Impacts of Economic Downturn on Children’s Well-being
Impacts of Economic Downturn on Children’s Well-being
Abstract
The study of the relationship between the economic disparities and its influence on children has become an important area of study. Research shows that economic downturns such as the Great Depression have significant psychological and physical impacts on the well-being of children of age 9 years and below. Some of the documented psychological impacts of such economic downturns on children include: Engaging in aggressive behaviour, consumption of alcoholic products, vandalism, anxiety or depression as well as poor academic performance. Furthermore, individual family financial challenges have also been associated with certain negative impacts on parental relationships, a scenario that affects the manner in which they perform their parenting duties. This paper presents a discussion, based on various sources of literature on how economic statuses of families and countries have impacts on children and their families. It will also indicate how economic downturn among individual families, impact children in terms of their gender orientation i.e. the impacts of economic downturn on girl child or boys.
Research has shown that the Great Depression is one of the most devastating economic downturns experienced by the United States in the 21st Century (Schneider, Jane and Brooks-Gunn 2015). This economic downturn began from late 2007 and continued over the next two consecutive quarters of 2008, ending mid 2009. Some of the challenges that were experienced as a result of the Great Depression included significant collapse in the housing market sector, characterized with foreclosure as well as heightened levels of unemployment in the entire United States (Schneider, Jane and Brooks-Gunn 2015). Economists have indicated that the unemployment rates fell by about 10 percent. Major cities were affected, as companies closed down businesses.
The Great Depression was generally dramatic; there was massive news coverage focusing on the foreclosure of the housing market; media outlets also covered the roles of various banks in the United States and how they made attempts to assist stakeholders in order to recover from the collapsing markets (Coles and Glen 2009). On the other hand, the news coverage had significant impact the confidence of the general public as well as their perspectives towards the economic performance of the United States. The National Consumer Sentiment Index indicated the dramatic negative shifts experienced in regard to public confidence in the United States economic performance (Coles and Glen 2009). In a research performed in the National Consumer Index Sentiment, it is indicated that a significant number of the general public agreed that indeed the Great Depression had a significant impact on their individual financial status: About 25 percent of the respondents surveyed asserted that the Great Depression negatively affected their financial performance compared to previous years (Coles and Glen 2009).
According to William Schneider, Jean Brooks-Gunn and Jane Waldfogel, severe economic downturns such as the Great Depression have significant emotional and psychological impacts on children and the overall family units (2015). This is associated with the aggregate shocks that such incidences inflict upon families, including young children. There have been various perspectives of literature published in order to show how the great depression has affected families and children. Several researchers have argued that economic downturns such as the Great Depression are associated with deleterious impacts on parental relationships i.e. relationship between parents and their children as well as other close members of the society.
Through research, sociologists have indicated that there is a negative relationship that emerges in the event that there is massive state-wide loss of job opportunities (Coles and Glen 2009). The negative relationships general emerge between parents and their children or between guardians and their children. In some cases, negative relationships may also emerge between adult members of a particular family i.e. in an event that one loses his/her job position.
Negative economic status or incidences of economic downturns also have major impacts on the general academic performance of children (Deaton 2011). However, certain researchers have rejected the idea that negative economic performance have an impact on the academic performance of children, arguing that the impact of financial losses on children’s academic performance is only limited to children whose families that experience such challenges or children whose parents have lost their jobs (Deaton 2011). Furthermore, certain researchers have indicated that children who were born in the period of economic downturn experienced in 1980’s in the United States, have a tendency to engage in delinquent behaviours or activities compared to children whose parents were not affected by the 1980 economic challenges (Webster-Stratton and Mary 1988). It is imperative to consider the fact that such arguments are based on hypotheses or theoretical views and have not been proved or tested. Despite the fact that these hypotheses have not been tested through research, sociologists have provided three perspectives of arguments indicating why children whose parents experience economic challenges are more likely to engage in risky behaviours.
