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Life events, perceived social support, and psychological symptoms were studied prospectively among older adolescents during the transition from high school to college. These variables were reciprocally related to one another in patterns which changed over a period of 6 months. The findings are supportive of a transactional model of stress that emphasizes reciprocal, rather than linear, paths of influence. Further, the study highlights the importance of studying stress and social support during life transitions that may constitute periods of greater vulnerability to life events.

A major focus of primary prevention efforts involves the reduction of the adverse consequences of stressful life events among children and adolescents (eg, Bloom, 1971; Cowen, 1985; Danish, Smyer, & Nowak, 1980). These programs are based on the general assumption that stressful events cause, or at least increase, individuals' vulnerability to psychological, behavioral, or somatic disturbance. However, the evidence for this association among children and adolescents can be described as promising at best (see Compas, 1985, for a review of this literature).