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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Feb 11.
Published in final edited form as: J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2015 Mar 20;2(4):501–509. doi: 10.1007/s40615-015-0098-7

The Relations among Maternal Health Status, Parenting Stress, and Child Behavior Problems in Low-Income, Ethnic-Minority Families

Rhonda BeLue 1, Linda C Halgunseth 2, Beatrice Abiero 1, Phylicia Bediako
PMCID: PMC4750485  NIHMSID: NIHMS659134  PMID: 26863556

Abstract

Objectives

Minimal attention has been given to understanding parenting stress among low-income, ethnically diverse mothers of children with conduct problems. Maternal health and parenting hassles may serve as important risk factors for parenting stress. This study examined whether parenting hassles moderated the relations between maternal physical and mental health and parenting stress in a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse mothers of children with behavioral problems.

Methods

The sample included 177 low-income Black, Latina, and White mothers of kindergartners with behavior problems. PATH analysis was employed to assess the associations between maternal mental and physical health and parenting stress, as well as the moderating role of parenting hassles in this cross-sectional study.

Results

After adjusting for covariates, we found that parenting hassles mediates the relationship between social support and parenting stress as well as maternal health and parenting stress.

Conclusion

Findings suggest that promoting coping resources for daily parenting hassles and supporting the physical and mental health of minority mothers may have important implications for parenting children with high behavior problems.

Keywords: Parenting stress, Maternal health, Parenting hassles

Introduction

Parenting stress is defined as feelings of anxiety that arise when the demands of the childrearing process are perceived as greater than personal and social resources [1,2]. While the process of parenting can be stressful for many parents, research suggests that ethnic-minority parents who are of lower socioeconomic status (SES) and who care for children with behavior problems are particularly vulnerable to feelings of parenting stress [36]. Minimal research has examined protective and risk factors associated with parenting stress in this vulnerable population of parents. Belsky’s [7] ecological framework on parenting suggests that the joint effects of maternal health (physical and mental), the ability to manage daily hassles, and levels of social support may explain variability in parenting stress.

Parenting Stress

Parenting stress has been linked to harsh parenting, maternal depression, and poor cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical development in children [814]. Parenting stress is thought to more directly affect parenting practices and family dynamics more so than other sources of stress such as workplace or financial stress. Parenting stress may have long lasting effects on the well-being of parents and children given the ongoing and intimate nature of parenting stress and its impact on the entire family [8].

Belsky’s [7] ecological framework on parenting explains how parenting stress is linked to poor parent, child, and family functioning. According to this interactive model, parenting is influenced by three areas: (a) personal resources of parent; (b) contextual sources of stress and support; and (c) characteristics of the child. Problems in these three areas are associated with poor parental functioning, which in turn is linked to poor child and family outcomes. In support of this model, past research has found that maternal depression, difficult child temperament, child behavior problems, low social support, and limited financial resources are linked to high levels of parenting stress and harsh parenting practices [26,8,12,15]. Relatively less research has examined how maternal physical health influences parenting stress, especially in contexts where mothers are struggling to raise high-risk children with limited financial and social resources. The management of parenting stress may play an important role in the well-being of low-income and minority mothers and children across multiple stages of child development.

Maternal Physical and Mental Health

Mothers with poor physical health may experience additional obstacles in parenting, such as rapid cognitive and physical fatigue, which may lead to high levels of parenting stress and poor child outcomes [16] . White, White, and Fox [17] examined a sample of mothers who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis. Their findings revealed that for RA mothers, fatigue was a significant predictor of parenting stress, while for mothers with MS, the number of children in their families and their sleep quality and quantity were associated with high levels of parenting stress. In a related study, Poole et al. [18] examined a sample of mothers who were diagnosed with scleroderma. Mothers in this sample reported that their health interfered with certain aspects of motherhood such as being able to get up and down from the floor to play with their children.

Maternal mental health has also been found to predict higher levels of parenting stress [10,12,19] and poor child outcomes [16,20]. Mothers who suffer from depression may have difficulty attending to their children’s basic needs and providing the necessary physical comfort and emotional sensitivity necessary for positive child wellbeing [11]. Using a national sample, Mistry et al. [9] found that mothers who reported poor mental health were more likely than their healthy counterparts to report parenting stress such as not being able to afford child care and receiving insufficient emotional and functional support in parenting 4-to-35-month-old children [9].

