Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2024

Open Access 01-12-2024 | Research

Connecting families: a qualitative study examining the experiences of parenting young children under financial strain in Ontario, Canada

Authors: Mary I. Martin, Dane Mauer-Vakil, Cornelia M. Borkhoff, Patricia C. Parkin, Imaan Bayoumi

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2024

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

There is little research investigating the subjective experiences of parenting young children while living in poverty and experiencing financial strain using qualitative methodologies. Therefore, the objective of this study was to employ a qualitative approach to provide a nuanced and balanced view on the topic of parenting young children under financial strain in the Canadian context.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews between July and August 2021 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Sixteen participants aged 20–39 self-identified as living under financial strain while parenting a child aged 2–5 years. A qualitative inductive thematic analysis was undertaken with a focus on describing the contents of the data.

Results

Four major themes emerged from the data: experience of being a parent, impact of financial strain on the family unit, impact of financial strain on the children, and impact of financial strain on the parent. Numerous deleterious physical, mental, and material impacts on the family unit and parent were identified, however parent-perceived impacts of financial strain on their children were minimal. Parents described striking levels of resourcefulness and resiliency in providing the necessities for their families, absorbing the most significant impacts of financial strain through the phenomenon of self-sacrifice.

Conclusion

The impacts of financial strain on families with young children are far reaching. Further research into the impacts of self-sacrifice on parents experiencing financial strain are needed to better understand this issue, and to inform social programming and resources that could help alleviate the deleterious impacts of poverty on parent mental, social, and physical health.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Council on Community Pediatrics. Poverty and Child Health in the United States. Pediatrics. 2016;137(4):e20160339.CrossRef
2.
Acri MC, Bornheimer LA, Jessell L, Heckman Chomancuzuk A, Adler JG, Gopalan G, et al. The intersection of extreme poverty and familial mental health in the United States. Social Work Mental Health. 2017;15(6):677–89.CrossRef
3.
4.
Sareen J, Afifi TO, McMillan KA, Asmundson GJG. Relationship between household income and mental disorders: findings from a population-based longitudinal study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68(4):419–27.PubMedCrossRef
5.
6.
Heckman JJ. The case for investing in Disadvantaged Young Children. CESifo DICE Rep 6(2):3–8.
7.
Marcil LE, Campbell JI, Silva KE, Hughes D, Salim S, Nguyen HAT, et al. Women’s experiences of the Effect of Financial strain on parenting and Mental Health. J Obstetric Gynecologic Neonatal Nurs. 2020;49(6):581–92.CrossRef
8.
Lyons S, Arcara J, Deardorff J, Gomez AM. Financial strain and contraceptive use among women in the United States: Differential effects by Age. Women’s Health Issues. 2019;29(2):153–60.PubMedCrossRef
9.
Hurwich-Reiss E, Watamura SE. Family processes among latino early Head Start families: understanding the role of caregiver acculturation. J Community Psychol. 2019;47(6):1433–48.PubMedCrossRef
10.
Jackson AP, Scheines R. Single mothers’ Self-Efficacy, parenting in the Home Environment, and children’s development in a two-Wave Study. Social Work Res. 2005;29(1):7–20.CrossRef
11.
O’Neil J, Wilson MN, Shaw DS, Dishion TJ. The relationship between parental efficacy and depressive symptoms in a diverse sample of low income mothers. J Child Fam Stud. 2009;18(6):643–52.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
12.
Lange BCL, Dáu ALBT, Goldblum J, Alfano J, Smith MV. A mixed methods investigation of the experience of poverty among a Population of Low-Income Parenting women. Community Ment Health J. 2017;53(7):832–41.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
13.
14.
