ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To test a stress process model in which family stress (negative life events) and fathers' family system resources (marital adjustment and positive father-child relationships) were evaluated as mediators of the relationship between problem drinking (fathers' and mothers') and fathers' personal adjustment. METHOD: Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from fathers and mothers in 93 two-parent families with early adolescent children. RESULTS: Fathers' problem drinking contributed marginally to family stress and directly to fathers' diminished personal adjustment. Family stress was related to reduced marital adjustment and personal adjustment. Mothers' problem drinking contributed only to less positive father-child relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Stress process models for fathers and mothers differ; in particular, family relationships do not appear to play a significant mediational role for fathers whereas they do for mothers. Interventions for symptomatic fathers might best concentrate on alleviating problem drinking and extrafamilial sources of stress.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Alcoholism/psychology , Child of Impaired Parents/psychology , Family/psychology , Stress, Psychological/complications , Adult , Child , Father-Child Relations , Female , Gender Identity , Humans , Life Change Events , Male , Marriage/psychology , Personality Development , Personality InventoryABSTRACT
Qualitative methods were used to develop a contextually relevant quantitative measure of parenting stress and inform the design of family-focused interventions aimed at preventing adolescent mental and behavioral health problems. The study focused on the experiences of low-income one- and two-parent families representing three ethnic groups (Mexican, African, and European Americans) living in low-income neighborhoods in a large Southwestern city. This report describes the place of this study in a broader program of prevention research, the qualitative methods and data analysis procedures employed, and how the results were used to develop a new measure of parenting stress and inform future program design. The report also includes reflective comments on the methods used and lessons gained.