INNER-CITY PARENTS UNDER ECONOMIC PRESSURE - PERSPECTIVES ON THE STRATEGIES OF PARENTING

Using a sample of 429 inner-city families, this study traces the effects of economic pressure to the emotional distress and parenting behaviors of African American and European American parents. Both low income and unstable work/income enhance the risk of emotional distress and beliefs of parental ineffectiveness by increasing economic pressure. Among Black families, single-parent households and conflicted marriages magnify such effects by undermining parent well-being. Compared with White parents, a sense of parental efficacy among African American parents is more predictive of child management strategies that enhance developmental opportunities for children and minimize behavioral risks. These results are discussed in terms of the differential, availability and use of neighborhood resources for parenting between the two racial groups.