"Exploring assets and family stress" by David Rothwell

Presenter - David Rothwell

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"Exploring assets and family stress"

Families across the income distribution have experienced significant economic strains as a result of the 2008 recession. This paper examines the theoretical frameworks for how families use economic resources to manage family stress. Sherraden’s (1991) theory of assets and McCubbin and Patterson's (1983) Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model informed this study of how assets relate to family demands among 839 low-income families. Structural Equation Modeling found that assets were directly related to a reduced sense of family demands and that assets were indirectly related to demands via economically stressful events.  Findings suggest that social welfare policies that promote assets among low-income families may positively influence family relations. Future family research would benefit from measuring assets as economic resources and testing how assets affect family functioning.