Socioeconomic Status and Social Support

Mothers of low-socioeconomic status (SES) and who are ethnically or racially diverse are particularly vulnerable to poor physical and mental health [2123] and high parenting stress [46]. This may be due to structural disadvantages such as limited access to quality health care and low social and financial support [2,4,10]. Using national data sets, Nomaguchi and colleagues have found parenting stress to be higher among less educated than more educated mothers and among black mothers versus white mothers of kindergartners [4,5]. Past research has also found that inadequate social support and health-related inactivity were stronger predictors of parenting stress than maternal race/ethnicity, age, or education [2,10]). Lastly, a study found disproportionately higher levels of parenting stress and higher rates of poor maternal mental health among the lower income families in their sample [9]. Thus, low-income mothers may be particularly vulnerable to poor health, which may introduce additional obstacles to the parenting process; these obstacles, in turn, may exacerbate levels of stress that arise when performing day-to-day parenting activities [4,17,22].

Parenting Hassles

Parenting hassles refer to the day-to-day parenting tasks that over time may cumulatively cause irritation, frustration, stress, or annoyance in parents[6]. Parenting hassles differ from parenting stress in that the former focuses on stress that results from performing everyday parenting activities (e.g., household tasks) whereas parenting stress refers to feelings of distress that stem from poor parental self-competence and dysfunctional parent-child relationships [24,25]. Belsky’s [7] parenting model posits that poor parental resources, difficult child characteristics, and low levels of financial and social support may influence parents’ ability to cope with daily parenting hassles which, in turn, lead to higher levels of parenting stress and lower parent functioning. To our knowledge, no study has examined whether parenting hassles serve as risk or protective factor among low-income ethnically diverse mothers who are simultaneously raising children with conduct problems and coping with their own poor physical and mental health conditions.

Study Goals and Hypotheses

All study goals and hypotheses were guided by Belsky’s [7] ecological theory of parenting, which suggests that healthy parental functioning is influenced by parents’ personal resources, social support, and child characteristics. Using a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse mothers of children with conduct problems, we examined the relations between social support, parenting hassles, maternal health status, and perceived stress while taking into account socio-demographic factors: Specifically, we examined whether poor maternal health was associated with greater parenting hassles, which in turn, would be related to greater parenting stress among low-income minority mothers, and whether social support buffered the effect of hassles and health on parenting stress. We hypothesized that: (1) the relationship between parenting hassles and stress would be stronger as maternal health worsened; and 2) mothers who reported greater social support would experience fewer parenting hassles and parenting stress regardless of health status.

Methods

Sample

The current study examined home-interview data from 177 mothers who reported that they were the head of the household and whose children were participating in a larger study titled Paths-to-Success [26]. While some families in Paths-to-Success later received intervention services, all data examined in this study were collected at baseline visits before those services began. Families were recruited from schools located within an economically-disadvantaged Northeastern city, in which 86% of children in the schools qualified for free and reduced lunch. On average, mothers were 29.3 (SD = 6.3) years old at the time of the interview. Sixteen percent of mothers reported that they spoke both English and Spanish in the home. Only two mothers reported exclusively speaking Spanish. The majority of the mothers reported that they were either the only parent (67%) or the primary caregiver. See Table 1 for demographic characteristics. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the lead author’s institution.

Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations, and Percentages of Demographic Variables (N = 117)

Variable M (SD) %
Mother’s Age 29.8 (6.3)
Physical Health 3.5 (1.2)
Mental Health 15.2 (11.2)
Currently Employed?
 % Yes 49.0
Educational Level
 % Less than High School 24.9
 % Completed High School 36.1
 % Greater than High School 39.0
Marital Status
 % Married 12.5
 % Single 67.6
 % Living with a Romantic Partner 19.9
Race of Mother
 % Black 70.7
 % White 22.6
 % Latina 6.7
Gender
 % Female 32.2
 % Male 67.8

Procedure

Baseline assessments were collected in the fall of kindergarten. Teachers rated children at school on areas of child behavior using the Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation –Revised (TOCA-R) [27]. Families whose children represented the top quintile of behavior problems on the TOCA-authority acceptance subscale were invited to participate in home interviews. Trained interviewers went to homes of participants and administered interviews upon obtaining consent. Interviewers read all questions to parents and recorded their answers to avoid concerns about low levels of literacy. Mothers were asked about their health, approach to childrearing, family circumstances, and the kinds of behavior their children displayed at home. Mothers were reimbursed $75.00 for their time.

