ABSTRACT
Stressful life experiences affect the lives of a substantial number of African-American children. In 1991, Census figures indicated that 51.2% of African-American children 6 years of age and under were poor (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992). For many of these children, poverty will be a persistent experience; research reveals that about 24% of children who are poor early in life will experience poverty when they are 10-14 years old (Duncan & Rodgers, 1988). Being poor exposes children and families to a variety of chronic stressors that have been shown to negatively influence the functioning of individuals. Chronic stressors experienced by poor African-American parents can undermine their parenting practices because poor parents are psychologically distressed (McLoyd, 1990). Children and adolescents exposed to less adequate parenting are at risk for a number of psychological and behavioral problems (Aber & Cicchetti, 1984; Egeland & Sroufe, 1981; McLoyd, Jayaratne, Ceballo, & Borquez, 1994). Research also indicates that poor families employ a variety of strategies and living arrangements designed to moderate the effects of poverty. These strategies may include the sharing or pooling of resources across extended families, the sharing of childrearing, or coresidence?, among other possibilities (McLoyd, 1990).
