Adults' Environment and Behavior: Parental Aggravation

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High stress and aggravation in parents are associated with poor cognitive and socioemotional development of young children. In addition, maternal emotional distress has been linked to less responsive, even hostile, parenting practices.

Mandated employment, time limits on benefits, shifts in child care arrangements, and fluctuations in income are some of the challenges facing low-income parents under welfare reform. The added stress of these challenges may increase parental aggravation. However, work experiences that provide opportunities for social interaction, support outside the family, and economic self-sufficiency may reduce stress and hence parental aggravation.

Aggravation was assessed on a scale that summed a parent's estimates of how often in the last month he or she felt a child was much harder to care for than most, the child did things that really bothered the parent a lot, the parent was giving up more of his or her life to meet the child's needs than expected, and the parent felt angry with the child.

Nationally, 9 percent of all children lived with a parent who felt highly aggravated. Of children in families with low incomes (below 200 percent of the poverty level), 14 percent lived with such a parent, compared to 6 percent of children in families with higher incomes, a statistically significant difference. Children of parents who did not have a spouse were significantly more likely than other children (16 percent versus 7 percent) to be living with a highly aggravated parent.

In the 13 states surveyed, 6 percent to 14 percent of children lived with a highly aggravated parent. In six of the states, the percentage was above the national average: Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. The percentage was below average in Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington.

In low-income families, 9 percent to 21 percent of children lived with a highly aggravated parent. In five states, that percentage was higher than the national average: Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, and New York. In Colorado and Washington, it was lower.

In low-income families where the parent did not have a spouse, 13 percent to 26 percent of children lived with a highly aggravated parent. In three states, the percentage was above the national average of 18 percent: Mississippi, New Jersey, and New York; in Colorado, it was below average.

This four-item scale was adapted from a component of the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS), the evaluation of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program.

Note: The Portable Document Format (PDF) of this report includes all tables and charts.

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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