Deprivation and intra‐family conflict: Children as agents in the Family Stress Model

Objective The study applies an adapted Family Stress Model (FSM) to analyze the relationship between child material deprivation and intra-family conflict about money using a nationally representative survey of children in England 2018. Background standard FSM holds that poverty is experienced by parents who, turn, impact children. Drawing on new social studies childhood, authors posit model does not recognize as actors—with direct experiences poverty—nor agents who co-construct parent–child relationships context poverty. Method use secondary data from Fair Shares Families, which investigated children's parents' of, involvement in, sharing family resources. estimate linear structural equation models test FSM, includes separate pathways (for children) economic hardship conflict. Results Both parent- child-reported pressure psychological distress have significant indirect associations with works same way lower higher income households, well lone parent couple-headed families. Conclusion Children's actors influence are important shaping relationships. This suggests limited its insights how affects families policy applications for interventions mitigate impacts Research applying should seek conceptualize active “child-beings,” rather than passive “adult-becomings.”