User:Wojci028/downward mobility
Downward Mobility is a specific form of social mobility. It pertains only to those progressing down the economic slope instead of following the general "upward" trend. Downward mobility is a rather unspoken phenomenon in the United States. This is demonstrated by the lack of rituals to commemorate events that correspond with a slip down the social slope. For example, to celebrate upward mobility, Americans utilize rituals such as: Graduation Parties, housewarming parties and award ceremonies.
Managers & Downwardly Mobile Families
Theories put forth by Katherine S. Newman in her ethnography, "Falling From Grace" detail downward mobility specifically. She describes the downwardly mobile family as distressed and undermined by downward mobility.[1] One of her focus points is the effect of growing up in a downwardly mobile family on children. The children in her ethnography sometimes display adverse behavioral and perceptual abnormalities. For instance, the youngest sibling in the Miller family (one of the families studied by Newman) was showered with as much as the family could afford. He became quite spoiled, as his elder sister commented
Whatever my youngest brother wanted when he was a kid, he got it, even though they didn't have the money. When he asked for something he just got it. If he lost something expensive, it was replaced. To me that was just amazing. As a result, he isn't happy with anything less than the most expensive items you can find. But since he was only seven when they started on food stamps, he really thinks of himself as a poor kid. He's a mass of contradictions.[1]
Newman interprets this effect to display that downward mobility is a shared experience, and only exists when viewed through the multiple perspectives of each member of the family.
Newman states that in downwardly mobile families children often grow up too fast for their own liking. They're frequently stuck doing bills and taking care of younger siblings when they should be out learning to socialize with their peers.[1]