Measures

Physical Health Status

Mothers self-reported on their general health. Scores ranged from 1–5: 1= excellent, 2= very good, 3= good; 4= fair, and 5= poor. Mothers reporting fair or poor health were considered to have poor physical health.

Mental Health Status

Depression was measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) [28]. Sample items included “During the past week, how often were you bothered by things that don’t usually bother you?” and “How often did you feel sad?” Individual items were rated on a 4-point Likert scale with response options ranging from 0= rarely to 3= almost all the time. A mean score was calculated (M =15.2, SE= 11.2, range 0 – 53). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.79. A higher score indicated more severe depression. Participants with a score of 16 or greater, the recommended clinical cutoff for the scale, were categorized as having poor mental health.

Parenting Stress

Mothers self-reported on their level of parenting stress using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) [1]. This index measured perceptions of stress related to parenting activities. Mothers were asked about the frequency in which they agreed to the following questions: “When I do things for my child, I get the feeling that my efforts are not appreciated very much;” “My child doesn’t seem to smile as much as most children;” “I expected to have closer and warmer feelings for my child than I do, and this bothers me;” “My child generally wakes up in a bad mood;” “I feel that my child is very moody and easily upset;” “My child makes more demands on me than most children;” “My child rarely does things for me that make me feel good.” From the current data, a mean score was calculated (M =1.9, SE= 0.7, Range:1 – 4.). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.84. A higher score indicated higher parenting stress.

Parenting Daily Hassles

Parenting hassles were assessed as feelings of irritation that arise from everyday activities [24]. Participants rated a total of 12 hectic parenting events; included were: (1) mealtime difficulties, such as picky eaters and complaining; (2) trouble finding someone to take care of your child when you need to do something else; (3) the children’s schedules interfere with what you need to do at home; (4) the children argue and fight; (5) children resist bedtime; (6) children constantly get in the way or interfere with chores; (7) you have to change your plans because your child needs something unexpectedly; (8) children get dirty several times a day, requiring many changes of clothes; (9) trouble getting children ready for school or leaving on time; and (10) difficulties in finding good childcare for your children. Participant responses ranged from 1 = rarely to 4 = almost always. A mean score was calculated (M = 2.0, SE= 0.5, range; 1–3.5). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.72. Higher scores indicated higher parenting hassles.

Social Support

Participants indicated their levels of satisfaction with social support [24]. On a scale from 1–4, mothers rated their level of satisfaction to the following questions: “How satisfied are you with availability if family and friends to talk to whose advice you trust?”, “How satisfied are you with the amount of phone contact you have with friends?”, “How satisfied are you with the availability of someone to share with when you are feeling happy or feeling good?”, “How satisfied are you with the availability of someone to share with when you are feeling upset or angry?”, “How satisfied are you with the amount of contact you have with your parents?”, “How satisfied are you with the amount of contact you have with your in-laws or other relatives?”, “How satisfied are you with the amount of help that family members provide?”, “How satisfied are you with the availability of someone to share your most personal feelings with?” From the current data a mean score was calculated (M = 3.1, SE = 0.6, range 1–4). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.85. Higher scores indicated greater levels of social support.

Socio-Demographic Measures

Mothers reported on several socio-demographic indicators such as their age in years, child race (e.g., Black, Latina, White), child sex (e.g., male versus female), maternal employment status (e.g., working outside of the home or not), maternal education level (less than high school, high school only, greater than high school), and marital status (e.g., married, single, living with a romantic partner)..

Results

Analytic Approach

Means, standard deviations, and frequencies were calculated for demographic and all study variables (see Table 1). T-tests were calculated to examine whether maternal physical and mental health (good or poor) were associated with maternal parenting stress and children’s behavioral outcomes. T-tests and chi-square tests were also used to examine whether maternal physical and mental health were related to demographic variables (see Table 2). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), t-tests, and correlations were calculated to examine whether levels of parenting stress differed across demographic variables (see Table 2 and 3).

Table 2.

