Resource Availability and Parenting Stress Among American Indian Families

• In Event: 2-121 - Parenting Stress in At-Risk Families: Mechanisms for Family Functioning

Integrative Statement

Background: In their day-to-day lives, parents experience stress in response to their relationship with their child and the demands of their parenting role. Parenting stress has been conceptualized as the psychological distress a parent experiences when feeling he/she lacks resources (i.e., time, parenting knowledge) needed to meet the demands of his/her parenting role (Abidin, 1995). Research among majority culture families documents the higher likelihood to use ineffective discipline strategies among parents reporting lower income levels and limited availability of necessities (e.g. DeGarmo, Forgatch, & Martinez, 1999; Ettinger, Riley, Colantouni, & Mendelson, 2017; Gershoff, Aber, Raver, & Lennon, 2007; Pinderhughes, Dodge, Bates, Pettit, & Zelli, 2000). Less is known about parenting behavior and parenting stress among minority families, and in particular American Indian (AI) families. The current study examined the association between availability of resources and discipline strategies, with parenting stress as a possible mediator.

Methods: Forty-six AI parents and caregivers of children between the ages of 6 and 12 years participated in this study. Families represented 15 tribes/nations in the Midwest. Participants completed the Family Resource Scale (FRS; Dunst & Leet, 1988; Dunst, Trivette, & Deal, 1988) to report on availability of necessities and resources (e.g., childcare, time for family and sleep); the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-4 SF; Abidin, 1995, 2012) to report on perceived level of parenting stress; and the Parenting Scale (PS; Arnold, O’Leary, Wolff, & Acker, 1993) as a measure of ineffective discipline strategies.

Results: Mediation analyses via bootstrapping procedures (Hayes, 2009, 2012; Preacher & Hayes, 2004, 2008) were conducted to examine the potential mediating role of parenting stress (PSI-4 SF) on the association between family resources (FRS) and parenting strategies (PS), controlling for child age (Figure 1). There was a significant indirect effect of family resources on discipline strategies, b = -.0035, 95% CI = -.0078, -.0006. This represents a relatively small effect size, b = -.09, 95% CI = -.21, -.01. Additional analyses will also examine whether ineffective discipline strategies predict child behavior problems.

Conclusion: Analyses indicated that parenting stress partially mediated the association between resources and use of effective discipline strategies. In other words, with greater availability of family resources, families reported lower parenting stress, and in turn, less frequent use of ineffective discipline strategies. This finding highlights the importance of external sources of support, specifically the availability of resources and necessities, for AI family functioning and their bearing on parenting stress and discipline practices. These results also replicate findings from majority culture families. Findings underscore the importance of assessing for family resources and parenting stress when providing services to AI families as this may impact the course of treatment.

Authors

• Mira Armans, Oklahoma State University
  Presenting Author

• Samantha Addante, Oklahoma State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lucia Ciciolla, Oklahoma State University
  Non-Presenting Author