The Relationship of Family Structure Disruption and Stability with Child Stress: A Cross-national Examination

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  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 14: Family Structures

Abstract

Children under stress have poorer emotional, physical and behavioral health than children not experiencing stress. Family structure transitions have been linked to higher rates of child stress, but so have other mechanisms that often go hand in hand with family disruption, such as resource deprivation and family-related stressors. The purpose of this study was to take into account competing theories surrounding family structure disruption and child stress while considering all families -- not just ‘fragile’ families -- and differential ‘safety net’ contexts across three high-income, developed countries. We use nationally representative data from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to investigate the relationship between family structure and child stress. We find that family structure explanations do not hold up after considering family dynamics, resources, child development, and selectivity theories. The associations with child stress seem to be situated in family dynamics and vary across country context.

Authors

• Sadie Andrews Slighting, BYU

• Elizabeth Koch Sigler, BYU

• Tacey M Shurtliff, BYU

• Mikaela Dufur, Brigham Young University-Provo

• Jonathan A. Jarvis, Brigham Young University-Provo

• Shana Lee Pribesh, Old Dominion University