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), T-Tests, and Correlation Results Comparing Study Variables Across Socio-demographic Variables (N=177)

Variables Parenting Stress Parenting Hassles Physical Health Mental Health
M (SD) 1.9 (0.7) 2.0 (0.5) 0.5 (1.2) 15.2 (11.2)
Age r 0.01 0.45^^^ -0.07 0.12
Currently Employed?
Yes
No
M (SD)
 Yes 2.0(0.7) 2.1(0.5)** 3.4(1.2) 13.7(11.8)*
 No 1.8(0.7) 1.8(0.7) 3.6(1.1) 16.8(10.3)
Education Level M (SD)
 Less than High School 2.3(0.8) ++ 2.1(0.4)++ 3.4(1.2)+ 19.5(13.3)+
 Completed High School 1.9(0.6) 1.9(0.5) 3.9(0.9) 13.8(9.9)
 Greater than High School 1.7(0.6) 1.9(0.4) 3.2(1.2) 13.6(10.3)
Marital Status M (SD)
 Married 1.7(0.5) 2.0(0.5) 3.5(1.4) 15.9(12.6)
 Single 1.7(0.7) 1.9(0.5) 3.5(1.2) 15.7(11.2)
 Living with a romantic partner 1.9(0.8) 2.0(0.4) 3.6(1.0) 13.1(10.3)
Race of Mother M (SD)
 Black 1.8(0.6)++ 1.9(0.5) 3.6(1.1) 13.7(9.7)+
 White 2.3(0.9) 1.9(0.5) 3.3(1.3) 16.2(15.7)
 Latina 1.9(0.8) 1.9(0.5) 3.4(1.3) 18.4(11.8)
Social Support 3.2(0.6) -0.071^ -0.12 0.23^ 0.34^^^

ANOVA results:

+

p<0.05,

++

p<0.001,

+++

p<0.0001;

T-test results:

*

p<0.05,

**

p<0.001,

***

p<0.0001

Correlation result

^

p <0.05,

^^

p<0.001,

^^^

p<0.0001

Table 3.

Correlation matrix with significant correlations bolded

age work white Latina black physical mental support hassles stress
age 1.000
work 0.057 1.000
white −0.121 −0.028
Latina −0.088 −0.031
black 0.160* 0.043
physical 0.071 −0.103 0.069 0.069 −0.102 1.000
mental 0.123 −0.150* 0.133 0.037 −0.142 0.451** 1.000
support −0.032 −0.012 −0.142 −0.074 0.171* −0.227** −0.061 1.000
hassles −0.071 −0.203** 0.087 −0.044 −0.055 0.234** 0.451** −0.223** 1.000
stress −0.089 −0.114 0.281** 0.021 −0.269** 0.172* 0.381** −0.119 0.414** 1.000

Lastly, PATH analysis was used to examine the relationship between maternal health status, social support, parenting hassles and parenting stress. PATH analysis was used to estimate the effect of independent variables on parenting stress, our outcome of interest, while controlling for other variables of interest (e.g., age).

After standardizing all continuous variables, we began the PATH analysis by developing a moderation model to represent our hypotheses. The physical and mental health variables were operationalized as a single latent variable called health.

Using multiple regression analysis, we estimated the path coefficients to identify significant and non-significant paths between variables. The path coefficients represented the direct effects of each variable controlling for all other variables (see Figure 2). Indirect effects were calculated using the distribution of the product of the coefficients method [27].

Figure 2.

Figure 2

PATHS Results: Only Significant Paths Are Shown: Path coefficient (se)

Descriptive Analyses

Mothers reported that their children were mostly Black (66%), followed by Latina (21%), White (7%) and other (6% Asian or mixed race). On average, there were three (SD = .13) children per household. All children were in kindergarten at the time of the mother’s interview. Participating mothers were on average 29.8 (SD=6.3) years old. About 25% of the sample had not completed high school, and only 39% reported an educational level beyond high school. The majority of mothers were single (67.6%); however, 12.5% reported being married, and 19.9% reported living with a romantic partner. Slightly over half (51%) of the mothers reported that they were not working outside of the home (see Table 1).

Forty percent (40%) of mothers reported a score of over 16 on the CESD, indicative of poor mental health (CESD; M =15.2, SD= 11.2). Approximately 24% of the sample reported that they were in fair or poor physical health (M = 3.5, SD = 1.2). There were twice as many boys as girls in the sample (68% versus 32%; see Table 1).

