Question

The parenting stress hypothesis is a paradigm that looks at the psychological aspects of poverty and its effects on children's life chances. Discuss this and apply it to Marlin's situation growing up in poverty. What might be some ways to avoid Marlin's problems?

Answer 1

ANS: The parenting stress hypothesis suggests that if a family lives in poverty, it affects them not only physically (nutrition, health care); parents who are attempting to lead their children out of poverty are so psychologically stressed that they don’t utilize proper parenting practices. Research (Conger, 1992; Hanson, 1997) found that in lowerincome families, parents are more likely to yell, shout, and hit, which is not conducive to healthy child development. There is less time for positive interactions between parents and children and less opportunity for play.

Research also suggests that parents living in poverty are more likely to use physical punishment (hitting, slapping) and less likely to display love through cuddling and hugging (Conger, 1994; Elder, 1995).Maybe if Marlin’s mother had had more time to spend hugging Marlin and just sharing “good times,” rather than standing in the welfare line or attempting to deal with her stress through alcohol, Marlin would have found more  

positive ways to deal with his own stress and his economic problems and wouldn’t have become a juvenile delinquent. Maybe the buck stops with the parents.Parenting classes while a mother waits for welfare checks could be an efficient way to show low-income mothers  

ways to parent that are different from the ways they were parented. Also, making universal day care available or having neighborhood support systems available for stressed parents would help alleviate stress on a daily basis and  

make the living arrangements more conducive to affection.

DIF: Moderate REF: Page 377 TOP: Applied  

OBJ: Parenting Stress Hypothesis