ABSTRACT
Research on the impact of paternal job and income loss on the child is reviewed. Although some direct effects have been found, most effects are indirect and mediated through the changes that economic loss produces in the father’s behavior and disposition. Fathers who respond to economic loss with increased irritability and pessimism are less nurturant and more punitive and arbitrary in their interactions with the child. These fathering behaviors increase the child’s risk of socioemotional problems, deviant behavior, and reduced aspirations and expectations. The child also may model the somatic complaints of the father. The child’s temperament, physical attractiveness, relationship with the mother, and degree of contact with the father are discussed as factors that condition the father’s treatment of the child following economic loss. Economic hardship also may influence the child’s development indirectly through the events that it potentiates (e.g., divorce) and discourages (e.g., marriage). High maternal support and experiences that encourage maturity and autonomy appear to be critical sources of psychological resilience in children who have experienced economic hardship.
