Sociodemographics and chronic stress in mother–toddler dyads living in poverty

Abstract

Experiencing chronic stress early in life is associated with later health disparities, and poverty may be a significant stressor for both mothers and children. With a sample of primarily Black and White mothers (N = 75) and toddlers (N = 71) living in poverty in the United States, we examined the direct relations between sociodemographic conditions of poverty and chronic physiological stress. Mothers completed questionnaires on sociodemographics, including mother/toddler race, mother's education, father's education, poverty level, economic hardship, marital status, unemployment status, and toddler sex. Physiological chronic stress was measured by assaying the cortisol content of 4 cm samples of hair cut from the posterior vertex of mothers and toddlers (20–24 months of age) to represent 4 months of stress. Mothers’ and toddlers’ chronic stress was significantly, moderately, and positively associated. Toddlers had a trending relationship of moderately higher chronic stress if they were Black compared to not Black. Mothers had significantly, moderately higher chronic stress if they were Black or had a Black toddler (compared to not Black), not married (compared to married), or were working (compared to not working). The findings suggest that these mothers, simultaneously navigating poverty and parenting a toddler, need resources to reduce chronic stress.

Sociodemographic predictors of parenting stress among mothers in disadvantaged settings: evidence from rural and urban study sites in Kenya and Zambia

“…Findings on the association between parental stress scores and other factors, such as mothers' education, were also observed, although not consistent across the study sites. These ndings have also been observed in a study of sociodemographic predictors of chronic stress in mothers [21]. Studies have suggested improved parenting practices through engagement programs among mothers with low educational levels, thereby promoting children's developmental outcomes [47].…”

Psychological and physiological stress and stressors in early childhood educators: An observational pilot study

“…Unmeasured variables may also account for our findings. For example, due to the nonexperimental and observational design of our study, other unmeasured variables (e.g., marital or cohabitation status, marital quality, number of individuals living in the household, receiving psychotherapy, or counseling) may have affected our results in this sample of many women with low‐income (e.g., Bates et al, 2021). ECEs' stressors also extend beyond our measured variables, particularly related to their workplace.…”

“…As hair grows approximately 1 cm each month (Loussouarn et al, 2016), it absorbs cortisol from the follicular bloodstream and thus can reflect the average serum cortisol concentration over the prior month (Russell et al, 2012). Bates et al (2021) found that chronic cortisol levels (mean hair cortisol concentration [HCC] analyzed with immunoassay) in a sample of mothers living in poverty in the Midwest ( n = 75; mean age 28.7 years) was 6.18 pg/mg (SD = 7.04; range 0.10–31.26). Serwinski et al (2016) found a mean chronic cortisol level (HCC analyzed with liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry) in a sample of working women in London and Budapest ( n = 164; mean age 43.6 years, SD = 9.8) of 8.39 pg/mg (SD = 6.3).…”

Sociodemographic predictors of parenting stress among caregivers in disadvantaged settings: evidence from Kenya and Zambia

“…Speci cally, one study found that female caregivers reported that male caregivers' involvement in parenting reduced the stressors that come with parenting (Okelo et al, 2022). Such ndings have also been evident in other contexts; a study in the USA among mothers in low-income settings (Bates et al, 2021). For mothers in low-income settings, marriage could be a great contributor to an improved household nancial base, emotional support and support in taking care of the child(ren) (Wilcox et al, 2011).…”