The Experiences of Low-Income Single Mothers
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The Experiences of Low-Income Single Mothers
Introduction
This section is devoted to providing a detailed discussion of the experiences of low-income single mothers. The section is divided into several sub-sections, with the first sub-section covering experiences of poor single mothers in postsecondary education. The second section covers the physical and mental health experiences of single mothers with low income. The third sub-section covers the experiences of low-income single mothers as they access quality child care. Further, experiences of poor single mothers in the workplace is provided. Finally, a comprehensive summary is provided.
Experiences of Low-Income Single Mothers in Postsecondary Education
In the US, there are roughly 3.4M undergraduate student mothers, with single mothers accounting for almost 60% of them (Beeler, 2016). Although single mothers are recently attending college at a higher rate than ever before, they face a range of challenges in completing higher education which reduces their success and completion rates (Beeler, 2016; Cerven et al., 2013; Huelsman & Engle, 2013; Nelson et al., 2013).
One of the challenges faced by low-income single mothers in institutions of higher learnings is a lack of childcare during study time. For single-mother college students, child care is crucial, and single mothers may have to drop out of school if they do not have access to child care (Lindsay & Gillum, 2018). The authors further add that single mothers who do not have access to child care may be unable to take advantage of offered campus programs and activities such as instructor office hours, and tutoring meetings. Also, single mothers may just attend classes and go home immediately afterward if they do not have child care (Lindsay & Gillum, 2018). According to Vyskocil (2018), low-income single mothers report to colleges with several unique challenges, including a lack of sufficient resources such as partners to take care of their children as they attend classes. The author further adds that low-income single mothers lack the finances to pay for childcare as they attend classes. Vyskocil (2018) further adds that some colleges do not provide childcare programs. According to Vyskocil (2018), these challenges hamper low-income single mothers from competing successfully in academics and limit their capacities to succeed in traditional learning environments. Supporting the issue of lack of child care among low-income single mothers, a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that out of 4.3 million parents enrolled for higher education, 52% percent drop out of college before earning their degree, with the main cause being lack of affordable child care available to single college parents (National University, n.d). Nelson et al. (2013) reveal that on-campus facilities for child care are less prevalent, with community colleges having fewer facilities for child care compared to urban-based colleges. Supporting the lack of childcare facilities as a challenge faced by low-income single mothers, Iloh (2021) stated that childcare is among the biggest challenges facing single mothers in college.
Besides, due to financial constraints and family obligations, single mothers also find it difficult to enroll full-time or maintain at least half-time enrollment throughout the school year, which may limit the amount of financial aid available (Huelsman & Engle, 2013). According to the authors, students enrolled for less than half-time face reduced eligibility for financial aid. Also, among the 6 single-income mothers interviewed by Vowels (2019) in her research, only one respondent was enrolled in a full-time study.
Low-income single mothers also struggle with time management. During a study conducted by Vowels (2019) which examined single mother college students’ experiences, respondents revealed that they faced challenges with time management. During the interview, one of the respondents said that they faced challenges managing their school assignments while caring for their child. The respondents stated that:
“I feel like being a college student part-time and working takes away from the experiences I get with my son… I just feel like having that extra stress of working and doing my school work it takes away from stuff that I would be able to do that with him…” (Vowels, 2019, p.20).
Furthermore, poor single mothers struggle to balance their school and work-life and their parenting responsibilities. During Vowel’s (2019) study, respondents reported that they struggled to balance their roles as students and parents since these roles tend to overlap and conflict with each other. On the same note, Lindsay and Gillum (2018) urge that single mother college students struggle to balance between caring for their children and meeting their coursework demands. In a different study where Hayes (2009) examined the experiences of single mothers as they pursue their higher education in a four-year public university, the author found that single mothers experience many challenges as they strive to balance their role as students and mothers.
