The family stress model during the coronavirus-19 pandemic: Identifying parental resilience factors

The family stress model provides a theoretical framework for understanding relations among economic hardship, parental distress, family relationships and behavior, and child outcomes. The present study aimed to replicate its paths with predictors and mechanisms studied before and over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and child problematic coping as the outcome. We also examined how sources of family resilience related directly to or moderated relations among family stress model variables. Participants included 170 families of predominantly non-Hispanic White background with varying socioeconomic circumstances. Assessments occurred across early childhood (age 2-4 years, prepandemic) and at two points during the pandemic (child mean ages = 7.32 and 7.80 years, respectively). Mothers completed laboratory observation (maternal warmth) and surveys prior to (income-to-needs, social support) and during (economic stress, maternal distress, negative parenting, child coping) the pandemic. Unexpectedly, higher prepandemic income-to-needs predicted greater maternal distress early in the pandemic. Prepandemic social support (inversely) and early pandemic maternal distress (positively) are related to early pandemic negative parenting. Prepandemic income-to-needs predicted early pandemic negative parenting indirectly through early pandemic maternal distress. When mothers reported a high number of positive changes during the pandemic, negative parenting predicted child involuntary engagement coping midpandemic. Social support predicted lower child involuntary engagement coping through lower negative parenting. Results replicated the risk path between parental distress and negative parenting, and extended risk to higher income families. Findings suggest that the family stress model provides a theoretical foundation from which to study risk and resilience processes in families during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).