The effect of family economic stress on children's welfare

U posljednjih desetak godina razvidan je fenomen novog siromaštva koji se očituje u financijskoj neizvjesnosti te porastu nezaposlenosti srednjih slojeva društva. Novi socijalni rizici otežavaju održavanje životnog standarda obitelji, a tijekom krize, stopa dječjeg siromaštva bila je iznad nacionalnog prosjeka Republike Hrvatske. Time se povećava rizik za pojavu ekonomskog stresa u obitelji koji ima negativni učinak na obiteljske interakcije. Prema modelu obiteljskog stresa, emocionalna nestabilnost pojedinca, uzrokovana ekonomskim stresom, narušava odnos s bračnim partnerom i djetetom. Opada i kvaliteta roditeljstva zajedno s roditeljskim nadzorom i emocionalnom toplinom. Sveukupno, nastaju teškoće u prilagodbi djeteta s posljedicama na socio-emocionalno funkcioniranje djeteta. U kontekstu koncepta dobrobiti djeteta, posebice su narušene dimenzije emocionalne dobrobiti, subjektivne dobrobiti te odnosa s roditeljima. Studije su pokazale da dobra obiteljska klima i obiteljska otpornost omogućuju uspješno nošenje sa zahtjevima u vrijeme kriznih razdoblja.In the past ten years, a phenomenon, new poverty, has become more apparent which presents itself through financial uncertainty and middle-class unemployment growth. New social risks harden the upkeep of the family living standard and, during the crisis, the child poverty rate rose above the national average of the Republic of Croatia. Consequently, the growing risk of economic stres in the family negatively impacts family interactions. Based on the family stress model, emotional instability of the individual, caused by economic stress, negatively impacts the relationship with a spouse and child. Other than the mentioned, the quality of parenting, parental supervision and emotional warmth also take a dive. All in all, children have difficulty adjusting to the consequences which impact the socio-emotional functions of the child. When talking about the wellbeing of a child, most disrupted are the dimensions of emotional wellbeing, subjective wellbeing and child-parent relationships. Thankfully, studies show that a good family climate and resilience results in successfully dealing with demands during times of crisis