How family structure shapes adolescent mental health under financial hardship?

Financial hardship and family structure are each known to influence adolescent mental health, but their interactive effects remain underexplored. This study examined whether specific family structures buffer or amplify the impact of household financial hardship on adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We analyzed data from the 2021-2022 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally representative sample of 101,402 adolescents aged 12-18 years. Mental health outcomes included sleep problems, loneliness, perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Financial hardship was assessed by self-reported household-level economic difficulty due to the pandemic. Family structure was categorized as two-parent, single-mother, single-father, step-family, and grandparent family. We conducted complex-sample logistic regression and calculated both additive (Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction, RERI) and multiplicative interactions.

Adolescents experiencing financial hardship or living in non-intact families were more likely to report poor mental health. Financial hardship and family structure interacted significantly: boys in grandparent families had a 28 % excess risk of sleep problems and anxiety; girls in step-families showed a 19 % excess risk of anxiety; and girls in single-father families showed a 15 % lower risk of loneliness than the expected joint effect, indicating a buffering interaction.

The association between adolescent mental health and financial hardship appears shaped by family context, with distinct patterns of psychiatric vulnerability and resilience across family structures. Tailored post-pandemic recovery efforts should account for both economic conditions and family dynamics in addressing adolescent mental health.