The negative relationship between economic hardship, child maltreatment, and child development in young children is well-documented. However, few studies have examined the mechanisms underlying the link between family economic hardship and child mental health outcomes in the context of child maltreatment. In this study, the family stress model is used to understand how family economic hardship affects child mental health. In this model, the effects of economic hardship on child mental health are indirect through their influence on family processes. Family processes are aspects of family life and are characterized by parental psychological functioning and parenting behavior. Because unhealthy family processes, which often lead to maltreatment, are associated with poor outcomes in the development of children, this framework can link developmental research and theory to an analysis of child maltreatment. The current study analyzes data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being-II, a survey of families in the child welfare system. The sample included children ages 18 months to 11 years and their parent (or caregivers). The results indicated that family income, a measure of economic hardship, was significantly associated with mental health problems in children involved in the child welfare system, but not in the way it was expected. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed no significant direct or indirect paths from family income to child mental health, but showed that family income affected other mechanisms contributing to poor child mental health. Lower family income was associated with greater parental depressive symptoms, alcohol use, drug use, and physical abuse. In line with the family stress model, the relationship between parental depression and child mental health was partially mediated through physical abuse. Similarly, physical abuse fully mediated the relationship between parental alcohol use and child mental health. However, neglect did not mediate the relationship between family processes and child mental health. Contrary to the study hypothesis, family processes did not mediate the relationship between family income and child mental health. Rather, family processes predicted poor child mental health. In particular, physical abuse was an important vehicle through which parental functioning translated to poor mental health outcomes in children. / text

This study used mixed methods to examine the impact of service-members‟ knowledge and acknowledgement of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on relationship satisfaction of both the service-members and their spouses. Family stress theory was used to conceptualize the relationship between the occurrence of PTSD and relationship satisfaction. Forty individuals (i.e., 20 couples) completed questionnaires containing self-report measures of knowledge of PTSD, experience of PTSD symptoms, severity of PTSD symptoms, and relationship satisfaction. Participants also completed semi-structured interviews concerning PTSD symptoms, impact of PTSD symptoms on their relationship, and attitudes observed about PTSD. No significant links were found between knowledge, acknowledgement, and relationship satisfaction. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews found that the couples‟ experiences of PTSD symptoms and the impact of PTSD on the couple relationships were consistent with the existing literature. Common attitudes regarding PTSD were reported by the couples, indicating a persistent negative attitude of PTSD.

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1992. / Questionnaires are in English and Portuguese. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-237).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1992. / Questionnaires are in English and Portuguese. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-237).

Purpose: This study utilized the ABCX Model of Family Stress and Coping to examine the role of interparental conflict (IPC) on child adjustment in military families. We investigated how IPC as a stressor (A) relates to the meaning adolescent children assigned to the conflict (C), and how this meaning predicts adjustment outcomes among siblings in the family, reflecting a crisis (X). Methods: Data were collected from 116 families composed of an active-duty military parent, civilian parent, and two adolescent siblings. Parents and both adolescents reported their perception of IPC, and adolescents reported on their own positive adjustment. Results: Only civilian parent reports were related to adolescent sibling perceptions of IPC, and adolescent perceptions of IPC inversely predicted their own adjustment. Discussion: Findings support the importance of adolescent perceptions as a factor in their own outcomes. Results highlight the importance of at-home-caregivers as a potential point of intervention in fostering adjustment.

The purpose of this study is to use family stress theory to examine the relationship between age at first marriage and marital quality and divorce. Age at marriage continues to increase and the demographics keep changing. Past research suggests that early age at marriage has been a contributing factor to divorce risk. Marital quality outcomes can also give us an idea of how well couples are faring in their marriages. This study employs a sample from a longitudinal, nationally representative investigation (CREATE), which has followed newlywed couples since 2016. The sub-sample for this study comes from wave one and includes 1,811 women and 1,649 men. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, I analyzed sixteen marital stability and quality outcomes and age at first marriage models for men and women separately. Overall, there were only a few, weak, significant relationships between age at marriage and marital stability and quality outcomes, suggesting that age at first may not be a particularly robust indicator of marital success, perhaps because strong norms for the right age to marry have diminished and couples who marry early do so because they want to rather than feeling they have to. Therefore, practitioners can help couples focus on more significant factors than age for marital success.

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Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Melinda Markham / The number of grandparents who are taking over the responsibility of raising their grandchildren is increasing over time. Despite society’s reliance on them, society is failing to meet the needs of these families. Grandparents consistently lack the necessary resources that could reduce and minimize their stress in what is usually an unexpected family situation. Family Life Education has failed to meet the needs of grandfamilies. Using Family Stress Theory as a theoretical framework, this study asked the question How can Family Life Education be used as a resource for grandparents raising grandchildren to avoid crisis? Focus groups and individual interviews were used to gather qualitative data from grandparents who are currently raising their grandchildren near a midwestern university. Findings suggest grandparents raising grandchildren could benefit from education regarding finding resources and answers to questions as they navigate the many systems they are involved with, communicating and guiding their grandchildren, balancing and maintaining the shifting family dynamics and changing family relationships, information regarding the growth and development of children across the lifespan, and education regarding content that is unique to their family situation. However there are multiple barriers that participants identified toward the utilization of FLE. Ultimately, there is a lack of collaboration among services for grandparents raising grandchildren and they lack support that could potentially come from support groups. Impact and implications for practice, research and policy were discussed. Strengths and limitations of the study were also presented.

Current literature suggests that family stressors are positively related to adolescent psychopathology; however, few studies have examined the relationship between family stressors and positive indicators of mental health, such as life satisfaction. Additionally, past literature has found support for life satisfaction as a mediating variable between environmental experiences (i.e., parent-child relationships, major life events) and adolescent psychopathology. Research questions answered in the current study pertain to: (a) the relationship between family stressors (i.e., socio-economic status, family structure, major life events, interparental conflict) and adolescents' life satisfaction, (b) the overall contribution of family stressors to life satisfaction and which stressors are most strongly associated with life satisfaction, and (c) whether life satisfaction mediates the relationship between family stressors and substance use. To answer these questions, self-report surveys from 183 middle school students were analyzed. Results indicate that experiencing major life events and interparental conflict were unique predictors of life satisfaction, and all the family stressors combined accounted for 37% of the variance in life satisfaction. Additionally, the relationship between these two family stressors and substance use was shown to be mediated by life satisfaction. Implications for school psychologists and future directions are discussed.