Social network and marital support as mediators and moderators of the impact of stress and depression on parental behavior.

Abstract

Structural equation modeling was used with a sample of 451 2-parent families to test an elaboration of J. Belsky's (1984) model of the determinants of parental behavior. Results largely supported the model. Economic pressure disrupted parenting by increasing depression and undermining access to spouse support. Spouse support had both a direct effect on parenting and an indirect influence through depression. For mothers, spouse support moderated the impact of economic strain on parenting by reducing the disruptive impact of depression parental behavior. Social network support only influenced parenting indirectly through depression. There was no support for the idea that social network support serves to buffer parental behavior against the adverse consequences of economic strain, nor was there evidence that it can compensate for low spouse support