Housing Insecurity and Adverse Parenting of Adolescents: The Roles of Maternal Stress and Depression
Katherine E. Marçal
Abstract
Objective: Housing insecurity strains low-income families throughout the United States. Children exposed to housing problems face increased risk of adverse parenting and maltreatment. Despite a large body of research on parenting of young children, less is known about pathways to adverse parenting behaviors toward adolescents. The present study investigated the roles of maternal depression and parenting stress in mediating the link from housing insecurity in early childhood to adverse parenting in adolescence. Method: The present study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey (N = 2,719) in structural equation models with latent variables. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tested whether observed variables were valid indicators of latent constructs. A structural model tested direct and indirect pathways from housing insecurity to adverse parenting behaviors via maternal depression and parenting stress. Results: The CFA and structural models showed excellent fit to the data. Housing insecurity was indirectly associated with adverse parenting via parenting stress but not via maternal depression. Conclusions: Parenting stress is a significant factor in the link between housing insecurity and adverse parenting toward adolescents. Timely mental health screening and supports for unstably housed families offer opportunities for maltreatment prevention.