Research Framework: Although indebtedness can promote socioeconomic mobility, for example by facilitating the purchase of a home, it can also lead to over-indebtedness, resulting in stress, social isolation, and precariousness. Against this trend, many studies have sought to understand the sources of indebtedness and identify households that are most vulnerable to over-indebtedness, but few have examined the effect of having dependent children.

Objectives: We analyzed the indebtedness of parents compared with that of people with no dependent children in Quebec. Drawing on research on intensive parenting, we argue that many parents use credit to meet their children’s needs, resulting in higher levels of indebtedness and a higher risk of overindebtedness than childless people.

Methodology: We used data from the Quebec Household Indebtedness Survey conducted in January and February 2022 (N: 4,433). Through logistic, linear, and ordinal regressions, we compared the probability of having debts, the amounts owed, the experience of debt repayment difficulties, and the stress they cause among parents and those without dependent children.

Results: This study revealed that parents are more likely to be in debt than people without dependent children. They find it more difficult to repay their debts, and experience more debt-related stress than people without children, particularly if they are single or in a relationship. Nearly 20% of parents identified expenses related to their children’s well-being as a reason for debt.

Conclusions: Parents are substantially more indebted and more at risk of overindebtedness than individuals without dependent children. We link this phenomenon to the rise of an intensive parenting norm that demands unprecedented levels of commitment from parents, particularly mothers, in their children’s development.

Contribution: This study fills a gap by examining parental indebtedness. It highlights the specific challenges faced by indebted parents, and it reveals that financial difficulties persist even in a context where public policies support families.

• parent
• debt
• intensive parenting
• family dynamics
• parental commitment
• financial hardship
• stress
• family
• money

https://journals.openedition.org/efg/20881