Family Stress Model Research Articles

Does asset poverty moderate how food insecurity is associated with adolescent problematic behavior? An application of the family stress model using multi-group path analyses

The Family Stress Model framework suggests that food insecurity could be associated with adolescent problematic behaviors through caregiver psychological distress. While assets such as savings could buffer the impacts of income on food insecurity, it remains unclear whether such moderating effects can be applied to other associations in the Family Stress Model framework. Using the 2017 and 2019 Panel Study of Income Dynamics and 2019 and 2020 Child Development Supplement data including 643 children (Mage = 13.7, SD = 2.6), multi-group path analyses found that the family stress process manifests differently in asset poor families and non-asset poor families. More specifically, the direct and indirect associations embedded by income, food insecurity, caregiver psychological distress, and child problematic behaviors are statistically stronger in the asset poor families than the non-asset poor families. These findings suggest the necessity to offer more comprehensive interventions to address economic needs (i.e., low income, food insecurity) and non-economic needs (i.e., caregiver mental health, child development) for the economically vulnerable.

COVID-19's shadow on families: A structural equation model of parental stress, family relationships, and child wellbeing.

The present study seeks to contribute to developmental science in emergencies by investigating associations between COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors, parents' stress, family relationships, and child wellbeing. In doing so, we build on recent research that generalizes the assumptions of the Family Stress Model beyond direct economic stressors of households to macro-contextual stressors that operate at the societal level. In the case of our study, these stressors relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as health risks and confinement-related stresses. Participants were 783 parents of young children (75% female, Mage = 34.61 years) residing in the United Arab Emirates. They completed an online survey in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, measuring how the pandemic impacted their lives and the lives of their child (Mage = 47.54 months). A subsample of parents (n = 96) completed the survey for two children. Structural equation modeling showed that pandemic-related stressors contributed to higher stress among parents which, in turn, resulted in lower parent-reported child wellbeing at various times during the pandemic. Family relationships mediated the association between parents' stress and child wellbeing. The present study contributes to our understanding on how large-scale disruption due to COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors gets inside the family, the strength and direction of associations (concurrently and over time), and the timing of mechanisms that impact family processes. The results highlight the need to support families with young children in managing disruptions due to emergencies, such as a global public health crisis, and to determine ways of preventing longstanding consequences on family structures and children's lives.

Family cohesion and intuitive eating in Chinese college students: A serial mediation model

Improving intuitive eating can effectively prevent emotional eating, restrained eating, and overeating, and help improve people's physical and mental health. Based on the acceptance model of intuitive eating, ecological systems theory, family stress model, and transactional model of stress and coping, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between family cohesion and intuitive eating and its underlying mechanisms through a cross-sectional study design. A random sample of 702 college students from 29 provinces in China, aged from 18 to 26 years (54.56% male, M age = 21.12 years), voluntarily participated in the survey. Demographic variables, family cohesion, intuitive eating, perceived stress, and coping style were measured. The results indicated that family cohesion was significantly positively correlated with intuitive eating and the direct effect between them was significant. Meanwhile, there was a significant indirect effect of family cohesion on intuitive eating through perceived stress and positive coping styles. Moreover, perceived stress and positive coping styles, rather than negative coping styles, acted as serial mediators in the association between family cohesion and intuitive eating. The findings shed light on the prevention and intervention for disordered eating and obesity and provided a new theoretical perspective for the mental health education of college students. In addition, implications and directions for future research were also discussed.

Looking at the Family Stress Model in the Asian Context: A Scoping Review

Family background or home environment can be an indicator of how people’s engagement with the community is manifested. Using the Family Stress Model (FSM) as a lens to evaluate external and internal family impact on a child can be a useful tool in supporting children from different social and economic backgrounds. There has been a growing body of work demonstrating the impact of home stress on youth, specifically via the FSM and children from different cultural groups, but there has not been such a review for Asian communities. This paper is a scoping review following PRISMA standards that describes all current research that has been conducted on Asian communities in relation to the FSM.

Post‐traumatic stress symptoms and parenting in military families: A systematic integrative review

AbstractPost‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among service members portends substantial impairments not only for the affected individual but also for their families. However, the association between PTSD symptoms and specific parenting domains remains understudied. Drawing upon the Military Family Stress Model and the Cognitive Behavioral Interpersonal Theory of PTSD, this systematic review provides an overview and synthesis of the literature on PTSD symptoms and parenting in military families with the objective to examine associations between parental PTSD symptoms and key parenting domains. Following PRISMA guidelines, 27 empirical studies were reviewed. Five distinct parenting domains emerged across studies. The findings indicated that greater PTSD symptoms were generally associated with adverse parenting outcomes with some variation across different parenting domains, such that some parenting outcomes showed more consistent negative associations with parental PTSD symptoms than others. These results have significant implications for research and practice, providing insight for family‐focused intervention/prevention studies.

