Open AccessImpact of the 2020 pandemic of COVID-19 on Families with School-aged Children in the United States: Roles of Income Level and Race
Author(s) -
Yung-Chi Chen,
Elena Byrne,
Tanya Vélez
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of family issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.814
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1552-5481
pISSN - 0192-513X
DOI - 10.1177/0192513x21994153
Subject(s) - pandemic , ethnic group , race (biology) , psychology , family income , coping (psychology) , white (mutation) , covid-19 , developmental psychology , gerontology , demography , medicine , sociology , clinical psychology , political science , gender studies , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biochemistry , chemistry , disease , pathology , anthropology , law , gene
This study examined the experiences of families with school-aged children during the first three months of the 2020 pandemic of COVID-19 in the United States, while focusing on the roles of income level and race/ethnicity in their experiences. Two hundred and twenty-three parents of school-aged children participated in this study by completing an online survey. The results revealed that low-income and lower-middle class parents, as well as parents of color, experienced more instrumental and financial hardships due to the pandemic, when compared to their higher income, White counterparts. In contrast, parents with higher income and White parents were more likely to feel stressed over structuring home learning environments and planning educational and physical activities at home for their children. The overall findings suggest that family income level and race/ethnicity play a significant role in the lives of families coping with a variety of challenges due to the pandemic.