IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v145y2023ics019074092200411x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the lived experiences of women with children during COVID-19: Maternal stress and coping mechanisms

Author

Listed:
  • Childress, Saltanat
  • Roberts, Alison
  • LaBrenz, Catherine A.
  • Findley, Erin
  • Ekueku, Modesty
  • Baiden, Philip

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a qualitative study of mothers’ lived experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States. An analysis of open-ended interviews with 44 mothers who had children ages zero-to-five identified two main themes: (1) increased stress among mothers; and (2) resilience through the use of coping mechanisms. The findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to higher stress among mothers due to issues of work-family life balance, family and children’s needs, decision-making about getting sick, concerns for children's development, and lack of clarity from government officials. Mothers described using a variety of problem-focused and emotion-focused methods to cope with this stress. The lived experiences of mothers during the pandemic highlights the need for innovations in childcare modalities, paid leave policies to relieve stress, and strengthening whole family processes and resilience through the use of coping mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Childress, Saltanat & Roberts, Alison & LaBrenz, Catherine A. & Findley, Erin & Ekueku, Modesty & Baiden, Philip, 2023. "Exploring the lived experiences of women with children during COVID-19: Maternal stress and coping mechanisms," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:145:y:2023:i:c:s019074092200411x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106775
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019074092200411X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106775?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeong-Hyo Seo & Hee-Kyung Kim, 2022. "What Is the Burnout of Mothers with Infants and Toddlers during the COVID-19 Pandemic? In Relation to Parenting Stress, Depression, and Parenting Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-14, April.
    2. Benjamin Saunders & Julius Sim & Tom Kingstone & Shula Baker & Jackie Waterfield & Bernadette Bartlam & Heather Burroughs & Clare Jinks, 2018. "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1893-1907, July.
    3. Yoshie Sano & Sheila Mammen, 2022. "Mitigating the Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Rural Low-Income Families," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 227-238, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emily W. Duffy & Daniele A. Vest & Cassandra R. Davis & Marissa G. Hall & Molly De Marco & Shu Wen Ng & Lindsey Smith Taillie, 2022. "“I Think That’s the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time”: Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Jennifer Tartaglia & Michelle McIntosh & Jonine Jancey & Jane Scott & Andrea Begley, 2021. "Exploring Feeding Practices and Food Literacy in Parents with Young Children from Disadvantaged Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Najwa Taghy & Linda Cambon & Caroline Boulliat & Olivier Aromatario & Claude Dussart, 2021. "Exploring the Determinants of Polypharmacy Prescribing and Dispensing Behaviours in Primary Care for the Elderly—Protocol for a Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-10, July.
    4. Van Droogenbroeck, Ellen & Van Hove, Leo, 2020. "Intra-household task allocation in online grocery shopping: Together alone," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    5. repec:thr:techub:10019:y:2021:i:1:p:607-630 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Şahika Simsek-Cetinkaya & Simge Evrenol Ocal, 2023. "“Psychological Injuries Are Not Visible†: Experiences and Perceptions of Midwives and Nurses about Domestic Violence during Pregnancy," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 32(8), pages 1115-1123, November.
    7. Najwa Taghy & Viviane Ramel & Ana Rivadeneyra & Florence Carrouel & Linda Cambon & Claude Dussart, 2023. "Exploring the Determinants of Polypharmacy Prescribing and Dispensing Behaviors in Primary Care for the Elderly—Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Xudan Lin & Hong Zhu & Duo Yin, 2022. "Enhancing Rural Resilience in a Tea Town of China: Exploring Tea Farmers’ Knowledge Production for Tea Planting, Tea Processing and Tea Tasting," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Silvia Scaramuzzi & Sara Gabellini & Giovanni Belletti & Andrea Marescotti, 2021. "Agrobiodiversity-Oriented Food Systems between Public Policies and Private Action: A Socio-Ecological Model for Sustainable Territorial Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-32, November.
    10. Tongyu Meng & Jamie Newth & Christine Woods, 2022. "Ethical Sensemaking in Impact Investing: Reasons and Motives in the Chinese Renewable Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1091-1117, September.
    11. Annette Peart & Virginia Lewis & Chris Barton & Grant Russell, 2020. "Healthcare professionals providing care coordination to people living with multimorbidity: An interpretative phenomenological analysis," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(13-14), pages 2317-2328, July.
    12. Soo-Yong Shin & Eun-Ju Lim, 2021. "Clinical Work and Life of Mid-Career Male Nurses: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-10, June.
    13. Fatoumata Fofana & Pat Bazeley & Antoine Regnault, 2020. "Applying a mixed methods design to test saturation for qualitative data in health outcomes research," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-12, June.
    14. Alasdair Jones & Susan Parham, 2023. "Living in an Age-Friendly Community: Evidence from a Masterplanned Development in Southwest Sydney," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-21, January.
    15. Diego M. Coraiola & Robbin Derry, 2020. "Remembering to Forget: The Historic Irresponsibility of U.S. Big Tobacco," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(2), pages 233-252, October.
    16. Rajshri Roy & Alshaima Alsaie & Jessica Malloy & Joya A. Kemper, 2024. "Sustainable Culinary Skills: Fostering Vegetable-Centric Cooking Practices among Young Adults for Health and Environmental Benefits—A Qualitative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-22, January.
    17. Thomas Dax & Oliver Tamme, 2023. "Attractive Landscape Features as Drivers for Sustainable Mountain Tourism Experiences," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-16, June.
    18. Elli Nikolaidou & Ian Walker & David Coley & Stephen Allen & Daniel Fosas & Matthew Roberts, 2022. "Towards Active Buildings: Stakeholder Perceptions of the Next Generation of Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-21, August.
    19. Dimitrios Gouglas & Kendall Hoyt & Elizabeth Peacocke & Aristidis Kaloudis & Trygve Ottersen & John-Arne Røttingen, 2019. "Setting Strategic Objectives for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations: An Exploratory Decision Analysis Process," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(6), pages 430-446, November.
    20. Sheikh Basharul Islam & Suhail Ahmad Bhat & Mushtaq Ahmad Darzi, 2021. "Determining the Influence of Private Labels on Sales of National Brands: A Qualitative Approach," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 10(2), pages 133-145, June.
    21. Rhoda A. Leos & Paula M. Cuccaro & John R. Herbold & Belinda F. Hernandez, 2022. "Exploring School Staff Perceptions Relating to Animals and Their Involvement in Interventions to Support Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-10, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:145:y:2023:i:c:s019074092200411x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.