Using data from more than 2,200 low–income families surveyed as part of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) researchers found that school–age children who reported high levels of parent involvement and supervision were more likely to report behaviors associated with positive emotional development and social growth.

According to Strong at the Broken Places: The Resiliency of Low–Income Parents, an estimated 14 million families with at least one child earned below 200 percent of the poverty threshold in 2015 – a total of 65 percent of low–income families. Research has found that living in poverty can produce environmental stressors that lead to negative behaviors in children, such as inattention, impulsivity, aggression, withdrawal, depression, anxiety, or fearfulness. Furthermore, children living in poor families are significantly more likely to have trouble developing social–emotional competence – the ability to manage emotions, express needs and feelings, deal with conflict, and get along with others.

“Too often, when poor families are discussed, the focus is on deficits,” said Renée Wilson–Simmons, DrPH, NCCP director and a co–author of the report. “And chief among those deficits is what’s seen as parents’ inability to successfully parent their children.”

Dr. Wilson–Simmons challenged the deficits focus, adding that despite the multitude of obstacles that low–income parents face, many of them succeed in helping their children flourish. “They raise children who possess the social–emotional competence needed to develop and keep friendships; establish good relationships with parents, teachers, and other adults; and experience a range of achievements that contribute to their self–confidence, self–esteem, and self–efficacy. These families have something to teach us all about thriving amidst adversity.”

Strong at the Broken Places: The Resiliency of Low–Income Parents, presents findings from the survey responses of 2,210 nine–year–olds who lived in low–income families for three to five years. The report also cites additional research involving low–income families from diverse backgrounds and geographic areas showing certain common attributes among parents who are able to function well when faced with challenges. Those effective protective factors range from exhibiting a positive outlook, establishing family routines, and spending sufficient family time together to having good financial management skills, an adequate support network, and the willingness to seek help.

The major finding presented in the report:

• Low–income parents who know which friends their children hang out with were twice as likely as parents rated as low in parental supervision to have children who do not to engage in problem behaviors.
• Those who attend events important to their children were twice as likely to have children who do not engage in negative behaviors as those who rarely attend important events.
• Caregivers who treat their children fairly were twice as likely to have children who did not engage in negative behaviors as those whose children felt that they are treated unfairly “often” or “always.”

Overall, most of the nine–year–olds surveyed rated their caregiver high on all of the factors NCCPresearchers used to measure resiliency in low–income families:

• 68 percent reported that their primary caregiver (most often their mother) had knowledge of what they did during their free time and the friends with whom they spent time
• 74 percent said their mother “always” or “often” spent enough time with them, and 76 percent said they talked about things that matter “extremely well” or “quite well”
• 92 percent rated their relationship with thei