Parenting stress and Chinese preschoolers' approaches to learning: a moderated mediation model of authoritative parenting and household residency.

According to the family stress model, this study examined the relationship between parenting stress and preschoolers' approaches to learning (ATL) in China, as well as the mediating effect of authoritative parenting and the moderating effect of household residency (migrant and native). A survey of 5,047 preschoolers' parents (2,186 natives and 2,861 migrants) supports the proposed moderated mediation model. The results showed that after controlling for gender and age, parenting stress affected preschoolers' development of ATL negatively. Authoritative parenting mediates the relationship between parenting stress and preschoolers' ATL. Further, household residency moderated the relationship between authoritative parenting and preschoolers' ATL. The findings of this study suggest that high levels of parenting stress are detrimental to the development of preschoolers' ATL. And parents with low parenting stress are more likely to adopt authoritative parenting, which in turn fosters preschoolers' ATL. In addition, native families' authoritative parenting style are more conducive to fostering preschoolers' ATL than migrant families. Finally, this study contributes to previous research by examining the mechanisms of parenting stress on preschoolers' ATL and provides support for the extension of the family stress model. Importantly, it also informs efforts to improve ATL among preschoolers in Chinese migrant and native families.

The impact of poverty-reduction intervention on child mental health mediated by family relations: Findings from a cluster-randomized trial in Uganda

Reviews that synthesize global evidence on the impact of poverty reduction interventions on child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) report inconclusive results and highlight the need to unpack the mechanisms that connect poverty-reduction to CAMH. To address this gap, we examine the proposition that family relations is an important relational factor transmitting effect of poverty on CAMH, and test whether family relations mediate the effect of poverty-reduction intervention on depression, hopelessness, and self-concept among AIDS orphans in Uganda.We use longitudinal data collected over the course of 48 months in a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted among N = 1410 AIDS orphans from n = 48 schools in Uganda. To examine the relationship between intervention, latent mediator (family relations and support) and CAMH outcomes (Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), and Depression), we ran structural equation models adjusting for clustering of individuals within schools.Relative to the control group, participants in both treatment arms reported lower levels of hopelessness and depression, and significantly higher levels of self-concept. They also report significantly higher levels of latent family relationship in all three models. In both treatment arms, the direct effect of the intervention on all three outcomes is still significant when the latent family relations mediator is included in the analyses. This suggests partial mediation. In other words, in both treatment arms, the significant positive effect of the intervention on children's depression, hopelessness, and self-concept is partially mediated by their family relationship quality.Our findings support the argument put forward by the Family Stress Model showing that the poverty-reduction program improves children's mental health functioning by improving family relationships. The implications of our study extend beyond the narrow focus of poverty reduction, suggesting that asset-building interventions have broader impacts on family dynamics and child mental health.

Adjustments to unemployment amid COVID-19: Implementation of ABCX model of family stress on Chinese tourism industry

Adjustments to unemployment amid COVID-19: Implementation of ABCX model of family stress on Chinese tourism industry

Parent-Adolescent Transmission of Socioeconomic Status: Testing Serial Mediation of Conflict Behaviors, Emotion Regulation, and Empathy

In this study, we investigated whether the intergenerational transmission of SES is mediated by parental and adolescents’ conflict behaviors, emotion regulation, and empathy. Longitudinal serial mediation analyses were performed on a subset of adolescents ( Mage = 13.03) and their parents from the RADAR cohort study ( N = 320, 52.2% boys) in the Netherlands. Results showed partial support for intergenerational transmission of SES, mostly between mothers and girls. However, no mediation effect was found, primarily because parental SES was mostly unrelated to parental conflict behaviors. Parental conflict behaviors did affect adolescent conflict behaviors, emotion regulation, and empathy, which in turn were associated with SES outcomes in young adulthood. This study nuances the proposition of the family stress model that parents from a lower SES background – as a result of economic stress – display less constructive and more destructive conflict behaviors.

