2017 Reports

Strong at the Broken Places: The Resiliency of Low-Income Parents

Wilson-Simmons, Renee; Jiang, Yang; Aratani, Yumiko

Despite the multitude of obstacles that low-income parents face, many of them succeed in helping their children flourish. They raise children who possess the social-emotional competence needed to develop and keep friendships; establish good relationships with parents, teachers, and other adults; and experience a range of achievements that contribute to their selfconfidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. What can we learn about these resilient parents that can be shared with other parents who could benefit from such information, as well as with those who are committed to supporting parents’ efforts to nurture their children? What types of policies and programs have been shown to promote parents’ resiliency and, in turn, their children’s? This policy report provides some of the answers to these questions.