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<p>The Family Stress Model (FSM) is a key framework explaining the relationship between family income and child mental health. However, most studies examining the FSM are cross-sectional and do not clearly distinguish within- from between-person effects, which limits robust inferences about how family income affects child mental health at the within-person level. This study addressed this gap by applying a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model to data from the nationally representative UK Millennium Cohort Study, focusing on children aged 3, 5, 7, 11, and 14 (<i>N</i> = 11,845; ~49.9% female). Findings revealed that within-person decreases in family income were associated with subsequent increases in internalizing problems for boys from ages 3 to 5 and for girls from ages 7 to 11. Further, income was associated with externalizing problems indirectly but only among girls and only through maternal, not paternal, distress. Together, these findings suggest that within-person FSM processes operate in gender- and outcome-specific ways within families. Interventions may benefit from considering both child and parent gender, with maternal mental health as a particularly relevant target during economic hardship.</p>

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A Within-Person Examination of the Family Stress Model: Family Income, Parental Distress, and Child Mental Health

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月17日

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  • Zeliha Ezgi Saribaz,
  • Agata Debowska,
  • Paul Norman,
  • Richard Rowe

摘要

The Family Stress Model (FSM) is a key framework explaining the relationship between family income and child mental health. However, most studies examining the FSM are cross-sectional and do not clearly distinguish within- from between-person effects, which limits robust inferences about how family income affects child mental health at the within-person level. This study addressed this gap by applying a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model to data from the nationally representative UK Millennium Cohort Study, focusing on children aged 3, 5, 7, 11, and 14 (N = 11,845; ~49.9% female). Findings revealed that within-person decreases in family income were associated with subsequent increases in internalizing problems for boys from ages 3 to 5 and for girls from ages 7 to 11. Further, income was associated with externalizing problems indirectly but only among girls and only through maternal, not paternal, distress. Together, these findings suggest that within-person FSM processes operate in gender- and outcome-specific ways within families. Interventions may benefit from considering both child and parent gender, with maternal mental health as a particularly relevant target during economic hardship.