![]() In this review we are particularly interested in theoretical progress during the past decade that improves understanding of the nature of the relationship between SES, family processes, and individual well-being. A crucial and continuing issue concerns the mechanisms that might account for the relationship between SES and family processes, as well as factors that might moderate that relationship. Research dating back to the depression years of the 1930s has confirmed that families often suffer when faced with economic hardship or low SES (e.g., Angell 1936). ![]() Thus, the focus of this review is primarily on quantitative analyses inasmuch as most of the qualitative work on families and social class or SES is concerned with the issue of poverty.Įspecially important, our primary interest concerns possible theoretical explanations for the association between SES and family life. Rather, we focus our attention on research which measures socioeconomic status or social class as a continuum rather than as a set of categories such as poor versus not poor. In addition, because one article in this decade-in-review issue considers economic influences on family formation (Smock & Manning, 2010), and another by Edin and Kissane (2010) describes the work on poverty during the past decade, including the influence of poverty on family processes and child development we do not address these issues in this report. We conclude this review by considering the implications of these observations for the development of theory and research during the next decade.īecause of space constraints, we were selective in our use of reference materials and incorporate only those with the greatest relevance for the purposes of this report. Although we find support for the notion that a family’s socioeconomic position affects the life course development and interrelationships of family members, we also find evidence that individual differences appearing during childhood and adolescence help shape economic and educational achievements and also competence as a parent and romantic partner during the adult years. From our review of research and theory during the past decade, we conclude that the relationship between SES and the quality of family life is less simple than once assumed. To guide our efforts we used these and related keywords in our search for information through Sociological Abstracts, PsycINFO and direct inspection of major family and developmental journals such as Journal of Marriage and Family. Following our discussion of economic conditions, we turn our attention to evidence for the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and (1) satisfaction and stability in adult romantic relationships, (2) the quality of parent-child relationships, and (3) the personal adjustment of adults and children. Unfortunately, this review demonstrates that many of today’s families face significant financial problems as a result of the current crisis in the economy. ![]() We begin this report by considering the economic changes families have experienced during the period from 2000 to the present.
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