Maternal Influences on Youth Responses to Peer Stress by Abaied - Article Example

A major strength of this research is that the interviewers were “postdoctoral students inclinical psychology, psychology graduate students, a post-baccalaureate-level research assistant, or advanced undergraduate students”. They were trained extensively for the job that they were supposed to do. The qualifications of the interviewers add credence to the results of the study. Another strength of the study is that the conclusions are validated by the correlation analysis applied to the data gathered.

The interpretation and discussion of the results are clearly disseminated in the report. One weakness of the study is that only mothers were included in the research. It is important to note that parenting does not only involve mothers. Fathers play an important role too in the development of the child. The study assumes that it is only the mothers who offer suggestions on coping with peer stress. With regards to the participants of the study, there is no mention of how they were chosen and what was the basis in selecting them.

An important part of the study is the definition of the terms that are used in the research. It is appreciated that the terms “engagement” and “disengagement” responses are clearly defined at the beginning of the article. The listing down and description of the four categories of the responses to stress gives a more meaningful understanding of the results of the questionnaires and interviews. This research is very significant in enhancing the relationship between mothers and their adolescent children.

Since the research showed that a mother’s suggested coping strategies impacts positively on the youth, mothers should strive to educate their children in several ways to cope with peer stress. For the youth, this study makes them aware of the importance of listening to their mothers’ suggestions on how to handle stress. For psychologists, they can study further the factors that will influence the youths’ responsiveness towards their parents’ suggestions on how to cope with stress (Abaied & Rudolph, 2011).

The parent-child relationship will have a whole new perspective with regards to stress management.