“It brought my family more together”: Mixed‐methods study of low‐income U.S. mothers during the pandemic
Published date | 01 July 2022 |
Author | Mary E. Haskett,Jodi K. Hall,Heather P. Finster,Caitlyn Owens,Alexandra R. Buccelli |
Date | 01 July 2022 |
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12684 |
RESEARCH
“It brought my family more together”:
Mixed-methods study of low-income U.S. mothers
during the pandemic
Mary E. Haskett|Jodi K. Hall|Heather P. Finster|
Caitlyn Owens|Alexandra R. Buccelli
Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Correspondence
Mary E. Haskett, Department of Psychology,
Box 7650, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh NC 27695, USA.
Email: mary_haskett@ncsu.edu
Funding information
This study was made possible with funding
from North Carolina State University Non-
laboratory Scholarship/ Research Support
Program (NSRP), National institute of
Minority Health and Health Disparities
R01MD011746, and National Institute for
Environmental Health Sciences P30ES025128.
Abstract
Objective: We sought to understand challenges and posi-
tive experiences of low-income families during the
pandemic.
Background: Strength-based perspectives of economically
disadvantaged mothers are missing from literature on the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it is impera-
tive to recognize disparities that were highlighted by the
pandemic, strengths-based approaches and a resilience
framework can help professionals build upon and learn
from ways families manage during those times.
Method: We used a mixed-method approach to gain
understanding of the unique experiences of 15 low-income
mothers at the height of the pandemic. We administered a
brief COVID-19 stress screener, the Five-Minute Speech
Sample measure, and an open-ended question about
potential positive experiences during the pandemic.
Results: We learned that strength and resilience supersede
the liabilities brought on by COVID-19 that are so often
focused on. We found highly divergent experiences across
mothers in terms of stress; even mothers with high levels of
stress readily identified positive aspects of life during the
pandemic. Mothers’responses were indicative of greater
feelings of warmth and tenderness than negativity about
their children.
Conclusion and Implications: We discuss findings in terms
of strengths-based practices and policies for mothers
Received: 11 April 2021Revised: 23 September 2021Accepted: 30 January 2022
DOI: 10.1111/fare.12684
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits
use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or
adaptations are made.
© 2022 The Authors. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.
Family Relations. 2022;71:849–864. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 849
receiving public assistance and provide suggestions for
continued research on resilience of mothers during the
pandemic.
KEYWORDS
correlation, economic distress, family strengths, low-income, mothers and
motherhood, poverty, qualitative: grounded theory, welfare
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of families worldwide in dramatic ways. With
“stay at home”orders imposed by local and state governments across the United States in late
March and early April 2020, families experienced a host of dramatic changes to their routines,
rituals, rules, relationships, and responsibilities (Prime et al., 2020). Parents and guardians who
were essential workers may have continued to work; those considered nonessential often
worked from home or were laid off or furloughed. Schools and childcare centers closed with lit-
tle notice, forcing families to quickly adapt to online learning, which cut children off from
socialization, academic support, and basic services such as school nurses and nutrition from free
or reduced-price lunch. Understanding the ability of families to adapt to the sudden and ongo-
ing changes, as expressed through the lived experiences of low-income mothers, may provide
avenues for supporting families through change and extreme stress.
Stress has been targeted as profoundly impacting families during the COVID-19 pandemic,
and researchers have documented the effects of quarantine and shut-downs on stress levels and
mental health of Americans (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020; Fitzpatrick
et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2020; U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). In particular, parents experienced ele-
vated levels of stress. In their annual Stress in America survey, the APA (2020) found that par-
ents reported significantly higher levels of stress during quarantine than nonparents,
particularly related to disrupted routines, concerns about health, managing distance learning,
and taking care of their family’s basic needs.
A saying that arose during the early days of the pandemic was that “We are not all in the
same boat. We are all in the same storm,”emphasizing the varying experiences and privileges
with which Americans weathered the pandemic (Barr, 2020). In fact, parents facing financial
hardship, people of color, and mothers in particular were more likely to report high stress and
other negative experiences during the pandemic (Patrick et al., 2020; U.S. Census
Bureau, 2020). It is necessary to first understand the stressors that these mothers face to prop-
erly contextualize an exploration of strengths and resilience.
During the early months of the pandemic, the U.S. economy saw a sharp downturn. As a
result of quarantine, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing measures that shuttered the
doors of nonessential businesses, unemployment rates rose from 3.8% in February to 13.0% in
May (Pew Research Center, 2020). Consequently, economic factors were reported as a signifi-
cant source of stress among parents (APA, 2020). It has been well-documented that stressful
macro-level events such as disease and economic downturn can have deleterious effects onpar-
ents’well-being and, in turn, their children’s adjustment (Prime et al., 2020). During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick et al. (2020) reported a link between worsening mental health
among parents and behavioral difficulties among their children, particularly occurring along-
side a loss of childcare and an increase in food insecurity.
However, the health and financial impacts of the pandemic have not been universal or equi-
table in distribution. Instead, the pandemic has further increased historical racial and ethnic dis-
parities in many aspects of employment, living conditions, and health care (Centers for Disease
Control, 2020). People of color reported higher stress than their White counterparts concerning
getting coronavirus (71% vs. 59%, respectively), basic needs insecurity (61% vs. 47%), and lim-
ited access to health care (59% vs. 46%; APA, 2020).
850 FAMILY RELATIONS
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting

Start Your 3-day Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
