34. Rende, R. D., & Plomin, R. (1992). Relations between first-grade stress, temperament, and behavior problems. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 13, 435-446.

The goals of this study were (1) to examine relations between both child and parent reports of the child's stress in first grade and behavior problems in school, (2) to determine if school stress interacts with temperament in predicting behavior problems, and (3) to determine if gender differences were present in the pattern of relations between stress and behavior problems. Both child and parent reports of event upsettingness correlated significantly with externalizing behavior problems for boys, and with both internalizing and externalizing problems for girls. There was also evidence for interactions between first-grade stress and temperamental characteristics in predicting externalizing behavior problems. Implications for reseach on childhood stress resulting from developmentally relevant life transitions are discussed.