Intergenerational Continuity in Economic Hardship, Parental Positivity, and Positive Parenting: The Association With Child Behavior

The current study examined intergenerational continuity in economic hardship, parental positivity, and positive parenting across generations based on both the family stress model (FSM) and the family resilience framework. The study included 220 generation 1 (G1) parents, their target youth (generation 2: G2) who participated from adolescence through adulthood, and the target's child (generation 3: G3). Assessments included observational and self-report measures. Results indicated that G1 economic hardship negatively influenced both G1 positivity and G1 positive parenting. Similarly, G2 economic hardship was negatively related to both G2 positivity and G2 positive parenting, which in turn was associated with G3 positive behavior to G2. For both G1 and G2, parental positivity mediated the association between economic hardship and positive parenting. G2 economic hardship was indirectly related to G3 positive behavior through G2 parental positivity and positive parenting. An important finding is that the intergenerational continuity of economic hardship, positivity, and positive parenting were transmitted from G1 to G2. Results suggest that even in times of economic adversity, parental positivity and positive parenting were transmitted from G1 parents to their G2 youth during adulthood. Such continuity seems to influence the positive behavior of the G3 children.