Family Influences
Research indicates that economic deprivation can produce stress within the family. Economic stress, in turn, can create an unfavourable emotional home environment by precipitating parental depression, resulting in marital conflict [13], [14], [15].
Direct relations between both parental depression and marital conflict and young adolescent socio-emotional problems also have been observed [16], [17].
Economic stress also can affect youth socio-emotional problems through a direct link with parenting practices that are harsh and physical, inconsistent, emotionally unsupportive, and conflicted [18], [19]; or economic stress can affect parenting practices indirectly through its associations with parental depression and marital conflict [13], [14], [15].
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13. Brody, G. H., Stoneman, Z., Flor, D., McCrary, C., Hastings, L., and Conyers, 0. (1994). Financial resources, parent psychological functioning, parent co-caregiving, and early adolescent competence in rural two-parent African-American Families. Child Dev. 65: 590605.
14. Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., Elder, G. H., Jr., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., and Whitbeck, L. B. (1993). Family economic stress and adjustment of early adolescent girls. Dev. Psychol. 29: 206-219.
15. Conger, R. D., Ge, X., Elder, G. J., Jr., Lorenz, F. O., and Simmons, R. L. (1994). Economic Stress, coercive family processes, and developmental problems of adolescents. Child Dev. 65: 541-561.
16. Harold, G. T., Fincham, F. D., Osborne, L. N., and Conger, R. D. (1997). Mom and dad are at it again: Adolescent perceptions of marital conflict and adolescent psychological distress. Dev. Psychol. 33: 333-350.
17. Tannenbaum, L., Neighbors, B., and Forehand, R. (1992). The unique contribution of four maternal stressors to adolescent functioning. J. Early Adolesc. 12: 314-325.
18. Lempers, J. D., Clark-Lempers, D., and Simons, R. L. (1989). Economic hardship, parenting, and distress in adolescence. Child Dev. 60: 25-39.
19. McLeod, J. D., and Shanahan, M. J. (1993). Poverty, parenting, and children's mental health. Am. Sociol. Rev. 58: 351-366.
