Family Functioning and Income: Does Low-Income Status Impact Family Functioning?. (July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mansfield, Abigail K.; Dealy, Jennifer A.; Keitner, Gabor I.
• Is Part Of: Family journal. Volume 21:Number 3(2013)
• Page Start: 297
• Page End: 305
• Publication Date: 2013-07
• Subjects: family assessment device -- family functioning -- families -- financial hardship -- income; Family psychotherapy -- Periodicals; Marital psychotherapy -- Periodicals; Family counseling -- Periodicals; Marriage counseling -- Periodicals; 616.8915605
• DOI: 10.1177/1066480713476836
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1066-4807

Abstract

This study explored the impact of income status (low-income vs. non-low-income) on family functioning, social support, and quality of life in a community sample of 125 families. The sample identified themselves as 17% Black or African American, 7% Latino, 4% Asian, and 66% White. The mean age of participants was 37 years. The study used a self-report measure of perceived family functioning, the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Results demonstrated that low-income status was associated with less satisfaction with several areas of family functioning, and that the effect of having a family member with a psychiatric disorder on family functioning depended on income status, with low-income families with a psychiatric disorder endorsing much greater dissatisfaction with family functioning than non-low-income families with a psychiatric disorder. Low-income families also had significantly lower social support and quality of life scores than non-low-income families. Low-income status appears to put stress on families in general and to compound the effects of having a psychiatric disorder on family functioning. Non-low-income status, by contrast, appears to offer a buffer from the effects of having a psychiatric disorder on family functioning. These findings suggest the importance of providing family-based interventions to low-income families in which one or more members has an identified psychiatric disorder.