Mani A, Mullainathan S, Shafir E, Zhao J. Poverty impedes cognitive function. Science. 2013;341(6149):976–80.PubMedCrossRef
15.
Shah AK, Zhao J, Mullainathan S, Shafir E. Money in the Mental lives of the poor. Soc Cogn. 2018;36(1):4–19.CrossRef
16.
17.
18.
Gómez A, Karimli L, Holguin M, Chung P, Szilagyi P, Schickedanz A. Bills, babies, and (language) barriers: associations among economic strain, parenting, and primary language during the newborn period. Fam Relat. 2022;71(1):352–70.PubMedCrossRef
19.
Scaramella LV, Sohr-Preston SL, Callahan KL, Mirabile SP. A test of the family stress model on toddler-aged children’s Adjustment among Hurricane Katrina impacted and nonimpacted low-income families. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2008;37(3):530–41.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
20.
Evans GW, Boxhill L, Pinkava M. Poverty and maternal responsiveness: the role of maternal stress and Social resources. Int J Behav Dev. 2008;32(3):232–7.CrossRef
21.
Tomlinson M. Parenting and poverty: a complex interaction. Parenthood and mental health: a bridge between infant and adult psychiatry. Hoboken, NJ, US: Wiley Blackwell; 2010. pp. 337–48. (World Psychiatric Association evidence and experience in psychiatry).CrossRef
22.
Conger RD, Conger KJ, Elder GH, Lorenz FO, Simons RL, Whitbeck LB. A family process model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Dev. 1992;63(3):526–41.PubMedCrossRef
23.
Mistry RS, Vandewater EA, Huston AC, McLoyd VC. Economic well-being and children’s social adjustment: the role of family process in an ethnically diverse low-income sample. Child Dev. 2002;73(3):935–51.PubMedCrossRef
24.
Sobolewski JM, Amato PR. Economic hardship in the family of origin and children’s psychological well-being in adulthood. J Marriage Family. 2005;67(1):141–56.CrossRef
25.
Creswell JW. Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2013. p. 448.
26.
Comeau J, Boyle MH. Patterns of poverty exposure and children’s trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors. SSM Popul Health. 2017;4:86–94.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
27.
Creswell J, Creswell D. Research Design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE; 2018.
28.
Saldaña J. The coding manual for qualitative researchers. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2013. p. 303.
29.
Berger R. Now I see it, now I don’t: researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Res. 2015;15(2):219–34.CrossRef
30.
31.
32.
Shafiee M, Vatanparast H, Janzen B, Serahati S, Keshavarz P, Jandaghi P, et al. Household food insecurity is associated with depressive symptoms in the Canadian adult population. J Affect Disord. 2021;279:563–71.PubMedCrossRef
33.
Muldoon KA, Duff PK, Fielden S, Anema A. Food insufficiency is associated with psychiatric morbidity in a nationally representative study of mental illness among food insecure canadians. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013;48(5):795–803.PubMedCrossRef
34.
Wadsworth ME, Raviv T, Compas BE, Connor-Smith JK. Parent and adolescent responses to poverty-related stress: tests of mediated and moderated coping models. J Child Fam stud. 2005;14:283–98.CrossRef
35.
Conger RD, Elder GH Jr., Lorenz FO, Simons RL, Whitbeck LB. Families in troubled times: Adapting to change in rural America. Hawthorne, NY, US: Aldine de Gruyter; 1994. xi, 303 p. (Families in troubled times: Adapting to change in rural America).
36.
Conger RD, Conger KJ. Resilience in Midwestern families: selected findings from the first decade of a prospective, longitudinal study. J Marriage Family. 2002;64:361–73.CrossRef
37.
Masarik AS, Conger RD. Stress and child development: a review of the family stress model. Curr Opin Psychol. 2017;13:85–90.PubMedCrossRef
38.
39.
Dew J. Debt change and marital satisfaction change in recently married couples. Fam Relat. 2008;57(1):60–71.CrossRef
40.
Conger RD, Elder GH Jr., Lorenz FO, Conger KJ, Simons RL, Whitbeck LB, et al. Linking economic hardship to marital quality and instability. J Marriage Fam. 1990;52:643–56.CrossRef
41.
Williamson HC, Karney BR, Bradbury TN. Financial strain and stressful events predict newlyweds’ negative communication independent of relationship satisfaction. J Fam Psychol. 2013;27(1):65–75.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
42.
