The parenting stress hypothesis is a paradigm that looks at the psychological aspects of poverty and its effects on children’s life chances. Discuss this paradigm and apply it to Marlin’s situation of growing up in poverty. Apart from parenting, what other factors should we consider to best understand Marlin’s case?

Please answer any 2 of the following questions based on the readings and presentations this week.

1) The parenting stress hypothesis is a paradigm that looks at the psychological aspects of poverty and its effects on children’s life chances. Discuss this paradigm and apply it to Marlin’s situation of growing up in poverty. Apart from parenting, what other factors should we consider to best understand Marlin’s case?

2) Consider and discuss in detail, the benefits and the detriments of welfare programs in our country. Substantiate your analyses with 2-3 examples and/or data from academic resources. DO NOT offer personal opinions and/or content from non-academic sources such as WikiLeaks unless the info therein can be corroborated via some form of research studies.

3) Why is there such unequal distribution of wealth and income inequality in the United States in comparison to other developed nations of the world? Explain in detail.

4) Watch some prime-time television and take notes on representations of the poor.  Look for patterns in race, gender, family structures, etc… In addition, pay attention to the way TV frames the causes of poverty.  Are these causes personal, cultural, economic, or circumstantial?  Are the poor presented as deserving of their circumstances or victims of situations beyond their control? Summarize your findings with examples and describe what you have observed.