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Child-Care Instability and Behavior Problems: Does Parenting Stress Mediate the Relationship?

Alejandra Ros Pilarz1, Heather D Hill2

  • 1School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1350 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, ; pilarz@wisc.edu.

Journal of Marriage and the Family
|November 7, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Child care instability can lead to behavior problems in children. Parenting stress partially explains this link for single-mother and low-income families needing backup care.

Area of Science:

  • Child development
  • Family studies
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Child care instability is linked to behavioral issues in children.
  • The mediating role of parenting stress is not fully understood.
  • Vulnerability may be higher in low-income and single-mother families.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between child care instability and behavior problems.
  • To test parenting stress as a mediator.
  • To examine differential effects in vulnerable families.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (n=1,675).
  • Employed structural equation modeling.
  • Examined long-term instability, multiplicity, and use of back-up care.

Main Results:

  • Parenting stress did not significantly mediate the care instability-behavior problem link in the general sample.
  • Needing back-up care showed small positive associations with parenting stress in single-mother/low-income families.
  • This stress partially mediated the link between back-up care needs and externalizing behaviors in these families.

Conclusions:

  • Parenting stress is not a primary mediator for all types of child care instability.
  • The need for back-up care may increase parenting stress, impacting behavior in vulnerable families.
  • Targeted support for care stability may benefit at-risk families.

Keywords:
Fragile Families and Child Wellbeingchild care arrangementschild developmentearly childhoodparentingstress

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