About this session

Friday, 1:20 PM - 2:50 PM

Longitudinal Applications of the Family Stress Model during Childhood

Economic hardships have long been associated with risks for child social emotional development (Peverill et al., 2021). The Family Stress Model (FSM) is a widely used framework examining how family stress processes are integral to these relations (Conger & Conger, 2002). In the FSM, increased economic pressure is thought to impact child adjustment through disruptions to parental distress, coparenting, and the parent-child relationship. While the FSM has been applied in diverse populations, studies are called for that utilize longitudinal data, examine early development, and assess additional risk and protective mechanisms within the model (Masarik & Conger, 2017; Neppl et al., 2016). This symposium includes presentations from three different longitudinal studies, all examining the FSM in at-risk populations early in development, and using multiple methodologies to assess developmental paths, mechanisms, and potential points for prevention.

The first paper focuses on objective and subjective prenatal stress in a sample of low-income Mexican American women, exploring associations of perceived prenatal stress to later toddler affect. The second paper uses an Early Head Start sample to examine associations between financial stress at child age 1 with externalizing behaviors at child age 3, through maternal symptomatology and parenting behaviors. The third paper investigates how a medical stressor (i.e., preterm birth) can be integrated as another risk factor into the FSM, linking neighborhood deprivation to behavior problems via parenting stress and parenting. Finally, an outside expert on the FSM will lead a conversation on how FSM can be applied, and future directions for the field.

Paper #1
Title	Differential contributions of prenatal stressors to maternal perceived stress and toddler affect
Presenting author	Amanda M. Flagg, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)

Paper #2
Title	Examining the Family Stress Model with Toddlers in Early Head Start
Presenting author	Ashley N. Quigley, Oklahoma State University

Paper #3
Title	Family Stress Processes in Families with Children born Preterm
Presenting author	Haley L. Ringenary, University of Missouri-St. Louis, United States

View all paper details

Session chair
Emily D. Gerstein, Ph.D., University of Missouri-St. Louis, United States

Discussant
Dr. April S. Masarik, Ph.D., Boise State University, United States

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