The association of mothers’ report of the adequacy of family financial resources with African American mothers’ and adolescents’ depressive symptoms was assessed. Findings for families with male adolescents revealed that mothers’ report of the adequacy of families’ financial resources was linked to mothers’ and adolescents’ depressive symptomatology and mothers’ optimism. Mothers’ report of the adequacy of family financial resources was positively associated with family routine. Mothers’ optimism was also positively associated with family routine and mediated the association of family financial resources with family routine. Findings for families with female adolescents revealed that family resources were positively associated with family routine. Explanations for the differences in the findings for families with male or female adolescents were discussed. The need for more research assessing the processes that mediate the relations of families’ financial resources with African American adolescents’ and parents’ well-being was discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Barnes, H. L., & Olson, D. H. (1985). Parent-adolescent communication and the circumplex model. Child Development, 56, 308-322.
2.
Baron, R. M., & Kenney, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
3.
Brody, G. H., & Flor, D. L. (1997). Maternal psychological functioning, family processes, and child adjustment in rural, single-parent, African American families. Developmental Psychology, 33, 1000-1010.
4.
Brody, G. H., & Flor, D. L. (1998). Maternal resources, parenting practices, and child competence in rural, single-parent African American families. Child Development, 69, 803-816.
5.
Brody, G., Stoneman, Z., Flor, D., McCrary, C., Hastings, L., & Conyers, O. (1994). Financial resources, parental psychological functioning, parent co-care giving, and early adolescent competence in rural two-parent African American families. Child Development, 65, 590-605.
6.
Clark, R, (1983). Family life and school achievement: Why poor Black children succeed or fail. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
7.
Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1992). A family process model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Development, 63, 526-541.
8.
Conger, R. D.Ge, X., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., & Simons, R. L. (1994). Economic stress, coercive family process, and developmental problems in adolescents. Child Development, 65, 541-561.
9.
Conger, R., McMarty, J., Yang, R., Lahey, B., & Kropp, J. (1984). Perception of child, child-rearing values, and emotional distress as mediating links between environmental stressors and observed maternal behavior. Child Development, 55, 2234-2247.
10.
DeBarros, K. A., & Bennett, C. E. (1997). The Black population. Current population reports, Series P20-480, The Black population in the United States: March 1995 and 1996. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
11.
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Socialization mediators of the relation between socioeconomic status and child conduct problems. Child Development, 65, 649-665.
12.
Dunst, C. J., & Leet, H. E. (1987). Measuring the adequacy of resources in households with young children. Child: Care, Health, and Development, 13, 111-125.
13.
Flanagan, C. A., & Eccles, J. S. (1993). Changes in parental work status and adolescents’ adjustment at school. Child Development, 64, 246-257
14.
Gelfand, D. M., & Teti, D. M. (1990). The effects of maternal depression on children. Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 329-353.
15.
Gibbs, J. (1986). Assessment of depression in urban adolescent females: Implications for early intervention strategies. American Journal of Social Psychiatry, 6, 50-56.
16.
Hare, B. R., & Castenell, L. A. (1985). No place to run, no place to hide: Comparative status and future prospects of Black boys. In M. Spencer, G. Brookins, & W. Allen (Eds.), Beginnings: Social and affective development of Black children. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
17.
Jensen, E. W., James, S. A., Boyce, W. T., & Hartnett, S. A., (1983). The Family Routines Inventory: Development and validation. Social Science and Medicine, 17, 201-211.
18.
Kellam, S. G., Ensminger, M. A., & Turner, J. T. (1977). Family structure and the mental health of children. Archive of General Psychiatry, 34, 539-554.
19.
Langer, T., Herson, J., Greene, E., Jameson, J., & Goff, J. (1970). Children of the city: Affluence, poverty and mental health. In V. Allen (Ed.), Psychological factors in poverty (pp. 185-209). Chicago: Markham.
20.
Lempers, J., Clark-Lempers, D., & Simons, R. (1989). Economic hardship, parenting, and distress in adolescence. Child Development, 60, 25-49.
21.
McLoyd, V. C. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on Black families and children: Psychological distress, parenting, and socioemotional development. Child Development, 61, 311-346.
22.
McLoyd, V. C. (1997). The impact of poverty and low socioeconomic status on the socio-emotional functioning of African American children and adolescents: Mediating effects. In R. Taylor & M. Wang (Eds.), Social and emotional adjustment and family relations in ethnic minority families. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23.
McLoyd, V. C., Jayaratne, T. E., Ceballo, R., & Borquez, J. (1994). Unemployment and work interruption among African American single mothers: Effects on parenting and adolescent socioemotional functioning. Child Development, 65, 562-589.
24.
Merikangas, K. R., & Angst, J. (1995). Comorbidity and social phobia: Evidence from clinical, epidemiologic, and genetic studies. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 244, 297-303.
25.
Myers, H. F., & King, L. (1983). Mental health issues in the development of the Black American child. In G. Powell, J. Yamamoto, A. Romero, & A. Morales (Eds.), The psychosocial development of minority children (pp. 275-306). New York: Brunner/Mazzel.
26.
Pardeck, J. T. (1990). Family factors related to adolescent autonomy. Adolescence, 25, 311-320.
27.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report d pression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.
28.
Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implication of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219-247.
29.
Snyder, H. N., & Sickmund, M. (1999). Juvenile offender and victims: 1999 national report. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
30.
Spencer, M. B., Brookins, G. K., & Allen, W. R. (Eds.). (1985). Beginnings: The social and affective development of Black children (pp. 215-230). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
31.
Spencer, M. B., Dobbs, B., & Swanson, D. P. (1988). African American adolescents: Adaptational processes and socioeconomic diversity in behavioral outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 11, 117-137.
32.
Taylor, R. D. (1996). Kinship support, family management, and adolescent adjustment and competence in African American families. Developmental Psychology, 32, 687-695.
33.
Taylor, R. D. (1999). Stressful experiences and the adjustment of African American adolescents: Moderating effects of family organization. Unpublished manuscript, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
34.
Taylor, R. D., & Roberts, D. (1995). Kinship support and maternal and adolescent well-being in economically disadvantaged African American families. Child Development, 66, 1585-1597.
35.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002). Characteristics of the unemployed, 2002. Retrieved from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Website, http://www.data.bls.gov
36.
Waggoner, D. (1988, September). New study finds that poverty is transient for many. Numbers and needs: Ethnic and linguistic minorities in the U. S., 8(5). Retrieved from http:/www.asu.edu/educ.cber/
37.
Wanberg, C. R., Griffiths, R. F., & Gavin, M. B. (1997). Time structure and unemployment: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 70, 75-95.
38.
Wanberg, C. R., & Marchese, M. (1994). Heterogeneity in the unemployment experience: A cluster analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 473-488.
