Holmes Samantha C, Ciarleglio Maria M, Song Xuemei, Clayton Ashley, Smith Megan V
Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry.
Yale School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics.
J Child Fam Stud. 2020 Oct;29(10):2667-2677. doi: 10.1007/s10826-020-01791-5. Epub 2020 Aug 13.
Black female primary caregivers who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are burdened not only by economic pressure but also by a disproportionate prevalence of psychological disorders. This is particularly pernicious given that poverty and maternal mental health impact child outcomes and may decrease the economic mobility of families. Consequently, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms that explain the association between economic pressure and child outcomes. The current study addressed this gap by testing an application of the Family Stress Model (FSM), which describes how economic pressure results in parental psychological distress, particularly depression, and in turn impacts parenting quality and child outcomes. Additionally, social support was assessed as a potential culturally-salient protective factor within the model. Four hundred sixteen Black female primary caregivers who receive TANF were administered a series of measures assessing mental health and family wellbeing. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test a single model that incorporated all hypotheses. Maternal depression and quality of parenting serially mediated the relationship between economic pressure and school performance. The relationship between economic pressure and adverse child outcomes, however, was mediated only by maternal depression. Social support did not significantly moderate the relationship between economic pressure and maternal depression; however, it did demonstrate a significant direct effect on maternal depression. The current study corroborates the application of FSM to another population. Further, it demonstrates the importance of interventions that target maternal mental health, parenting, social support, and family economic mobility as well as system-level policy interventions to address poverty.
领取《贫困家庭临时援助》（TANF）的黑人女性主要照料者不仅承受着经济压力，还面临着心理障碍患病率过高的问题。鉴于贫困和母亲的心理健康会影响孩子的成长结果，并可能降低家庭的经济流动性，这一情况尤为有害。因此，必须了解解释经济压力与孩子成长结果之间关联的机制。本研究通过测试家庭压力模型（FSM）的一种应用来填补这一空白，该模型描述了经济压力如何导致父母心理困扰，尤其是抑郁，进而影响养育质量和孩子的成长结果。此外，社会支持被评估为该模型中一个潜在的具有文化显著性的保护因素。对416名领取TANF的黑人女性主要照料者进行了一系列评估心理健康和家庭幸福的测量。采用结构方程模型来测试一个包含所有假设的单一模型。母亲的抑郁和养育质量依次介导了经济压力与学业成绩之间的关系。然而，经济压力与不良儿童成长结果之间的关系仅由母亲的抑郁介导。社会支持并未显著调节经济压力与母亲抑郁之间的关系；然而，它确实对母亲的抑郁产生了显著直接影响。本研究证实了FSM在另一人群中的应用。此外，它还表明了针对母亲心理健康、养育、社会支持和家庭经济流动性的干预措施以及解决贫困问题的系统层面政策干预措施的重要性。
