Family Expectations

2019 ◽  
pp. 127-152
Author(s):  
Sarah Halpern-Meekin
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Oklahoma City ◽  
Relationship Education ◽  
Male Partners ◽  
Relationship Skills ◽  
Family Expectations ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Healthy Relationship

This chapter describes the Family Expectations program, which is a long-running relationship education program targeted at low-income, new parents in Oklahoma City. Often women take the lead in suggesting to their male partners that they attend the program, but men are won over once they visit the well-appointed facility with its friendly staff. Couples attend because they desire a better relationship with one another both for themselves and for their children. They enjoy the relationship skills workshops, and the educators’ lessons about communication resonate with them. The program helps couples form shared expectations regarding what counts as healthy relationship dynamics. Their relationships with staff appear to be key to their enjoyment of and participation in the program.

Learning Skills

2019 ◽  
pp. 153-173
Author(s):  
Sarah Halpern-Meekin
Keyword(s):  
Education Program ◽  
Relationship Education ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Relationship Skills ◽  
Family Expectations ◽  
Destructive Conflict ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter discusses the experiences parents have early on in the year in which they are enrolled in the relationship education program; this is when their participation is most intense, often including weekly workshop attendance. Researchers have debated whether relationship education programs have a substantial impact on participants, and they have critiqued programs’ ideological underpinnings and ability to resolve participants’ financial needs. Three months after enrolling in Family Expectations, the participants described learning relationship skills, including specific techniques for facilitating healthy communication and avoiding destructive conflict; some also described becoming more knowledgeable and confident parents. They often described the program as having benefited their relationship by increasing its quality and making them feel more hopeful about its future. In short, they felt the program helped solidify their relationship as a social asset—a protection against social poverty.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sarah Halpern-Meekin
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Resources ◽  
Relationship Education ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Family Expectations

This chapter explains the concept of social poverty and how it offers a new way of analyzing policy and of understanding human behavior. For example, it helps to explain the puzzle of why relationship education participants are enthusiastic about these programs, even though commentators and researchers are often critical of them. The low-income, unmarried, new parents who attend relationship education programs often face a great deal of instability in their lives, which can challenge their social resources. Parents see relationship education programs, such as Oklahoma City’s Family Expectations program, studied here, as offering tools they need to build these social resources and guard against social poverty.

Long-Term Evaluation of a Relationship Education Program for Low-Income Couples

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Markman ◽  
Marcie Pregulman ◽  
Shauna Rienks ◽  
Martha E. Wadsworth
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Relationship Education ◽  
Term Evaluation

Family Resource Management Style and Life Adjustment of Low-Income Single Mothers in China

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 959-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
I-Jun Chen ◽  
Yan Gu ◽  
Cui Chen
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Single Mothers ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Management Styles ◽  
Family Resource Management ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Resource ◽  
The Relationship

Using 2 questionnaires, we examined the relationship between family resource management styles and life adjustment among 271 low-income single mothers in China. The results indicated that there were significant differences in family resource management styles depending on the educational background of the single mothers and their reason for heading the family. The women also reported significant differences in life adjustment. The interaction effect of resource management styles and monthly income on life adjustment was significant. Specifically, resource management styles and educational background significantly predicted the women's life adjustment.

The Relationship Between Social Support and Family Relationships Among Low‐Income Couples Attending Relationship Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 1498-1516
Author(s):  
Ryan G. Carlson ◽  
Naomi J. Wheeler ◽  
Xun Liu ◽  
Christopher Hipp ◽  
Andrew P. Daire
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Relationship Education ◽  
The Relationship

Conclusion

2016 ◽  
pp. 202-216
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Randles
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Relationship Education ◽  
Poor Families ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Parents Experiences

In this concluding chapter, I describe the benefits and limitations of healthy marriage programs for low-income families. Publicly sponsored relationship education could be a valuable social service in a highly unequal society where stable, happy marriages are increasingly becoming a privilege of the most economically advantaged couples. The classes I studied focused on teaching low-income couples to emulate the relationship experiences and behaviors more typical of middle-class couples. Low-income parents’ experiences suggest that relationship policies would be more useful if they addressed the economic stresses that take an emotional toll on romantic relationships and less on promoting the dubious message that marriage improves the economic circumstances of poor families. In highlighting their perspectives, this book makes a case for relationship policies and programs that reflect how intimate inequalities lead to curtailed commitments.

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