Family Economic Strain and Adolescent Aggression during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Roles of Interparental Conflict and Parent–Child Conflict

Abstract

Although the link from family economic strain to adolescent aggression has frequently been hypothesized, the results are mixed. Both interparental conflict and parent–child conflict are considered to be potential mediators of this link. However, the empirical evidence supporting this proposition is lacking. The present study investigated the direct effect of family economic strain on adolescent aggression as well as indirect effects through interparental conflict and parent–child conflict. Based on multi-informant data from 971 families with a child in middle and high schools in Y City, in Shanxi Province, structural equation modeling is conducted to examine the proposed theoretical model. Findings show that family economic strain has no significant direct impact on adolescent aggression. Interparental conflict and parent–child conflict mediate the link between family economic strain and adolescent aggression simultaneously and sequentially. This study expands current literature and deepens our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between family economic strain and adolescent aggression. Implications for policies and interventions to reduce the risk of adolescent aggression are discussed.

Aggressive behavior, boredom, and protective factors among college students during closed-off management of the COVID-19 pandemic in China

“…Not only that, the content of aggressive behavior also appears in dreams (Kilius et al, 2021). Researchers have examined changes in aggressive behavior before and after the epidemic, and found a rise in cyberbullying behaviors, physical aggression, verbal aggression (Barlett et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2022).…”

OKB Tanılı Çocuk ve Ergenlerin Belirtilerinin, Anne Baba Tutumları ve Algılanan Evlilik Çatışması ile İlişkisi

“…Bu sorunlar çocuklar üzerinde psikolojik baskıya yol açmakta ve çocuklarda görülebilecek saldırganlık ihtimalini arttırabilmektedir (44,45). Wang ve arkadaşlarının yaptığı bir çalışmada ebeveynler ve ebeveyn-çocuk arasındaki çatışmanın ailenin ekonomik gerilimi ile ergen saldırganlığı arasındaki bağlantıya aracılık ettiği gözlenmiştir (46). Yazında erkek çocukların stresle baş etmede daha çok saldırganlığı kullandıkları, kızların ise saldırganlık davranışını bastırdığı, bu nedenle kızlarda stres düzeylerinin arttığı, çekingenlik ve kaygının erkeklerden daha fazla görüldüğü belirtilmiştir (47)(48)(49)(50).…”

The Differential Impact of Parenting on Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors in the Context of Maternal Stress

“…Parenting plays a vital role in determining the presence or absence of child behavior problems. During adolescence, socialization spheres expand beyond the family unit to peer influence and problem behaviors increase (Solmi et al, 2022 ); however, parenting is still one of the strongest predictors of externalizing behavior problems, accounting for more variance than economic hardship (Wang et al, 2022 ) and other family factors (Dekovic et al, 2003 ). Nevertheless, parenting practices occur within a larger family system.…”