Material Hardship and Stress from COVID-19 in Immigrant Chinese American Families with Infants.
Material hardship and stress, associated with poor infant outcomes, increased during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. Chinese American families were vulnerable to racism-driven disparities. Little is known about maternal perceptions of pandemic impacts on their infants, family, and community. Purposive sampling of low-income Chinese American mothers (n = 25) with infants (1-15 months). Semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted in Mandarin, Cantonese, or English were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated. Transcripts coded using applied thematic analysis in an iterative process of textual analysis until thematic saturation. Three themes emerged: (1) Heightened family hardship included financial strain, disruption of transnational childcare, experiences of racism; (2) Altered infant routines/developmental consequences included using protective equipment on infants, concerns about infant socio-emotional development; (3) Coping strategies included stockpiling essentials, adapting family diets. Strategies to mitigate disparities include expanding social needs screening, correcting misinformation, strengthening support networks, and including low-income Chinese Americans in these efforts.
Duke Scholars
Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- SARS-CoV-2
- Public Health
- Mothers
- Infant
- Humans
- Female
- Emigrants and Immigrants
- COVID-19
- Asian
- 4410 Sociology
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- SARS-CoV-2
- Public Health
- Mothers
- Infant
- Humans
- Female
- Emigrants and Immigrants
- COVID-19
- Asian
- 4410 Sociology