<p>In family financial difficulties, adolescents often become aware of their parents’ concerns and attempt to contribute to the family. However, in such circumstances, adolescents may sometimes neglect their own needs to avoid further burdening their parents and provide additional support, which can manifest as emotional parentification. Previous research has established that emotional parentification is associated with poorer outcomes in adolescents. However, no study has quantitatively examined the occurrence of emotional parentification in the context of family economic hardship. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between family financial hardship, emotional parentification, self-esteem, and internalising problems in adolescents. The structural equation modelling was applied to investigate the relationships between these variables. The sample included 378 adolescents and their mothers. Significant relationships were found between maternal perceived financial hardship and emotional parentification, as well as between emotional parentification, internalised problems, and lower levels of self-esteem. This study contributes to the understanding of emotional parentification and its outcomes in the context of financial hardship, viewed from the perspectives of the Family Stress Model and Family Systems Theory. Additionally, the findings suggest that emotional parentification is a negative form of parentification as it is related to internalised problems and lower self-esteem. Beyond its scientific contributions, this study also has practical implications. It highlights that economic difficulties within the family may represent a risk factor for emotional parentification. Professionals working with families should assess the roles within family dynamics and evaluate whether these roles are developmentally appropriate.</p>