Rearing children can be difficult for any parent, but parents who experience social and economic disadvantages may face additional challenges.  Child Trends' latest research brief, Disadvantaged Families and Child Outcomes: The Importance of Emotional Support for Mothers, examines the link between emotional support mothers receive in rearing their children, and their children's development.

Child Trends found that emotional support for mothers improves outcomes for children, even when controlling for family structure, income, gender, race/ethnicity, and child's age.  Children whose mothers reported receiving emotional support during childrearing were more likely to be engaged in school and exhibit social competence than children whose mothers did not receive emotional support.  The same pattern held true for internalizing behaviors; children were less likely to display internalizing behaviors if their mothers had received emotional support.  Findings from this brief suggest that providing emotional support for mothers may serve to protect children in both disadvantaged and advantaged families from negative outcomes.