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As numerous families grapple with financial challenges—pondering how to pay rent, maintain utilities, or provide meals—the anxiety extends beyond the family budget.
This pressure can ripple throughout the household, influencing the emotional health of parents and their collaborative efforts, ultimately affecting how their children interact and develop social skills with peers.
A recent investigation—conducted by scholars from the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology—illuminates how the economic stress that parents experience can impact a child’s social maturation later in life. The study was supported by federal funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development within the National Institutes of Health.
The research team examined data from over 3,000 families, tracking children from ages 3 to 9 as part of the Future of Family and Child Wellbeing Study. These children were born in 20 major U.S. urban areas. The collected information emphasized the parents’ financial backgrounds, mental health statuses, and co-parenting dynamics, along with children’s social capabilities, such as forming friendships easily or feeling self-assured in social situations like gatherings or group activities.
Mothers who endured significant material deprivation were considerably more likely to report depressive symptoms and less effective co-parenting partnerships by the time their children reached 5 years old, the study highlighted. These elements, in turn, were linked to diminished social skills in children by age 9.
The research also revealed that the experiences of hardship and co-parenting between mothers and fathers were interconnected—one parent’s situation frequently influenced the other.
“Financial strain isn’t merely reflected in bills—it manifests in family dynamics,” stated co-author of the study Kathryn Maguire-Jack, a U-M professor of social work whose research encompasses child maltreatment, poverty, and parenting.
“When parents find themselves under pressure to fulfill essential needs, it can take a significant emotional toll. That stress may subtly influence how parents engage with one another and, ultimately, how children learn to relate to the world around them.”
Fathers facing higher levels of adversity were sometimes viewed by mothers as more helpful co-parents, according to the study’s findings.
“In scenarios lacking financial security, some fathers may offset this by providing increased emotional and relational support, reinforcing the notion that being emotionally present can have substantial value during challenging periods,” remarked Maguire-Jack.
Regarding paternal depression, fathers occasionally exhibited poor co-parenting dynamics, which the study’s authors suggest likely reflects conventional gender roles in caregiving and financial responsibility.
The researchers emphasize the necessity of supporting both parents—both emotionally and financially—to cultivate healthier family dynamics and improved developmental outcomes for children.
The authors of the study also include Yiran Zhang, Susan Yoon, Juan Lorenzo Benavides, and Yujeong Chang from OSU; and Jingyi Wang from Hong Kong University.
The results were published in the latest edition of Family Relations.
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