Path analysis was used to determine variables influencing the self-esteem of 222 4th, 5th, and 6th grade children in law-income families. The children and their mothers responded to questionnaires on self-esteem, child psychological traits, mother psy...
Path analysis was used to determine variables influencing the self-esteem of 222 4th, 5th, and 6th grade children in law-income families. The children and their mothers responded to questionnaires on self-esteem, child psychological traits, mother psychological characteristics, economic hardship, and child rearing practices. Mothers` warmth-acceptance child rearing behavior was facilitating of children`s self-esteem. However, mothers` economic stress had an indirect impact via their depression on decrease in the warmth-acceptance variable. Permissive-nonintervention child rearing behavior decreased the level of children`s self-esteem. However, mothers` depression and marital confilct(??) deriving from economic stress increased both rejection-restriction and permissive-nonintervention styles of child rearing. Mothers who experienced much stress due to economic hardship influnced(??) children`s perception of their family`s poverty and thereby lowered their children`s self-esteem.