An intervention to improve the well-being of families in which African American grandmothers are raising grandchildren: A longitudinal mediation analysis

Children raised by grandparents experience increased emotional distress often related to family circumstances. Drawing on a coping model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation, we examined a 12-month home-based intervention to improve the well-being of families in which grandmothers are raising grandchildren and longitudinally explored grandmothers' perceived changes in grandchild behavior in relation to their psychological distress levels. The sample consisted of 510 African American custodial grandmother-grandchildren pairs, including children ages 4–16 years. All grandmothers participated in a 12-month, primarily home-based support intervention. The prospective analysis revealed that reported child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and grandmother psychological distress decreased significantly from baseline to the 12-month follow-up assessment. Grandchild internalizing and externalizing behaviors were positively predicted by grandmothers' baseline and 12-month psychological distress. Concerning mediation, the total effect of baseline grandmother psychological distress on 12-month grandchild internalizing and externalizing behaviors was significant, positive, and significantly mediated by 12-month grandmother psychological distress. Findings also revealed medium effect sizes for the indirect effects. These results suggest that a decrease in psychological distress in grandmothers over the 12-month intervention had a positive effect on grandmothers’ perceptions of grandchildren's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Study limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Family economic pressure and early adolescents' prosocial behavior: The importance of considering the types of prosocial behavior.

Prior research findings are mixed regarding whether prosocial behavior is positively or negatively related to socioeconomic status and its correlates, such as economic pressure. This may be due to the lack of considerations for the type of prosocial behavior. In this study, we aimed to examine how six types of prosocial behavior (i.e., public, anonymous, compliant, emotional, dire, and altruistic) are related to economic pressure among early adolescents. We hypothesized that family economic pressure would be associated with each type of prosocial behavior in differing ways. Participants were 11-14 years old (N = 143, Mage = 12.2 years, SDage = 0.87, 63 boys, 1 trans-identified boy, 55 girls), early adolescents and their parents. Among them, 54.6% were non-Hispanic/Latinx (NH/L) White, 23.8% were NH/L Black, 11.2% were NH/L Asian, 2.1% were NH/L Multiracial, and 8.4% were Hispanic/Latinx. Parents reported family economic pressure and adolescents' six types of prosocial behavior. Path analysis revealed that economic pressure was negatively associated with emotional and dire prosocial behavior over and above age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Family economic pressure was unrelated to public, anonymous, compliant, and altruistic prosocial behavior. These findings show some support for the Family Stress Model, such that economic stress might hinder youth's prosocial development. At the same time, youth may have similar levels of certain types of prosocial behavior regardless of their family's economic pressure. This research provided insight into the complex relation between economic pressure and youth's prosocial behavior which varies depending on the type of behavior.

Adolescent difficulties during parental deployment and anxiety: A focus on measurement and family processes

AbstractApproximately 60% of deployed service members leave behind immediate family members, and although military families tend to be adaptive and resilient, evidence suggests that deployments are challenging and difficulties can arise during transitions and family separation, especially for adolescents. Grounded in the family attachment network model and the ABC‐X model of family stress, the current study utilized a sample of 204 military families with an active‐duty father, civilian mother and adolescent and examined parents' perceptions of adolescents' difficulties during deployment in relation to all three family members' perceptions of the adolescents' mental health (i.e., anxiety symptoms) following deployment. First, analyses of measurement invariance indicated that service members and civilian parents were generally reporting on the same underlying construct of their adolescents' difficulties during parental deployment. Next, a structural equation model demonstrated considerable overlap in service member and civilian parent reports of their adolescents' difficulties during a parental deployment (r = 0.47). Finally, both parents' perceptions of adolescent difficulties during parental deployment were related to their own perceptions of the adolescent's current anxiety but not to the adolescents' reports of their own anxiety symptoms or to the other parent's report of the adolescents' anxiety symptoms. Findings provide support for utilizing these theories in combination, such that disruptions to the family system, and the attachment relationships within that system, in one stage of the deployment cycle, may imply that there are implications for individual‐level functioning, namely, anxiety, in the next stage of the deployment cycle. Findings also underscore the importance of examining our measurement tools and collecting data from multiple family members to understand family processes.

The Application of Family Stress Model to Investigating Adolescent Problematic Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Assets.

The Family Stress Model framework proposes that household income can influence child and youth development through caregiver psychological distress. While prior studies have observed stronger associations among households with lower income, the role of assets has been ignored. This is unfortunate, as many existing policies and practices that intend to improve child and family well-being are focused on assets. The purpose of this study is to clarify whether asset poverty moderates the direct and indirect effects of paths linking household income, caregiver psychological distress, and adolescent problematic behaviors. Using the 2017 and 2019 Panel Study of Income Dynamic Main Study and 2019 and 2020 Child Development Supplements, we find that the family stress processes consisting of household income, caregiver psychological distress, and adolescent problematic behaviors are less intensive for families with more assets. These findings not only add our knowledge of FSM by taking account the moderating role of assets but also advance our understanding that assets can benefit child and family well-being through alleviating family stress processes.

