1. 1 The effects of economic stress on Mexican American and European American families – A replication of the Conger model Kristy Y. Shih University of California, Riverside Presented at the California Sociological Association meetings 2006 – Riverside, CA

2. 2 Conger’s Economic Stress Model

3. 3 Why studying MA and EA families? Economic and family stresses are not equally distributed in American society “Racial minorities, the poorly educated, and those with modest economic resources typically face a disproportionate amount of life stress and have fewer social resources for coping with those stresses.” (Grzywacz, McDonald, and Almeida, 2002)

4. 4 Mean differences on selected variables between MA and EA families Mexican American European American Per capita income8974.419867.52*** Unstable work8.899.72** Paternal economic pressure 8.937.88** Maternal economic pressure 9.938.07*** Paternal depression21.4022.68* Maternal depression 24.91 *** p<.001 ** p<.01 * p<.05

5. 5 Mexican American European American Marital problems21.3721.25 Paternal discipline39.9141.56** Paternal acceptance50.3551.28 Paternal rejection29.3227.70** Maternal discipline39.8341.34** Maternal acceptance55.0955.39 Maternal rejection28.3926.90** Child adjustment problems 88.7790.34 *** p<.001 ** p<.01 * p<.05

6. 6 Predictors of Depression – EA parents

7. 7 Predictors of Depression – MA parents

8. 8 Conger’s Economic Stress Model

9. 9 Predictors of Child Adjustment – EA families

10. 10 Predictors of Child Adjustment – MA families

11. 11 Summary Replication of the Conger model Significant racial/ethnic differences Different family processes

12. 12 Future Directions Mediating and moderating effects Long term effects of economic stress 4 family types (EA: step and intact, MA: step and intact) Mexican American Families Generational status Levels of acculturation