Daily Poverty-Related Stress and Mood for Low-Income Parents, as a Function of the Presence of a Cohabiting Partner Relationship
Author(s): Eleanor D. Brown, Tara K. Lynn
Abstract: Family stress models posit that poverty influences children via parent mood. Parent social support represents a proposed moderator of the relationship between poverty-related stress and parent mood. No published studies to date explore how these variables relate on a daily basis. The present study of low-income parents measured daily poverty-related stress and parent mood as a function of relationship status ( N = 560 observations nested within 56 participants). Hierarchical linear models showed that stress and negative mood shared a significant, positive relationship within parents, and the stress-mood relationship, termed affective reactivity, varied between parents, as a function of the presence of a stable, cohabiting partner relationship. Implications concern mechanisms of poverty risk, effects of social support, and diversity in daily processes for families facing economic hardship.
Pages: 204-213
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