Perceived racial discrimination and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Polysubstance use among adolescents is a significant public health concern, yet most studies on adolescent substance use focus on a singular substance. This study is one of the first to investigate the association between perceived racial discrimination (PRD) in school and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents using a nationally representative sample. METHODS: Data was from the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey. The sample included 4145 racial/ethnic minority adolescents (52.8% female). Hierarchical binary logistic regression was used to examine the association between PRD in school and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents. RESULTS: About 12% of racial/ethnic minority adolescents engaged in polysubstance use and 23.4% reported experiencing PRD in school sometimes/most of the time/always. Controlling for other factors, experiencing PRD in school sometimes/most of the time/always was associated with 1.52 times higher odds of polysubstance use when compared to adolescents who never experienced PRD in school (OR=1.52, p=.044, 95% CI=1.01-2.30). Cyberbullying victimization, symptoms of depression, and being emotionally abused by a parent during COVID-19 were also associated with polysubstance use. CONCLUSION: Controlling for demographic characteristics and psychosocial stressors, PRD in school was significantly associated with higher odds of polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents. The findings of this study could inform clinicians and policymakers of the association between PRD in school and polysubstance use, which could contribute to early identification of polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents.

When "Time Is Not Your Own": Experiences of Mothering Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As COVID-19 reached pandemic levels in March 2020, schools shifted to remote learning. Student parents in higher education had to adapt to their own remote learning and assume responsibility for childcare and their children's education. Few studies have explored the impact of COVID-19 on mothers who are also full-time students. This study utilized a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of mothering students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student mothers were recruited from a large, public, Hispanic-serving university in a Southern state. We conducted interviews with 15 student mothers who had at least one child under the age of 18 during the first six months of the pandemic. Three main themes emerged from the analyses: (1) successfully meeting educational requirements;(2) dealing with the mental health impact of the pandemic;and (3) changing the institutional structure. The first theme captured strategies mothering students implemented to ensure their own or their children's educational goals were met. The second theme encompassed how mothers handled the stress caused by the pandemic. The third theme explored ways that mothers resisted gendered expectations and norms around care. Implications for policy and social work practice include changing institutional structures to enhance support for mothering students.

The impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTQ+ foster youth alumni.

BACKGROUND: LGBTQ+ youth frequently experience disparities in outcomes related to permanency and overall well-being while in out-of-home care. These negative outcomes often persist after youth have transitioned out of care, particularly in the domains of housing, education, employment, and mental health. Initial research has found that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated negative physical and mental health outcomes, as well as decreased economic stability among transition age youth. OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to determine if COVID-19 has resulted in unique impacts on foster care alumni, and if these impacts are the same for LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ transition age youth. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This study used data from the 2020 Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative Opportunity Passport Survey to explore these questions. METHODS: This survey was administered electronically to a national sample of 1223 youth ages 18-26 with lived experience in foster care. RESULTS: Results indicate that relative to non-LGBTQ+ foster care alumni, LGBTQ+ foster care alumni experienced more negative outcomes in housing stability, employment, and mental health/trauma due to COVID-19. No significant differences were found for education-related impacts. Outcomes varied by sex assigned at birth, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) of respondents, with female respondents, black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) youth and LGBTQ+ youth being most frequently impacted. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that relative to non-LGBTQ+ foster care alumni, LGBTQ+ foster care alumni experienced more negative outcomes in housing stability, employment, and mental health/trauma due to COVID-19. No significant differences were found for education-related impacts. Outcomes varied by sex assigned at birth, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) of respondents, with female respondents, BIPOC youth and LGBTQ+ youth being most frequently impacted. Implications for practice and policy are explored.

Perceived racial discrimination and suicidal behaviors among racial and ethnic minority adolescents in the United States: Findings from the 2021 adolescent behaviors and experiences survey.

The objectives of this study were to investigate: (1) the prevalence of perceived racial discrimination (PRD) in school, among racial/ethnic minority adolescents, and (2) the association between PRD and suicidal behaviors among racial/ethnic minority adolescents in the United States. Data from a sample of 3241 racial/ethnic minority adolescents (53.7% female) from the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Controlling for other factors, racial/ethnic minority adolescents who experienced PRD had 1.57 times higher odds of experiencing suicidal ideation (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.57, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) = 1.09-2.25), 1.64 times higher odds of making a suicide plan (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.09-2.49), and 1.67 times higher odds of attempting suicide (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.04-2.68) during the past year. Other factors associated with suicidal behaviors included self-identifying as lesbian/gay, bisexual, or other/questioning; experiencing cyberbullying; feeling sad or hopeless; and poor mental health during the pandemic. The findings of this study extend past research and demonstrate that racial/ethnic minority adolescents who experienced PRD were more likely to report suicidal behaviors over and above other well-established risk factors for suicidal behaviors. Future studies that employ longitudinal designs are needed to elucidate mechanisms underlying these associations.

