ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the conceptual and empirical linkages between poverty and parenting, focuses on the economic dimension of poverty at the family rather than the neighborhood level, and primarily poverty in the United States. It also reviews how the labor markets provide an economic context for families in poverty. The chapter considers how welfare policies and related benefits shape families economic resources and experiences of poverty, and explains how family formation patterns are associated with family poverty. It focuses on discussion of the relevant empirical studies on several important topics such as psychological distress and parenting, home learning environments, interventions, and neighborhood poverty. Many interventions to improve the life chances of low-income children have focused on improving the caregiving that children receive from parents and parenting, often targeting low-income parents or parents who face a range of social risk factors related to poverty.
