Explain why many affluent youths are at risk for poor adjustment

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Despite their advanced education and greater material wealth, affluent parents—those in prestigious occupations with six-figure annual incomes—too often fail to engage in family interaction and parenting that promote favorable development. In several studies, researchers tracked youths growing up in high-SES suburbs. By seventh grade, many showed serious problems that worsened in high school. Their school grades were poor, and they were more likely than low-SES youths to engage in alcohol and drug use and to report high levels of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, among affluent (but not low-SES) teenagers, substance use was correlated with anxiety and depression, suggesting that wealthy youths took drugs to self-medicate—a practice that predicts persistent abuse.
Compared to their better-adjusted counterparts, poorly adjusted affluent young people report less emotional closeness and supervision from their parents, who lead professionally and socially demanding lives. As a group, wealthy parents are nearly as physically and emotionally unavailable to their youngsters as parents coping with serious financial strain. At the same time, these parents often make excessive demands for achievement. Adolescents whose parents value their accomplishments more than their character and emotional well-being are more likely to have academic and emotional problems.
For both affluent and low-SES youths, a simple routine—eating dinner with parents—is associated with a reduction in adjustment difficulties, even after many other aspects of parenting are controlled. Interventions that make wealthy parents aware of the high costs of a competitive, overscheduled lifestyle and minimal family time are badly needed.