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

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.

'I'm not perfect': Navigating screen time among parents of young children during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The use of screen time for young children has been hotly debated among experts. This study explored the utilization of screen time among mothers with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to understand maternal motivation for utilizing screen time and how mothers have engaged in screen time since the beginning of the pandemic. METHOD: This paper uses a sample of n = 25 mothers who participated in an in-depth interview about parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team utilized a thematic analysis approach to qualitatively code the transcripts. All analyses were conducted in Dedoose 8.3, and all transcripts were coded by three independent researchers to enhance rigour. RESULTS: Five main themes emerged from the interviews: (1) harbouring screen guilt versus letting it go, (2) managing full-time work and full-time parenting, (3) prioritizing mental sanity, (4) socially distant supports demand screen time and (5) screens can have positive uses, too. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers have resorted to screen time use to cope with increased stress and challenges. However, mothers have also found positive uses for screen time, such as connection with extended family members, peer interaction and educational activities. Findings highlight the need to differentiate screen time use by quality and to update formal screen time guidelines considering changing roles of technology.

When “Time Is Not Your Own”: Experiences of Mothering Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As COVID-19 reached pandemic levels in March 2020, schools shifted to remote learning. Student parents in higher education had to adapt to their own remote learning and assume responsibility for childcare and their children?s education. Few studies have explored the impact of COVID-19 on mothers who are also full-time students. This study utilized a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of mothering students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student mothers were recruited from a large, public, Hispanic-serving university in a Southern state. We conducted interviews with 15 student mothers who had at least one child under the age of 18 during the first six months of the pandemic. Three main themes emerged from the analyses: (1) successfully meeting educational requirements;(2) dealing with the mental health impact of the pandemic;and (3) changing the institutional structure. The first theme captured strategies mothering students implemented to ensure their own or their children?s educational goals were met. The second theme encompassed how mothers handled the stress caused by the pandemic. The third theme explored ways that mothers resisted gendered expectations and norms around care. Implications for policy and social work practice include changing institutional structures to enhance support for mothering students.

Maternal Adverse Childhood Experience Exposure and Resilience During COVID-19

Since March 2020, families across the United States have faced challenges due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its subsequent restrictions. Although some experts have voiced concern over the impact of COVID-19 on family well-being, few studies have been conducted thus far. This study utilized n = 250 responses from an online survey that was administered between May and June 2020 to gauge family stress and resilience among mothers of children ages 0 to 5 during the pandemic. Adverse childhood experiences were negatively associated with parental resilience among this sample. Furthermore, frequency of child care was positively linked to protective factors and resilience. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed, with a particular focus on the role of child care and school openings during the pandemic.

Social distancing and anxiety among female caregivers of children ages zero-to-five during coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Past studies have linked measures of social isolation to mental health among caregivers of children. As people across the world adjust to social distancing measures, there is a need to understand consequences of social distancing measures on mental health. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the association between adherence to social distancing measures and feeling worried/anxious among female caregivers of children ages zero-to-five. METHODS: Data for this study came from an online survey that was administered between May and June 2020 to understand stress and mental health among caregivers of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 358 female caregivers was analyzed using binary logistic regression with feeling worried/anxious as the outcome variable. RESULTS: More than a third of the female caregivers (35.2%) reported feeling worried/anxious during the past month and about 42% reported strictly adhering to social distancing measures. Controlling for the effect of other factors, caregivers who reported strictly adhering to social distancing had 1.86 times higher odds of feeling worried/anxious when compared caregivers who were not strictly adhering to social distancing (AOR=1.86, 95% C.I.=1.07-3.24). Caregivers who felt bothered by withdrawal from activities of interest had 4.11 times higher odds of reporting feeling worried/anxious (AOR=4.11, 95% C.I.=2.32-7.24). CONCLUSIONS: As COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, it is important to build community response to better support caregivers of infants and young children. Implications for practice, policy, and research as they relate to caregiver's mental health are discussed.

Academic and family disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A reflexive from social work.

This article presents a reflection of how processes to reconcile work-life balance among academic mothers have changed during COVID-19. We present three autobiographical narratives that explore adapting and adjusting to research and teaching during remote work, confinement, and caring for one's children. Intertwined in these narratives are themes of disruptions, responsibilities, and discoveries through these processes to adapt to COVID-19 and ongoing social and political crises.