A Prospective Test of the Family Stress Model With Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers

The current 6-wave longitudinal study tested the family stress model among 204 Mexican-origin families in which an adolescent pregnancy had occurred. Wave 1 (W1) occurred when adolescents (M age = 16.80 years, SD = 1.00) were pregnant. and the last wave (W6) occurred when children were 5 years of age. In the current study, the family stress model was expanded to include parenting relations among adolescent mothers and fathers, and among adolescent mothers and grandmothers. In support of the family stress model. findings indicated that W1 family income was negatively associated with W6 child internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors via increased W2 economic pressure, increased W3 maternal depressive symptoms, increased W4 mother-grandmother coparenting conflict, and increased W5 maternal parenting hassles. Additionally, W4 mother- father coparenting conflict was positively associated with W6 child internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors via W5 maternal parenting hassles. Findings are discussed with attention to the processes by which family income informs child problem behaviors over time.