More complex modelling
In addition to investigating problematic behaviours in pre-adolescent children (age 5-
12), Mistry et al. also looked at positive social behaviours. Previous research focuses
primarily on the relation between economic deprivation and negative child adjustment
indicators such as externalising behaviour problems (Conger et al., 1992; Conger et
al., 1994) and internalising behaviour problems (Conger et al., 1993; McLoyd et al.,
1994). However, we argue that despite a common focus on problem behaviours,
positive social behaviours are also indicators of well-being and mental health that can
have important consequences for later adjustment. For example, social competence,
such as the ability to get along with both peers and adults, follow instructions, and
work independently contributes to a successful school experience (Brooks-Gunn et
al., 1997).
Data for the study came from an evaluation of a demonstration program, the New
Hope Project (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) that provided income supplements, job search
assistance, subsidised health care and subsidised childcare to low income adults who
worked a minimum of 30 hours a week. The sample was made up of 419 children
aged 5-12 (M = 8.26 years; SD = 2.33; boys n = 209 and girls n = 210) and used four
data sources: parent reports, child interviews, teacher reports and administrative data.
Results from multiple-group analyses suggest that for this sample, the family
processes by which economic hardship influenced children’s outcomes did not differ
by either the child’s gender or ethnicity. Therefore all subsequent analyses were
performed using the full sample. Results of the structural equation modelling were
consistent with the authors’ proposed model, i.e. that economic hardship and related
pressures affect children’s social-behavioural adjustment indirectly through the
impact on parent psychological distress and parenting behaviour.
There are three main patterns of association that emerge in this study. First, those
parents who reported feeling greater economic pressures also reported being worried
about their finances, feeling depressed and having low personal efficacy. Secondly,
parent psychological distress was, in turn, significantly and inversely related to
parental responsiveness and disciplinary efficacy. Finally, parenting behaviour
characterised by low parental responsiveness and disciplinary efficacy predicted low
levels of positive social behaviour and high levels of behavioural problems. In support
of these findings, these children were rated by teachers as less socially competent,
autonomous, and compliant and as being more aggressive, impulsive, and more likely
to need disciplining than those children whose parents were responsive and reported
high levels of disciplinary efficacy.
The results here indicate that one pathway by which economic hardship influences
children’s development is through its negative impact on parents’ psychological well-
being and less than optimal parenting behaviours.
Given the economic comparability of the ethnic groups, the authors argue that the
economic contexts that families live in may be more important than ethnicity per se in
determining the impact of economic hardship on family process and children’s
development. This is supported by Gutman and Eccles (1999) who tested the
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