Masarik AS, Martin MJ, Ferrer E, Lorenz FO, Conger KJ, Conger RD. Couple resilience to economic pressure over Time and Across generations. J Marriage Fam. 2016;78(2):326–45.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
43.
Hardie JH, Lucas A. Economic factors and relationship quality among young couples: comparing cohabitation and marriage. J Marriage Family. 2010;72:1141–54.CrossRef
44.
Simon J, Murphy J, Smith S. Understanding and fostering resilience. Family Journal: Couns Therapy Couples Families. 2005;13(4):427–36.CrossRef
45.
46.
Benzies K, Mychasiuk R. Fostering family resiliency: a review of the key protective factors. Child Family Social Work. 2009;14(1):103–14.CrossRef
47.
Black C, Ford-Gilboe M. Adolescent mothers: resilience, family health work and health-promoting practices. J Adv Nurs. 2004;48(4):351–60.PubMedCrossRef
48.
Orthner DK, Jones-Sanpei H, Williamson S. The resilience and strengths of low-income families. Fam Relat. 2004;53(2):159–67.CrossRef
49.
Browne G, Roberts J, Byrne C, Gafni A, Weir R, Majumdar B. The costs and effects of addressing the needs of vulnerable populations: results of 10 years of research. Can J Nurs Res. 2001;33(1):65–76.PubMed
50.
Stack RJ, Meredith A. The impact of Financial Hardship on single parents: an exploration of the Journey from Social Distress to seeking help. J Fam Econ Issues. 2018;39(2):233–42.PubMedCrossRef
51.
Spencer N, Raman S, O’Hare B, Tamburlini G. Addressing inequities in child health and development: towards social justice. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2019;3(1):e000503.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
52.
53.
Bradshaw J, Mayhew E. The Well-Being of children in the UK. London: Save the Children; 2005.
54.
Kiernan KE, Mensah FK, Poverty. Maternal Depression, Family Status and Children’s cognitive and behavioural development in early childhood: a longitudinal study. J Soc Pol. 2009;38(4):569–88.CrossRef
55.
Reiss F. Socioeconomic inequalities and mental health problems in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Soc Sci Med. 2013;90:24–31.PubMedCrossRef
56.
Ridge T. The Everyday costs of poverty in Childhood: a review of qualitative research exploring the lives and experiences of low-income children in the UK. Child Soc. 2011;25(1):73–84.CrossRef
57.
Dickinson J, Leman PJ, Easterbrook MJ. Children’s developing understanding of economic inequality and their place within it. Br J Dev Psychol. 2023;41(2):81–98.PubMedCrossRef
58.
Heberle AE, Carter AS. Cognitive aspects of young children’s experience of economic disadvantage. Psychol Bull. 2015;141(4):723–46.PubMedCrossRef
59.
Attree P. The social costs of child poverty: a systematic review of the qualitative evidence. Child Soc. 2006;20(1):54–66.CrossRef
60.
Andresen S, Meiland S. Being poor from children’s point of view. The potential of childhood theory and qualitative methods for child poverty research: findings from two qualitative studies of poverty in Germany. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2019;97(C):94–9.CrossRef
61.
Metadata
Title
Connecting families: a qualitative study examining the experiences of parenting young children under financial strain in Ontario, Canada
Authors
Mary I. Martin
Dane Mauer-Vakil
Cornelia M. Borkhoff
Patricia C. Parkin
Imaan Bayoumi
Publication date
01-12-2024
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18463-4

Other articles of this Issue 1/2024

BMC Public Health 1/2024 Go to the issue

Research

Factors predicting depressive symptoms in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in eastern China

Research

Bidirectional and cross-lag relationship between social media use and psychological wellbeing: evidence from an Indian adolescent cohort study

Research

Socioeconomic differences in working life expectancy: a scoping review

Research

Dose-response relationship between 15 weeks of running and aerobic fitness: a retrospective analysis based on the fun running program

Research

‘I tried to take my phone off my daughter, and i got hit in the face’: a qualitative study of parents’ challenges with adolescents’ screen use and a toolbox of their tips

Research

Exploring the connection between caffeine intake and constipation: a cross-sectional study using national health and nutrition examination survey data