school, the peer group,
and, for most young people in the United States, the workplace. These
contextsmaypresentexperiencesthatdiffergreatlyintheirtoneandcon-
tent. Some of these domains present problems, taxing the youth’s re-
sources.Otherspromotegoodfeelings,apositivesenseofself,andsatis-
faction. Although people in their everyday lives move across multiple
domains, encountering significant others and potentially formative expe-
riencesineachone,rarelydoestheliteratureinthisareatakeanecologi-
calperspective.Thisbookexamineshowtheconstellationofstressorsand
rewards, in various life domains, influences adolescent adjustment.
An arena of comfort, as formulated by Simmons and colleagues
(Simmons & Blyth, 1987; Simmons, Burgeson, Carlton-Ford, & Blyth,
1987), provides a context for individuals to relax and rejuvenate so that
potentiallystressfulchangesandexperiencesinanotherarenacanbeen-
duredormastered.Itisasoothingandacceptingcontextorrelationship
that allows people to feel at ease and let down their guard. The arena of
comfort thus provides a safe haven; if a person has an experience that is
harmfulorthreateningtotheself-imageinonecontext,theinjurycanbe
soothed,orcompensatedfor,inanotherdomainthroughthestrong,posi-
tiverelationshipsandenhancingexperiencesthatareencounteredthere.
The concept of an arena of comfort as a protective mechanism directs
attentiontothemultifacetedcontextsofadolescentlifeandtheirinterre-
lations, which influence resilience. In contrast to the predominant ap-
proachinthestressliteraturethatfocusesonthenumberandintensityof
stressorsexperiencedbytheindividual,thearenaofcomfortconstructdi-
rects attention to the location of stressors and sources of comfort in the
ix