Linkages between mothers’ job stressors and adolescents’ perceptions of the mother–child relationship in the context of weak versus strong support networks

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that mothers’ exposure to psychosocial job stressors would be indirectly associated with less favorable ratings of the mother–adolescent relationship, as perceived by youth, by way of mothers feeling depleted of cognitive and emotional energies after work. We also examined whether mothers’ perceptions of being socially supported with regard to work and family responsibilities moderate associations between greater psychosocial job stressors and lesser quality in the mother–adolescent relationship. The sample consisted of 169 diverse mother–early adolescent dyads. Mothers and adolescents completed surveys independently. Hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling and multi-group comparisons. Psychosocial job stressors were indirectly related to qualities of the mother–adolescent relationship via their association with mothers’ experiences of psychological energy depletion from work to family. The most consistent evidence for these associations was found among women who felt less social support in regard to their work–family responsibilities.