A longitudinal investigation of the family stress model in South Africa

Berezin, McKenzie N., Hardy, Anneli, Shenderovich, Yulia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0254-3397, Ward, Catherine L. and Cluver, Lucie 2026. A longitudinal investigation of the family stress model in South Africa. Children and Youth Services Review 189 , 109123. 10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.109123

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Abstract

Scholars across disciplines underscore the importance of exploring the cascading impacts economic disadvantage has on parenting practices and adolescent well-being. While scholarship identifies multi-level consequences such disadvantage has on parenting practices and adolescent mental health, there is a lack of empirical insight into these consequences on families residing in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) with attention to socio-cultural influences. This study leverages the family stress model (FSM) to examine the association between economic distress, community violence exposure, and parenting practices (parental monitoring, positive parenting, and corporal punishment) on adolescent externalizing behaviors among 236 adolescents-caregiver dyads in South Africa. It further expands the FSM framework to investigate whether attitudes towards corporal punishment impact the relationship between exposure to corporal punishment and adolescents’ externalizing behaviors, over time. Finally, we test these associations between adolescents and caregivers, separately, to understand whether these relationships vary by informant. Prospective longitudinal data was analyzed among adolescents and caregivers using multiple linear regression. Results were somewhat inconsistent with previous scholarship, with adolescent-reported parental monitoring emerging as the only significant parenting practice associated with externalizing behavior over time. Additionally, attitudes towards corporal punishment moderated the relationship between corporal punishment and externalizing behavior, only among adolescents over time. Among caregivers, no significant associations emerged between parenting practices and adolescent externalizing behaviors, over time. Programmatic and empirical implications are discussed from these findings.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Research Institutes & Centres > Centre For Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0190-7409
Date of Acceptance:	15 June 2026
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2026 13:28
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/188332

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