Mothering and Stress During COVID-19: Exploring the Moderating Effects of Employment
Using primary data from the Assessing the Social Consequences of COVID-19 study (N=1,647), we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the stress levels (i.e., pre-pandemic vs. during-pandemic stress) of women with and without coresiding minor children, paying special attention to the moderating role of women’s employment status. Results from OLS regression models show that following the pandemic outbreak, among women who worked full-time, mothers reported smaller stress increases than non-mothers. Among part-time and non-employed women, mothers and non-mothers experienced similar levels of stress increase. Changes in women’s work hours and employment status, following the pandemic onset, had limited impacts on the patterns of stress level changes. This study contributes to research on parenting and health by showing that during times of crisis, full-time employment may play a protective role for mother’s mental health, but may not buffer the mental health deterioration of women not raising children.