Research on the family stress model would benefit from
extension to a low-income, urban, treatment-seeking sample. It is crucial to replicate and extend research with representative samples in order to develop tailored
interventions for high-risk youth (La Greca et al. 2009). The
vast majority of studies using the family stress model have
examined community samples, but it is possible that lowincome, urban, treatment-seeking adolescents face stressors
that override the role of parent-adolescent relationships. In
particular, low-income, urban, treatment-seeking youth are
often faced with poor neighborhood quality, crowding, and
exposure to community violence, which may account for
the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on mental health in
this population (Katz et al. 2012) moreso than parenting.
Thus, testing the family stress model with this population
can provide valuable information about the relative
importance of involving caregivers in treatment, even in
families with low resources and roadblocks to treatment
utilization. If parental behaviors are not significantly related
to youth mental health, or do not account for the relationship between SES and mental health, then treatment may
benefit from placing less emphasis on parental involvement,
especially if their involvement results in time lost for other
activities (e.g., work) and financial strain for the family