Middle-Income Families and the Great Recession: Examining Challenges Over Time

• In Event: 208 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Paper Session. Hard Times for Families in Hard Social Spaces

Abstract

As has been well documented in the academic literature, inequality among families the United States has grown tremendously over the last several decades. The economic turmoil of the last several years has certainly exacerbated these trends. These economic changes have particularly impacted those who we label as “families in the middle”- whose incomes place them squarely in the middle of the income distribution. Utilizing three waves of interview data with parents in a middle income community outside of Philadelphia, we analyze how these families have experienced and managed the economic turmoil surrounding them.

Authors

• Laura J. Napolitano, State University of New Jersey-Rutgers at Camden

• Patricia Tevington, University of Pennsylvania