Family stress and youth mental health problems: Self-efficacy and future orientation mediation

The following study assessed whether future orientation and self-esteem mediated the relationship between family stress and mental health problems among African American youth. Data from this study included 638 African American adolescents purposively sampled from predominantly low-income neighborhoods. Major variables assessed were family stress, self-esteem, future orientation, mental health, and covariates (i.e., gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic proxy). Structural equation modeling computed direct and indirect (meditational) relationships between family stress and youth mental health. The average age of participants was 15.83 years old, slightly half of whom were female. The path model detected a significant relationship between family stress and mental health problems. Self-esteem and future orientation had a significant mediation effect on the relationship between family stress and mental health problems. Overall findings underscore the importance of strengthening resilience factors for African American youth, especially those who live in low-income communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).