Maternal Stress, Family Functioning, and Child Well-Being According to Latinx Mothers With Young Children: A Mixed Methods Approach
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Date
2024-08-07
Authors
Hernandez, Ana
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
While there is an inextricable link between parental stress and child well-being, considerably less research has examined this relationship among Latinx parent-child dyads despite their unique experiences in the United States. The well-being of U.S. Latinx children is often shaped by economic hardship, family interactions, and the level and types of stress their mothers experience. The Coronavirus 2019 pandemic was an unprecedented situation by which the relationship between stressors experienced by Latinx mothers and child well-being may be further understood. The goal of this dissertation was to use mixed methods to advance the field's understanding of the relationship between maternal stress, family functioning, and child well-being in Latinx mothers who have young children in a sample of mothers who participated in the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development–Early Childhood project between April 2020 and April 2022. Part one tested the association between material hardship, maternal stress, intrafamily conflict, maternal experiences of racism and discrimination, and child well-being via quantitative data from a national sample of Latinx mothers. Part two explored mothers' lived experiences of stress via qualitative data from a subsample of Latinx mothers who resided in Oregon. This dissertation found evidence that material hardship was associated with Latinx mothers' maternal stress, which was associated with their child's well-being. These associations were found after examining quantitative data from the national sample of Latinx mothers and contextualized by qualitative data analysis from the subset of Latinx mothers who lived in Oregon. When further examining factors that may influence the association between maternal stress and child well-being, this dissertation did not find evidence that the association was mediated by intrafamily conflict or moderated by maternal experiences of racism and discrimination. When asked about their most significant challenges, mothers noted concerns about factors such as the availability of childcare and school, their health and safety, and concerns around maternal stress, child well-being, and family relationships. Mothers also reported many factors that helped them and their families through the pandemic, including financial support, having a positive mindset with coping skills, and culturally relevant factors such as family cohesion and community support.