A Within-Person Examination of the Family Stress Model: Family Income, Parental Distress, and Child Mental Health

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dc.abstract.plThe Family Stress Model (FSM) is a key framework explaining the relationship between family income and child mental health. However, most studies examining the FSM are cross-sectional and do not clearly distinguish within- from between-person effects, which limits robust inferences about how family income affects child mental health at the within-person level. This study addressed this gap by applying a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model to data from the nationally representative UK Millennium Cohort Study, focusing on children aged 3, 5, 7, 11, and 14 (N = 11,845; ~49.9% female). Findings revealed that within-person decreases in family income were associated with subsequent increases in internalizing problems for boys from ages 3 to 5 and for girls from ages 7 to 11. Further, income was associated with externalizing problems indirectly but only among girls and only through maternal, not paternal, distress. Together, these findings suggest that within-person FSM processes operate in gender- and outcome-specific ways within families. Interventions may benefit from considering both child and parent gender, with maternal mental health as a particularly relevant target during economic hardship.
dc.affiliationInstitute of Psychology
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorEzgi Saribaz, Zeliha
dc.contributor.authorDębowska, Agata
dc.contributor.authorNorman, Paul
dc.contributor.authorRowe, Richard
dc.date.access2027-07-12
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-21T08:51:46Z
dc.date.available2026-07-21T08:51:46Z
dc.date.created2026-07-12
dc.date.issued2026-07-17
dc.description.accesstimeafter_publication
dc.description.physical1-14
dc.description.sdgGoodHealthAndWellBeing
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.description.volume54
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s10802-026-01489-0
dc.identifier.eissn2730-7174
dc.identifier.issn2730-7166
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2466
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10802-026-01489-0
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsOther
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_REPOSITORY
dc.subject.enFamily Stress Model
dc.subject.enWithin-person
dc.subject.enFamily income
dc.subject.enParental mental health
dc.subject.enChild mental health
dc.subject.enMillennium Cohort Study
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleA Within-Person Examination of the Family Stress Model: Family Income, Parental Distress, and Child Mental Health
dc.title.journalResearch on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle