Poster #94 - Effects of Parent Stress and Distress on Parenting Quality and Child Behavior

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

In 2015, a point-in-time estimate in the state of Minnesota found that 35% of the homeless population were children with families, not including street youth living on their own (Wilder Research, 2016). Furthermore, approximately half of these children experiencing family homelessness in families are under 5 years of age (National Center on Family Homelessness, 2014), posing risks for development. For instance, children experiencing homelessness are at increased risk for academic and behavior problems compared to their low-income, but housed peers (Masten, Cutuli, Herbers, Hinz, Obradović, & Wenzel, 2014).
Homelessness may influence child outcomes through its effects on parenting (Masten & Palmer, in press). According to the family stress model, parent stress affects parenting quality, which in turn negatively impacts children (Elder, 1974). Parents experiencing homelessness report very high levels of stress (Cosgrove & Flynn, 2005). In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that parents’ perceived stress and internalizing distress would be associated with children’s social behavior via parental negativity and warmth (expressed emotion; EE) towards children. Parental negative and warm EE are documented correlates of observed negative and positive parenting practices, respectively (Narayan et al., 2012).
Participants included 107 parent-child dyads (parents: Mage= 30.68 years, SD= 6.40, range= 19-49 years, 64% African-American; children: female= 45%, male= 55%; Mage= 5.35 years, SD= .66, range= 4-6 years; 66% African-American). Families resided in one of two emergency shelters in 2012. Parents completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen, et al., 1983), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler-6; Kessler, et al., 2002), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Task (PPVT; Dunn, 1981) to assess verbal IQ, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), a measure of child behavior using a composite SDQ score. Parents also completed the audio-recorded Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS; Magaña et al., 1986), in which parents talk for five minutes about their child and relationship, later coded by independent raters for EE, including negativity (ICC=.84) and warmth (ICC=.80).
Results indicated that perceived stress and distress were not directly related to negativity or warmth. However, results from the regression revealed that higher levels of parental perceived stress (β = .34, p < .01), and negativity (β= .34, p < .01), and lower levels of warmth (β=-.31, p < .01) all significantly predicted higher levels of child behavior problems. Warmth and negativity scores were unrelated (r = -.13, p = n.s.), yet each aspect of EE related to child problems in the expected direction (warmth: r= -.34, p < .01; negativity: r =.43, p < .01). Parental perceived stress, as well as parental EE (higher negativity and lower warmth), all have independent effects on young children’s behavior problems in homeless families. These findings, if replicated, suggest that interventions for families experiencing high stress, including homelessness, could focus on both alleviating parent stress and bolstering parent EE to improve child behavior. Study limitations will be discussed.

Authors

• Kimberly A Knourek, University of Minnesota
  Presenting Author

• Rebecca Linnea Distefano, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  Non-Presenting Author

• Angela J. Narayan, University of Denver
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ann S. Masten, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  Non-Presenting Author