Parenting and poverty in the Amazon

Abstract Objective To identify the parental practices of poor families living in the city of Belém. Method An exploratory study was carried out with 448 heads (mother/guardians) of poor families living in the continental portion of the municipality of Belém, in which the Parenting Styles Inventory was applied, Sociodemographic inventory and the Family Poverty Index was calculated. Correspondence analysis of the data was performed. Results Most families showed a high level of Excellent in categories Moral Behavior and Inconsistent Punishment and level of Risk in Negligence. In addition, the poorest families were more likely to have Moral Behavior on the level Excellent parenting. Conclusion It discusses the coexistence of potentially healthy and harmful elements in the same environment and the need to consider the complexity of human relational phenomena, in particular, parenting practices.