Perceived economic hardship and adjustment outcomes of children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Most studies about the relation between economic hardship and child/adolescent outcomes include either objective assessments of economic hardship, such as income and social benefits, or both objective and subjective assessments without disentangling their effects. The aim of this meta-analysis was to synthesize the evidence about the strength of the association between perceived (subjective) economic hardship and psychological outcomes of school-aged children and adolescents (ages 6–18). We hypothesized a negative association between perceived economic hardship (by children, parents, or both) and child/adolescent positive adjustment outcomes and a positive association between perceived economic hardship and child/adolescent negative adjustment outcomes. The design and reporting of this meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Based on a comprehensive and systematic literature search of relevant peer-reviewed articles and dissertations, 53 cross-sectional studies (344 effects) were included in this meta-analysis. We used correlated and hierarchical effects models with robust variance estimation to synthesize the results. Results showed a small but significant negative pooled effect size for positive adjustment outcomes (r = −.132, 95% CI [−0.171, −0.092], p <.001) and a positive pooled effect size for negative adjustment outcomes (r =.177, 95% CI [0.129, 0.225], p <.001). For both positive adjustment and negative adjustment outcomes, type of outcome was a significant moderator. Additionally, parent education was a significant moderator for positive adjustment outcomes, with stronger effects for studies with less educated parents. For negative adjustment outcomes, the moderator informants was also significant. Notably, despite our broad age range, child/adolescent age was not a significant moderator. We also conducted supplementary analyses for the few studies reporting longitudinal effects, which yielded similar, albeit expectedly smaller, effect sizes. Overall, the results point to a small significant relation between perceived economic hardship and adjustment outcomes, which can have implications for research with children and adolescents, by informing strategies to mitigate the effects of perceived hardship.