ࡱ> &(%M -bjbj== "WW- l ( 2@@@@@@@@m o o o o o o $ @ @@@@@ @@ @ @@m @m ! m @4 𳊋U8J49 m 0 A , ~ m Rural Families and Economic Stress Randy R. Weigel University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service Coping with economic hardships is as common as coping with natural disasters in the lives of many rural families. A major study during the 1980s farm crisis tells a great deal about the effects of economic stress on rural families. Researchers Rand Conger and Glen Elder followed Iowa families over a six-year period. Their book, Families in Troubled Times: Adapting to Change in Rural America documented the impact of crises in agriculture on youth development and family relations. Perhaps the most telling finding from their study is that economic stress causes problems for children because it disrupts parenting. In other words, income loss itself does not necessarily have negative effects on youth; it is the degree to which income loss affects parents relationships with each other and their parenting skills that matters for children. How does this economic strain on families work? According to Conger and Elder, financial stress increases depression for both husbands and wives. This depression leads to deteriorating marital relationships, often due to conflicts between parents or between parents and children about money. When conflict increases and marital relationships suffer, the quality of parenting drops dramatically. Parents may become less involved, less nurturing, and less consistent in discipline. Ultimately, it is this family climate that puts adolescents at risk for a variety of negative outcomes including irritability, academic difficulty and delinquency. So, while not all children will experience negative outcomes when their families face economic stress, many do, and the negative results can be traced to the parenting practices of stressed couples. Also, when families are under great economic pressure, there can be additional consequences for adolescent girls and boys. Because mothers may often turn to employment off the farm or ranch when finances are strained, girls may experience increased responsibilities in the home. This may help girls gain maturity, but it can also create pessimistic attitudes about future career opportunities. For boys, disruptions in family income seem to lead to increased conflict with fathers. When a father has trouble supporting a family, the anxiety of a teenage son may lead him to react negatively toward his father. What does all of this mean for todays rural families who are facing economic stress? One of the most important things they can do is to remember the importance of maintaining strong, supportive relationships with spouses because marital happiness has such a strong effect on parenting and child well being. Particularly during times of economic stress, its important to: maintain strong lines of communication between parents, stay conscious of quality parenting practices and use community resources to deal with depression, marital tension and parenting should family relationships suffer. Adapted from: Families First Economic Stress in the Rural Family, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. -6]#3ghN g G- d&d P  & Fdd$a$- 1h/ =!"#$% i4@4 NormalCJ_HmH sH tH <A@< Default Paragraph Font*>@* Title$a$5\- #3ghNg  G / 000000000 0 0 000- - - /    G J / 333, /  Randy WeigelaC:\Documents and Settings\weig\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of Document1.asd Randy WeigelRC:\Documents and Settings\weig\My Documents\Rural Families and Economic Stress.doc Randy WeigelRC:\Documents and Settings\weig\My Documents\Rural Families and Economic Stress.doc Randy Weigel)A:\Rural Families and Economic Stress.docValued Gateway Client)A:\Rural Families and Economic Stress.doc Randy WeigelRC:\Documents and Settings\weig\My Documents\Rural Families and Economic Stress.doc!:88^8`OJPJQJ^Jo( ^`OJQJo(o   ^ `OJQJo(   ^ `OJQJo( xx^x`OJQJo(o HH^H`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o ^`OJQJo(!B        @ - P@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial?5 z Courier New;Wingdings"h3i3i !20dT G 2Q"Rural Families and Economic Stress Randy Weigel Randy WeigelOh+'0 ,8 T ` lx#Rural Families and Economic Stresssura Randy Weigels aandand Normal.dotl Randy Weigels a2ndMicrosoft Word 9.0E@@JmU@JmU ՜.+,0  hp  University of WyomingaT  #Rural Families and Economic Stress Title  !"#$'Root Entry FoU)1Table WordDocument"SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8CompObjjObjectPooloUoU  FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q