How parents react to material hardship found to be key to how income affects children

Research drawing from the "Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999" challenges the accepted finding that family income is directly associated with parental stress. The study found that parents who make more money can better provide more cognitively stimulating materials, and that material hardship can lead to parental depression and conflict. These effects in turn may cause parents to show less affection towards children, who then may become depressed or misbehave.