Bivariate Analyses

Older mothers reported more parenting hassles compared to younger mothers. Mothers who worked reported better mental health but higher parenting stress compared to non-working mothers. Similarly, mothers who had less than a high school education experienced more parenting hassles and stress compared to mothers with more education. Black mothers reported lower levels of parenting stress and depression compared to Latina and white mothers (See Table 2, 3). Notably, parenting stress was positively related to poor physical health, and mental health increased parenting hassles, but was not significantly correlated to social support. However, parenting hassles were negatively correlated with social support, implying that mothers with more social support experienced fewer parenting hassles (Table 3). The association between social support and race was marginally significant (p = .067); the trend suggests that White mothers reported less social support (M = 2.7) than Blacks (M = 3.1) and Latinas (M = 3.2). Child gender was not related to any of our variables of interest.

Path Analyses

Figure 1 displays the proposed path model. Figure 2 displays the tested path model with only significant paths shown. Table 3 presents all path coefficients, standard errors and levels of significance.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Paths Models to be Tested

Note: Race is specified as binary indicator variables.

Parenting Stress

Only education (−.313 (0.09) and black race (-0.551 (0.165) are directly related to parenting stress meaning that compared to mothers with lower education, more educated mothers experienced less parenting stress. Compared to white and Latina mothers, Black mothers experience less parenting stress. Only education was directly related to maternal health, with more educated mothers having better health status (−.161 (0.054). Work status was indirectly related to parenting stress through parenting hassles.

Parenting Hassles

Mothers who work outside of the home directly experienced fewer parenting hassles (−0.393 (0.153). Increased support was related to fewer parenting hassles (−0.153 (0.048) and poorer health status was related to increased hassles (0.139 (0.045). As hassles increase, parenting stress increases (0. 372(0.071),

Social Support

Older mothers have slightly less social support and as social support increased, mothers were less likely to have poor health (−.076 (0.027). There is no direct effect between social support and parenting stress. Social support is related to (−0.153 (0.048) parenting stress through parenting hassles (0. 372 (0.071),

Support, Stress, Hassles and Health

In partial support of our first hypothesis, while health was not directly related to parenting stress, it was indirectly related through parenting hassles with a total indirect effect 0.052 (SE = 0.02 95% CI is [0.017, 0.094]).

In partial support of our second hypothesis, while support was not directly related to parenting stress, it was indirectly related through parenting hassles with an indirect effect of −0.057 (SE = 0.021; 95% CI is [−0.103, −0.02]). Work status was also indirectly related to parenting stress through hassles with an indirect effect of −0.146 (SE = 0.066: 95% CI [−0.288, −0.029])

Discussion

This study examined a unique population that has received limited attention in the empirical literature on parenting stress—low-income, ethnically diverse mothers of school-aged children with early conduct problems. Considering the impact parenting stress has on parenting and child development, it is critical that practitioners and prevention scientists are informed on important risk and protective factors associated with parenting stress in this vulnerable population. To our knowledge, this study was the first to examine the interactive effects of maternal health, parenting hassles, social support and parenting stress among low-income, ethnically-diverse mothers of children with behavior problems. Overall, study findings revealed few differences in regards to ethnicity/race. We found that Latina mother’s experienced the highest rate of mental health problems, whileBlack mothers experienced the lowest levels of parenting stress. It is also important to note that a significant percentage of mothers in our sample reported poor physical and mental health.

While results did not differ by race in this sample of low-income ethnic minority mothers, findings revealed that parenting hassles were a key factor associated with parenting stress. We also found that social support buffered the relationship between parenting hassles and stress, while health status exacerbated the relationship. These findings are in line with Belsky’s [7] ecological model of parenting, which posits that lower levels of personal resources and social support lead to lower levels of parent functioning. Thus, structural disadvantages may be a better predictor of parental functioning and wellbeing than race and ethnicity in low-income mothers of children with conduct disorders.

Study findings provide important implications for improving parent, child, and family functioning in low-income, ethnically diverse families with behavior-problem children. One key implication is the importance of screening for daily hassles in childrearing among mothers in these families. Results suggest that these mothers may be at risk for high levels of parenting stress if they experience high levels of daily childrearing hassles. In addition, mothers with poor health may be at increased risk of experiencing parenting hassles and as a result, increased parenting stress.

