Economic Slowdown Makes Some Mothers Scold, Hit Children

Mother's with a genetic variant are more likely to resort to strict parenting during economic crisis, a new study has found. Researchers said that these moms shout and even hit their children under deteriorating economic conditions.

The study was conducted by researchers at New York University, Columbia University, Princeton University and Pennsylvania State University.

They found that "sensitive" genetic variant- an allele of the DRD2 Taq1A genotype- is linked with mothers changing their parenting styles during an economic downturn. DRD2 Taq1A genotype is known to control the synthesis of a brain chemical called as "dopamine," which controls a person's behavior.

About half of the mothers included in the study had this genetic variation.

"It's commonly thought that economic hardship within families leads to stress, which, in turn, leads to deterioration of parenting quality," said Dohoon Lee, an assistant professor of sociology at NYU and lead author of the paper. "But these findings show that an economic downturn in the larger community can adversely affect parenting-regardless of the conditions individual families face."

Researchers also found that when normal conditions prevail, the mothers carrying the genetic variants adopt less harsh parenting style when compared to mothers without the sensitive allele.

"This finding provides further evidence in favor of the orchid-dandelion hypothesis that humans with sensitive genes, like orchids, wilt or die in poor environments, but flourish in rich environments, whereas dandelions survive in poor and rich environments," said Dr. Irwin Garfinkel, co author of the study at the Columbia University School of Social Work.

Previous studies have shown that the economic crisis has led to increase in child abuse in the last few years. The credit-crunch has also caused an increase in the number of skin-related conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Another related study had linked higher rates of suicide in the U.S. to the economic recession.

The present study was based on data from data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFS). About 5,000 children born between 1998 and 2000 had participated in the study along with their parents.

Mothers were interviewed after giving birth and when the child was 1, 3, 5 and 9 years old. Data on parenting was collected from the children when they were 3, 5 and 9 years old. Samples of saliva of children and their mothers were also collected during the study.

Researchers then collected data on economic conditions of the city where these participants lived. They found that unemployment wasn't associated with harsh parenting but unemployment rates in the city and confidence in the economy shaped parents' behavior towards children.

Fear and uncertainty about the job-market might be fueling negative behavior of parents towards children, according to researchers.

"People can adjust to difficult circumstances once they know what to expect, whereas fear or uncertainty about the future is more difficult to deal with," said Sara McLanahan, Princeton's William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs and a co-author of the paper.

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).