Resting respiratory sinus arrythmia and cognitive reappraisal moderate the link between political climate stress and anxiety symptoms in Latina and Black mothers

ABSTRACTGuided by the Family Stress Model for minority families, the present study examined the potential buffering effect of resting respiratory sinus arrythmia (RRSA), cognitive reappraisal, and mindfulness on the association between political climate stress (PCS) and anxiety symptoms in a sample of Latina and Black mothers. Participants were 100 mothers living in the southeastern United States. Mothers reported on PCS, cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness, and symptoms of anxiety. RRSA were measured during a resting task. Moderation analyses tested the influence of these three factors (RRSA, cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness) on the relation between PCS and anxiety. Results showed that the relation between PCS and anxiety symptoms was strongest at low levels of RRSA and cognitive reappraisal. At high levels of these two factors, there was no association between PCS and anxiety symptoms. Mothers with high levels of RRSA and cognitive reappraisal may be able to interact with and evaluate environmental stimuli in such a way that allows for adaptive adjustment, buffering against the negative impact of PCS. RRSA and cognitive reappraisal may be important targets of interventions designed to address the rising rates of anxiety symptoms in Latina and Black mothers.

Family Life Education for Military Families: An Exploratory Study of Family Program Use

Recognizing the stressors that military families may face, the military offers educational programs to support families, including deployment/reintegration programs and financial programs. However, little research examines these commonly offered programs. Grounded in the Contextual Model of Family Stress (CMFS), this study addresses this gap, conceptualizing program use as a resource that may be impacted by families’ external contexts (i.e., demographic and military contextual characteristics) and associated with various indicators of well-being. This study was a secondary data analysis of cross-sectional data from 266 military families at one Army installation. A logistic regression path model was used to examine if the likelihood of program use varied by demographic and military contextual characteristics (e.g., number of deployments, PCS moves), and independent samples t-tests were conducted to assess mean differences in elements of military families’ well-being (e.g., financial well-being, anxiety). Demographic and military contextual characteristics (e.g., number of deployments and PCS moves) were associated with program use. Families that used financial programs had SMs with lower financial well-being and civilian spouses with marginally higher anxiety. The results indicate that programs providing standardized yet personalized content may be helpful for families, as well as suggest important directions for future research.

Pathways to Children’s Behavioral Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Fathers’ Parenting Stress and Parenting Approaches

Although the family stress model theoretically focuses on the roles of both mothers and fathers as predictors of children's outcomes, studies generally have focused on mothers. The pandemic has brought additional burdens to parents' daily functioning, including fathers' involvement in childcare. The current study aimed to examine the contributions of fathers' parenting stress and parenting approaches to their children's behavior problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly, we examined the indirect effects of parenting stress on children's behavior problems via parenting practices. The participants were 155 fathers (Mage = 36.87, SD = 5.11) and their children (71 girls, 84 boys; Mage = 59.52, SD = 14.98) from Turkish contexts. The fathers reported their parenting stress, approaches, and children's behavioral problems. The results from the path analysis showed that parenting stress predicted children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Parenting stress also predicted severe punishment and obedience as parts of the parenting approach. Finally, parenting stress was indirectly related to children's externalizing behaviors via the punishment-based parenting approach of fathers. The findings of the current study highlighted the importance of examining the roles of fathers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Intervention programs targeting reducing fathers' parenting stress and negative parenting approaches would also be beneficial for reducing children's behavioral problems.

Applying a family stress model to understand U.S. families’ patterns of stress, media use, and child behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly altered family life, and research among adults and families has found increases financial stress, mental health problems, screen time, parental conflict, and child behavior problems. Given these patterns, we sought to replicate these findings with a younger and largely non-white sample. Using the Family Stress Model, we consider how these constructs might relate to each other during the pandemic. From surveys of 247 predominately Latine mothers and fathers of children under 4 years of age in the U.S., we found that financial strain was related to children’s media exposure and use, largely through impacts on parents’ mental health and coparenting relationship. Interestingly, only use of television in the background and during mealtimes were associated with increases in parents’ perception of increases in children’s behavior problems. Such findings better capture how stress may operate in a family system and offer a way to counsel parents about healthier media habits for young children.

