The Family Stress Model: Longitudinal relations between Norwegian fathers and preschool children

In this study, longitudinal relations in the Family Stress Model (FSM) within a Nordic welfare state were tested, using different indicators of socioeconomic status, father's mental distress, parental stress, and caregiving practices, as well as child physical aggression. A population-based sample of fathers and their children ( N = 1157; 48 % girls, years of education father [ M = 13.86; SD = 2.60], mother [ M = 14.28; SD = 2.58]) was used. More specifically, we investigated if parental education and economic pressure in the child's first year were differentially related to child physical aggression at 48 months via father's mental distress, parental stress, and harsh parenting at 12 and 36 months. An indirect effect from economic pressure via paternal parental stress and harsh parenting on child physical aggression was found. The results are discussed in relation to the mechanisms of the FSM in different sociopolitical contexts, and the importance of considering such pathways in parenting interventions. • The Family Stress Model was tested in a population-based sample of Norwegian fathers and children in early childhood. • Longitudinal indirect effects from child age 6 to 48 months were investigated using Structural Equation Modeling. • There is a mediated pathway in accord with the Family Stress Model. • Economic pressure predicts preschool child physical aggression via father's parental stress and harsh parenting behaviors.