PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AMONG CHILDREN EXPERIENCING PERSISTENT AND INTERMITTENT FAMILY ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

Much research on family economic hardship and its effects on children has been cross-sectional in nature, has focused primarily on white chi ldren, and has assessed the impact of episodic rather than chronic eco nomic difficulties. In contrast, the present research was designed to study outcomes associated with persistent economic hardship among a he terogeneous group of children over time. Results showed that, for both black and white children, a broad range of difficulties was associate d with enduring economic hardship. Children who experienced persistent family economic hardship were more likely than those who did not to h ave difficulties in peer relations, show conduct problems at school, a nd report low self-esteem. Children who experienced intermittent famil y economic hardship fell between the other 2 groups. Connections betwe en persistent economic hardship and psychosocial adjustment were more pronounced for boys than for girls. Consistent with suggestions by a n umber of investigators, the impact of economic hardship on children in the present sample was mediated in part by its association with paren tal behavior.