In addition, results from this study indicate that there may be structural inequalities among low-income mothers in their access to adequate health care that may be contributing to their personal health and ability to parent. High levels of fatigue and low levels of emotional support are often associated with poor maternal health and may present additional obstacles for mothers in performing day-to-day parenting responsibilities [9,17,18] . Thus, it would be critical that family practitioners provide parenting resources and social support to low-income ethnically diverse mothers of children with conduct problems who struggle with perceived daily childrearing hassles and either poor physical or mental health conditions.

As with any study, this study has notable limitations. Due to the cross-sectional nature of this study, we were limited in our ability to infer causality in the associations among maternal health status, parenting hassles, and parenting stress. The possibility of collider stratification bias may also be a concern in this study due to the division of participants by health status and the potential that both stress and hassles may influence physical and mental health in mothers. In addition, the study was restricted to a low-income, ethnic-minority sample of mothers and kindergartners’ with a high prevalence of behavior problems; families were selected if teachers reported children as being in the top quartile on the TOCA-R [29] for child behavior problems. Hence, findings may not be representative of all mothers and children. Furthermore, the use of self-report measures has intrinsic limitations. Future research may consider a longitudinal study design that includes other measures, such as observations or clinical assessments. Lastly, this study was not able to examine the influence of comorbid health conditions among mothers due to the nature and size of the sample. Examining the effect of comorbidity on parenting stress among low-income mothers who are raising children with conduct disorders would address an important gap in the literature.

In conclusion, findings in this study may inform family health professionals who work with low-income, ethnically diverse mothers and children with conduct disorders. Given the potential negative effects of parenting stress, family practitioners may consider screening these mothers for perceived daily childrearing hassles in conjunction with health issues, and providing these families with information on available health and social programs for marginalized families in the community, such as programs that offer resources for social support stress reduction, parenting and child development. The importance of screening or assessing for daily parenting stress and hassles involved in childrearing seems to be the key implication.

Table 4.

Results of Path Analysis

Estimate Standard Deviation est./s.e. P-value
Stress on
 Health −0.069 0.080 −0.865 0.387
 Hassles 0.372 0.071 5.254 0.000
 Support −0.116 0.116 −1.004 0.316
 Age −0.004 0.011 −0.334 0.738
 Marital 0.162 0.122 1.332 0.183
 Black −0.551 0.165 −3.334 0.001
 Latina −0.298 0.303 −0.985 0.325
 Education −0.313 0.090 −3.481 0.001
 Work 0.020 0.139 0.144 0.886
Health on
 Age 0.006 0.007 0.964 0.335
 Marital −0.051 0.074 −0.689 0.491
 Black −0.092 0.101 −0.910 0.363
 Latina −0.034 0.181 −0.186 0.853
 Education −0.161 0.054 −2.981 0.003
 Work −0.040 0.084 −0.473 0.636
Support on
 Age −0.018 0.008 −2.420 0.016
 Marital 0.087 0.086 1.018 0.309
 Black 0.130 0.117 1.116 0.264
 Latina −0.378 0.211 −1.787 0.074
 Education −0.029 0.063 −0.456 0.649
 Work 0.156 0.097 1.616 0.106
Hassles on
 Age −0.007 0.012 −0.568 0.570
 Marital 0.002 0.141 0.015 0.988
 Black −0.127 0.191 −0.668 0.504
 Latina −0.282 0.346 −0.814 0.416
 Education −0.111 0.103 −1.077 0.281
 Work −0.393 0.158 −2.488 0.013
Hassles with Health 0.139 0.045 3.068 0.002
Hassles with Support −0.153 0.048 −3.187 0.001
Health with Support −0.076 0.027 −2.873 0.004

Acknowledgments

Work on this paper was supported by research grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.

This research was supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Award Number T32 DA017629 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does necessarily represent the official views of the Pennsylvania Department of Health or the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.

Funding: Pennsylvania Department of Health and Award Number T32 DA017629 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does necessarily represent the official views of the Pennsylvania Department of Health or the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.

Footnotes

Conflict of Interest:

BeLue R, Halgunseth L, Abiero B, and Bediako P. declare that they have no conflict of interest

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Research Involving Human Subjects or Animals

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent:

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.”

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