• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.151-178
• /
• 2016

The primary goal of the current study was to investigate the longitudinal relationship between household income, main caregiver depression, and youth aggression from the interactionist perspective. The data were derived by combining the 2006, 2009 and 2012 survey waves from the Korean Welfare Panel Study. This data set covered the full span of adolescence from elementary to high school. The study utilized 561 families as the final sample and conducted autoregressive cross-lagged analysis. As a result, the early income status, main caregiver depression and youth aggression were likely maintained over time. Second, the results provided support for a reciprocal relationship between income and main caregiver depression. On the other hand, the reciprocal relationship between main caregiver depression and youth aggression was not found in the current study. Finally, the mediating effect of main caregiver depression between income and youth aggression was not found in the present study. In conclusion, the results of this study support the interactionist model in that the association between family income and main caregiver depression involves reciprocity and mutual influence across time. These findings have major implications for policy and interventions in regards to low-income families.