Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108143

Lori S. Anderson, MS RN, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 600 Highland Ave, K6/117, Madison, WI 53792, 608-231-6756, lsanderson@wisc.edu

Parents play an important role in the healthy development of their adolescent children. Parenting adolescents is made difficult by recent social trends and the normal changing of family relationships during this time. The parenting stress that results has the potential to adversely affect parent mental health and may result in negative youth outcomes. Pediatric nurses, nurse practitioners, and other primary health care providers are in a unique position to attend to both the physical and mental well being of families with adolescent children. Identifying the factors and mechanisms that influence the stress associated with parenting adolescents is important to understanding family functioning during this period. Abidin's Parenting Stress Model proposes social support has a mediating effect on the relationship between parenting stress and parent adolescent relationships. It is theorized that during periods of stress, individuals mobilize social support networks to obtain the resources necessary to get through the stressful period. Participants in this study are approximately 700 adult parents of youth, ages 10 to 18, from family-strengthening sites nationwide. The sample is racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse and minority and at-risk populations are represented. The proposed model is being tested through a secondary analysis of cross-sectional questionnaire data. The data are being analyzed currently using Structural Equation Modeling to examine the effect of social support on the relationship between parenting stress and the parent adolescent relationship; the effects on parenting stress of parent perceptions of child behavior, family conflict, and demographic characteristics of race/ethnicity, income, education, gender, child's age, and marital status. Understanding the role of social support in parenting stress and its effect on the parent-adolescent relationship and the factors and mechanisms that influence parenting stress are important to the design, content, and timing of nursing interventions designed to prepare and support parents of adolescents.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify factors and mechanisms that influence the stress associated with parenting adolescents.
• Analyze the relationship between parenting stress, parent adolescent relationships, and social support.
• Describe the relationships among individual, socio-economic, and racial/ ethnic demographic variables and parenting stress,
• Suggest strategies to strengthen families with adolescent children and reduce parenting stress.

Keywords: Primary Care, Family Involvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation