Concerns about the heightened prevalence of behavior problems among adolescents from low-income families have prompted researchers to understand processes through which economic variables influence functioning within multiple domains. Guided by a stress process framework and social contextual theory, this study examines processes linking perceived economic hardship and adolescent problem behavior in a sample of urban families. It hypothesizes that stress process variables experienced by mothers contribute to adolescents' functioning within the family, academic, and peer domains, which ultimately predict behavior problems. Results show a good fit of the models to the data, suggesting that the integration of stress process and social contextual approaches may be of particular use for scholars interested in understanding economic influences on adolescent problem behaviors.
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