Multiple family risk factors and youth problem behaviors

Using a sample of 335 preadolescent youth, three statistical models (additive, interactive, and exponential) were tested to examine how multiple family risk factors-overt interparental conflict, low parenting quality, and economic hardship-operate in conjunction with one another to predict youth problem behaviors. Findings from this study largely supported the additive effects of individual family stressors but only in the case of externalizing problem behavior. In addition, demographic variables were important moderators of the relationship between cumulative risk exposure and externalizing problem behaviors. The additive model accounted for more variance in externalizing problem behavior in older youth and those residing in two-parent households. with low parenting quality contributing the greatest amount of variance. For internalizing problem behavior, economic hardship was the only significant risk factor. Although at a broad level, the results of this study support the idea of cumulative effects of multiple family risk factors on youth psychological adjustment, this study also highlights the complexity underlying the associations between specific risk factors and varying indices of youth problem behaviors.