Economic hardship and intimate partner violence: An analysis of perpetrators in Germany

Objective: Based on the family stress model, we examine whether respondents are more likely to perpetrate physical IPV when experiencing economic hardship and pressure. Background: Research has demonstrated an association of intimate partner violence (IPV) and economic factors. However, as the bulk of studies is limited to the female victim’s perspective, the picture remains incomplete; factors driving gender-specific effects and perpetration rates have thus far been overlooked. Method: Using data from a large sample of individuals from the German Family Panel pairfam, which covers the period between 2009 and 2019, we employ pooled logistic regression models (n=6,661 individuals with 21,321 observations). Given the rich data source, we are able to control for a number of possible confounding effects. To correct for sample selection, we use calibrated design weights. Results: Our analyses show that IPV perpetration is associated with poverty and economic pressure among women, but not men. When accounting for confounding factors such as the Big 5 personality traits and childhood experiences, these associations become insignificant. For men, unemployment is linked to IPV perpetration, but only when personality traits and childhood experiences are not accounted for. Conclusion: Results imply that the association between adverse economic conditions and IPV perpetration is mainly due to unobserved heterogeneity. Thus, physical IPV perpetration is not primarily caused by the distress of financial strain, but rather by underlying factors such as personality traits and adverse childhood experiences, which are associated with both socioeconomic status, economic pressure, and aggressive behavior in intimate relationships.

Mental health of agricultural adolescents and adults: Preliminary results of a five-year study.

Work-related stressors common to agriculture have been associated with adverse mental health outcomes among adult farmers and ranchers. However, the mental health status of agricultural youth is unknown, despite farm and ranch youth being exposed to the same occupational hazards as their adult counterparts. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety among farm adults and their adolescent child and examine the correlation between symptoms of mental health conditions and financial indicators described in the Family Stress Model (FSM). Farm families were recruited to participate in online surveys by mail, email, and social media. One adolescent and at least one adult from each family were invited to complete on online survey. Where available, validated instruments were used to collect mental health, stress, family dynamics, and household financial variables. Descriptive statistics were used to describe sample demographics and prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety. Pearson correlations describe associations between variables within the Family Stress Model. Farm families (N = 122) completed the online survey. The mean age of farm parents was 41.4 years (SD = 4.4) and the mean age of farm adolescents was 15.4 (1.2). A majority of farm parents and farm adolescents were male, 58.2% and 70.5%, respectively. The sample was primarily white, non-Hispanic. In this sample of farm parents and adolescents alike, 60% met the criteria for at least mild depression, based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Patient Health Questionnaire-A (PHQ-A). Similarly, among adolescents, 45.1% met the criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), as did 54.9% of adults. As a measure of economic hardship, per capita income by itself showed relatively low correlations, even with other economic measures (r = 0.11 with negative financial events, r = 0.20 with financial needs, r = 0.17 with financial situation, and r = 0.27 with debt). Parent depressed mood was in turn highly associated with adolescent depression (r = 0.83), social anxiety (r = 0.54), and generalized anxiety (r = 0.69). The results show a strong association between parent and adolescent mental health and parental depressed mood and debt. There is not a clear association between economic stress and mental health in this sample, but further work is needed to be done at a population level. Preliminary results are promising for application of the full Family Stress Model as we continue to accrue farm families into the study cohort.

The influence of leprosy and other disabilities on marital relationships and sexual health among married women in Indonesia: A qualitative study into experiences and coping

Objective: This study aims to increase the understanding of ways in which leprosy and other disabilities may impact the marital relationships and sexual health of married women living in Tegal regency, Indonesia. Method: We used a cross-sectional comparative study design with a qualitative approach. Three groups of married women were interviewed in-depth: (1) women affected by leprosy, (2) women without leprosy, but with physical disabilities, and (3) women without leprosy or disabilities (a control group). The ABC-X Model of family stress and coping was used to develop the interview guide and to analyse the data. The data were analysed by two independent researchers by means of deductive thematic analysis. Results Twenty-four women participated in the study. Most women in all groups had positive experiences regarding their marital relationships and support received from their husbands. Negative (physical) effects of leprosy on sexual health were present: over half of the women said they were reluctant to have sexual intercourse, either because they felt unwell because of their condition or because they were afraid of infecting their husband. It appeared that leprosy-affected women were more dissatisfied with their sexual health compared to the other two groups. Coping strategies to deal with difficulties in the marital relationship included silence, venting, religion, positive thinking, humour and acceptance. Conclusions Most participants perceived their marital relationship as satisfactory. However, findings from this study show leprosy can negatively impact sexual health. The results point to a compelling need to develop interventions to address sexual health of persons affected by leprosy in Indonesia.