Abstract
The Family Stress Model proposes that disrupted family processes may help explain the association between economic adversity and poor child developmental outcomes. In this study, the Family Stress Model was tested across adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants included 451 rural White youth who participated with their parents from age 13–23 (52% female). The data were analyzed at five developmental time periods with separate pathways for mothers and fathers. The findings reveal for both parents that economic pressure at time 1 (age 13) led to parental emotional distress which was related to harsh couple interaction at time 2 (ages 14 and 15). This marital conflict was related to harsh parenting toward the adolescent (time 2), which was then directly associated with higher levels of offspring drinking when youth were in middle adolescence (age 16) at time 3. Alcohol use in middle adolescence was associated with binge drinking in late adolescence (age 18, time 4) into emerging adulthood (age 23, time 5). Drinking behaviors did not differ for boys and girls. The current results show that economic adversity has an effect on family processes which influence offspring binge drinking patterns in later adolescence that continue into emerging adulthood.
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Authors’ Contributions
O.N.D. participated in the conceptual design of the study, helped in conducting a full literature review, performed and interpreted statistical analyses, participated in drafting the manuscript, and made revisions based on reviewer comments. T.K.N. assisted in the funding acquisition and the data curation, participated in the design and coordination of the study and helped to draft and revise the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, and made revisions based on reviewer comments. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This research is currently supported by the National Institute on Aging (AG043599). Other grants were from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HD064687, HD051746, MH051361, and HD047573). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. Support for earlier years of the study also came from multiple sources, including the National Institute of Mental Health (MH00567, MH19734, MH43270, MH59355, MH62989, and MH48165), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA05347), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD027724), the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health (MCJ-109572), and the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Adolescent Development Among Youth in High-Risk Settings.
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Diggs, O.N., Neppl, T.K. The Influence of Economic Pressure on Emerging Adult Binge Drinking: Testing the Family Stress Model over Time. J Youth Adolescence 47, 2481–2495 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0923-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0923-5