Impact of Individual Economic Challenge and Family Functioning
Studies have shown that individual economic challenges have significant impacts on the functioning of the family unit (Eamon, Mary and Rachel 2001). Economic hardships are associated with uncertainties among parents, which has led to increased levels of stress. High levels of stress among parents reduce supportive relationships and warm attitudes that they may have with their children. Furthermore, economic hardships experienced by parents may also create aggressive behaviours that affect mental as well as the physical well-being of their children (Eamon, Mary and Rachel 2001). There is evidence indicating that individual experiences, characterized with economic challenges i.e. financial losses may lead to depressive symptoms among guardians as well as parents. Aggressive behavioural patterns that lead to punitive actions may affect the academic performance on children. In a research performed in Michigan in order to determine the academic performance on children as a result of the Great Depression, researchers identified that economic strain have salient impact on the well-being of children including their academic performance (Eamon, Mary and Rachel 2001).
How Children may be affected by Economic Downturns
There are various theoretical perspectives and models that have been proposed in order to enhance the understanding of how economic downturns may affect children’s performance in schools and other institutions of learning. These theories and models have been used in order to explicate the relationship between human capital, social networks and environment. Additionally, these theories have been used to explain how the relationship between human capital, environment and social networks may lead to unhealthy behaviours among children as well as their academic performance. Children’s developmental stage in a period characterized with economic hardships may affect their future behaviours and well-being. This basically means that there is a probably that past economic challenges, may influence their future behaviours as adults or parents.
In as much a lot of evidence has been provided to indicate that economic hardships such as the Great Depression have had significant negative impacts on children below the age of 9 years, it is also apparent that young adolescents are also vulnerable to the negative impacts of economic challenges, particularly challenges that affect parenting and family relationships. Through research, sociologists have identified the fact that the Great Depression had both direct and indirect impacts on children across the United States. Direct effects would occur in an event that children are exposed to information regarding the economic challenges through various media platforms such as Television, Radio or the internet platforms. In regard, to indirect impact, information ascribed to the Great Depression would affect children in an event that they listened to second-hand information from their parents, peers, other adults and their teachers.
Effects of the Great Depression on Children by Gender
There have been broad perspectives of debates in regard to whether economic downturns have different effects on girls and boys. Researchers have made attempts to determine whether parenting pathways during periods of economic challenges may differential impacts of the psychological well-being of children in terms of their gender (Chiodo 2010). However, there has not been appropriate and adequate evidence indicating the difference in terms of the impacts of economic downturn on boys or girls. In as much as their no adequate evidence to indicate whether boys and girls are affected differently as a result of parenting challenges that emerge in periods of economic downturns, certain researchers have suggested that boys tend to be more psychological sensitive to economic challenges that affect their parents compared to girls (Chiodo 2010). On the other hand, girls tend be more sensitive to conflicting relationships that emerge between their parents.
The other question that has emerged and raised debates among concerned stakeholders is: Does family structure play a role in regard to the challenges faced by children during economic downturn? The effects of shocks resulting from economic challenges such as the Great Depression vary in accordance with family structure. Many scholars agree that children raised by single parents experience a broad perspective of developmental challenges compared to those raised by both parents (Chiodo 2010). According to the family stress model, the quality of family relationships as well as marital status of parents have major impacts on the magnitude in which economic downturns affect their children (Chiodo 2010).
Reference List
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Coles, Robert, and Glen H. Elder. 2009. "Children of the great depression: Social change in life experience." Social Forces 54(1):300. doi:10.2307/2576115.
Deaton, A. 2011. "The financial crisis and the well-being of Americans: 2011 OEP Hicks Lecture*." Oxford Economic Papers 64(1):1–26. doi:10.1093/oep/gpr051.
Eamon, Mary Keegan, and Rachel M. Zuehl. 2001. "Maternal depression and physical punishment as mediators of the effect of poverty on socioemotional problems of children in single-mother families." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 71(2):218–226. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.71.2.218.
Schneider, William, Jane Waldfogel, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 2015. "The great recession and behavior problems in 9-year old children." Developmental Psychology 51(11):1615–1629. doi:10.1037/dev0000038.
Webster-Stratton, Carolyn, and Mary Hammond. 1988. "Maternal depression and its relationship to life stress, perceptions of child behavior problems, parenting behaviors, and child conduct problems." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 16(3):299–315. doi:10.1007/bf00913802.
