Financial strain, parenting behaviors, and adolescents' achievement: Testing model equivalence between African American and European American single-and two-parent families

This study tested the equivalence of a theoretical model of parenting behav iors linking financial strain to adolescents' achievement for African Ameri can and European American families and for single- and two-parent families. The sample included an economic cross-section of African American (n = 387 ) and European American families (n = 230) from single- (n = 171) and two-p arent (n = 446) homes. Multi-group analyses revealed no significant differe nces in the structural equation models between the African American and Eur opean American families, or between the single- and two-parent families. Re sults demonstrated that negative parent-adolescent relationships and parent al school involvement mediated the relation between financial strain and ad olescents' academic achievement.