THE EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON AFRO-AMERICAN CHILDREN

本研究的目标是研究四个基本问题：（1） 母亲失业对单身非洲人心理健康的影响 美国母亲和她们的孩子，（2）社会的影响 支持、母子关系的质量和家庭 决策风格对儿童对母亲失业的反应， (3)母亲失业和失业对儿童的影响 成就行为、价值观和期望;（4） 儿童对失业的因果归因与 就业与他们的成就行为、价值观和 预期 这项研究还将研究几个因素的影响。 认知因素对母亲失业反应的影响 尽管很少 研究调查了父母失业对 当代儿童，现有的调查结果证明， 关注失业工人子女的心理健康。 拟议的研究将提供有关 可能面临经济风险增加的未充分研究群体 失业后的贫困和心理伤害。 它将 深入了解减轻不利影响的因素 失业对孩子和母亲的影响。 受试者将是150名失业的单身非裔美国妇女， 他们的七年级和八年级的孩子和75个就业，单身非洲人， 美国妇女和她们的7年级和8年级的孩子。 研究 将采用2波纵向设计。 母亲和孩子们将 面谈两次，间隔5-6个月。 之间 将被评估的儿童变量是焦虑，抑郁， 关于教育的价值观和期望，成就行为， 价值观和对工作的期望，以及对工作的因果信念， 失业 社会支持的程度和社会支持的质量 还将评估母子关系。 在每一波中， 教师将对孩子的学校进行评估， 表现，同伴关系，行为问题和适应性 功能 将评估的母变量包括 焦虑，抑郁，自尊，个体图式 制度指责，家庭决策风格，对家庭的期望， 孩子和因果归因有关的失业。

The goal of this research is to study four basic issues: (1) the effects of maternal job loss on the mental health of single Afro- American mothers and their children, (2) the influence of social support, the quality of the mother-child relationship, and family decision-making style on children's response to maternal job loss, (3) the effects of maternal job loss and unemployment on children's achievement behavior, values, and expectations, and (4) the relationship of children's causal attributions about job loss and employment to their achievement behaviors, values, and expectations. The study also will examine the influence of several cognitive factors on mothers' response to job loss. Though few studies have examined the impact of parental job loss on contemporary children, the findings that are available justify concern about the mental health of children of unemployed workers. The proposed research will provide information about an understudied group that may be at increased risk of economic deprivation and psychological harm following job loss. It will provide insight into those factors that mitigate adverse effects of job loss on children and mothers. The subjects will be 150 unemployed, single Afro-American women and their 7th and 8th grade children and 75 employed, single Afro- American women and their 7th and 8th grade children. The study will use a 2-wave longitudinal design. Mothers and children will be interviewed twice, separated by a period of 5-6 months. Among the child variables that will be assessed are anxiety, depression, values and expectations about education, achievement behavior, values and expectations about work, and causal beliefs about unemployment. The degree of social support an the quality of the mother-child relationship also will be assessed. At each wave, teachers will provide an assessment of the child's school performance, peer relations, behavioral problems, and adaptive functioning. Among the mother variables that will be assessed are anxiety, depression, self-esteem, schema about individual- various system-blame, family decision-making style, expectations for the child and, causal attributions about job loss.