Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
J Fam Psychol. 2013 Feb;27(1):96-105. doi: 10.1037/a0031112.
Although much of the extant research on low-income families has targeted parental depression as the predominant psychological response to economic hardship, the current study examined a range of maternal psychological symptoms that may mediate the relations between early economic pressure and later parenting behaviors. A family stress model was examined using data from 1,142 mothers living in 2 areas of high rural poverty, focusing on the infancy through toddlerhood period. Maternal questionnaires and observations of mother-child interactions were collected across 4 time points (6, 15, 24, and 36 months). Results from structural equation analyses indicated that early economic pressure was significantly related to a variety of symptoms (depression, hostility, anxiety, and somatization), but only depression and somatization were significantly related to decreased levels of sensitive, supportive parenting behaviors. In contrast, anxiety was positively associated with sensitive parenting. Depression and anxiety were both found to mediate the relations between economic pressure and sensitive parenting behaviors. Results further suggest that mothers did not experience change in objective economic hardship over time but did experience a small decrease in economic pressure. Discussion centers on the apparent indirect influence of early economic hardship on later psychological symptoms and parenting behaviors, as well as detailing the need for broader and more complex perspectives on maternal psychological responses that arise as a result of economic disadvantage.
虽然现有的许多关于低收入家庭的研究都将父母的抑郁作为对经济困难的主要心理反应,但本研究考察了一系列可能在早期经济压力与后期养育行为之间起中介作用的母亲心理症状。该研究使用了来自两个高农村贫困地区的 1142 名母亲的数据,采用家庭压力模型来检验该模型,研究时间聚焦在婴儿期到幼儿期。在 4 个时间点(6、15、24 和 36 个月)收集了母亲的问卷调查和母婴互动观察数据。结构方程分析的结果表明,早期的经济压力与多种症状(抑郁、敌意、焦虑和躯体化)显著相关,但只有抑郁和躯体化与敏感、支持性的养育行为水平降低显著相关。相比之下,焦虑与敏感的养育行为呈正相关。研究还发现,抑郁和焦虑都在经济压力与敏感养育行为之间起中介作用。研究结果进一步表明,母亲的经济困难在客观上并没有随着时间的推移而发生变化,但经济压力确实有所减轻。讨论集中在早期经济困难对后期心理症状和养育行为的明显间接影响上,并详细说明了需要从更广泛和更复杂的角度来理解由于经济劣势而产生的母亲心理反应。