Also, low-income single mothers experience financial strain while in college. Vowels (2019) reveals that single mothers struggle financially while in college and depend highly on financial assistance. During his study, respondents revealed that they rely on financial aid to attend school, whereby they use such funds to pay for daycare expenses. Most respondents revealed that if it were not for the financial support that they receive, they would not have been able to attend school. This is due to the increased level of poverty among single mother college students. Supporting the fact that single mothers face financial constraints while in college, Iloh (2021) reveals that most of the time, single mothers do not get adequate financial support for their expenses while in college.
Lastly, low-income single mothers have higher chances of leaving college without a degree. Supporting this statement, Nelson et al. (2013) claim that being a parent augments the chances of leaving campus without a degree. The authors further add that poor single parents are 25% less likely to attain a college degree when compared to their counterparts without children. Kruvelis et al. (2017) further urge that single mothers have lower rates attaining college degree compared to married women. According to the authors, only 28% of single mothers who enrolled in colleges from 2003 to 2009 attained a certificate or degree within the 6 years. This was in comparison to 40% of married mothers.
Experiences of Low-Income Single Mothers in Accessing Quality Childcare
Low-income single mothers also experience challenges in accessing quality child care services. This theme has been supported by various scholars. To begin with, Broussard (2010) claims that poor single mothers are vulnerable to poor healthcare access. Heck and Parker (2002) also conducted a study to examine whether children of poor single mothers lack access to quality health care compared to children with both parents. Findings revealed that children raised by low-income single mothers had a higher likelihood of not visiting a physician in the past 12 months compared to their counterparts who were living with both parents. Also, findings revealed that children living with single mothers had slightly higher chances of not having the usual source of health care. Furthermore, Heck and Parker (2002) established that children raised by low-income single mothers were more likely to have unmet healthcare needs. Thus, it can be logically inferred that poor single mothers lack access to quality child care. Freeman (2015) also adds that low-income single mothers work in the service sector, offering low wages, and do not provide benefits such as healthcare coverage. Consequently, this limits poor single mothers from accessing quality child care services.
One of the reasons why single mothers with low income lack access to quality child care is due to reliance on childcare vouchers. In a study exploring the experiences of single mothers with low income in accessing quality child care, Jabbaar (2014) established that single mothers with low income who try to access child care services using subsidy child care vouchers face increased barriers to child care access. The lack of jobs with standard working hours is another reason why poor single mothers lack access to quality child care services. Supporting this statement, Son and Bauer (2010) revealed that single mothers have higher chances of having works with standard hours and experience more family-work conflict when they serve in institutions with a nonstandard schedule. Here, nonstandard work hours are case where at least half of the weekly working hours are not between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. timeframe. Usually, single mothers who earn low income fail to access quality child care since most community hospitals are only open during the day. As such, most low-income single mothers face challenges finding quality child care during nonstandard hours; thus, they inexorably depend on informal care providers (Son & Bauer, 2010).
Lack of insurance coverage is another reason why single mothers with lower income lack access to quality child care. Supporting this statement, Grafova et al. (2021) reveal that most single mothers are poor and have lesser chances of being insured. The authors further add that lack of health insurance along with economic disadvantage result in an increased rate of unmet healthcare needs within families headed by single mothers when compared to families where two parents live together. During Grafova et al. (2021) study, roughly 40% of single-mother families reported that at some point during the year, someone from their family was without health insurance. Only a25% of single-mother families reported having all their family members continually insured under a private health insurance cover. Approximately 22% of single-mother families reported having public insurance coverage for all members throughout the year. Broussard (2010) also reported that low-income single mothers lack access to health insurance. Since child care is expensive, lack of medical insurance coverage limits low-income mothers from accessing quality child care services.
Physical and Mental Health Experiences of Low-Income Single Mothers
Single mothers with low income also experience mental and physical health problems. Supporting this statement, Peden et al. (2004) claim that low-income single mothers are associated with approximately 60% of depressive symptoms. Everyday chronic stressors have been recognized as one of the major causes of depression among low-income single mothers is low self-esteem (Peden et al., 2004). Daliana and Antoniou (2018) explain that low-income single mothers do not have an additional primary caregiver for their children whom they could share household responsibilities with, leading to a feeling of isolation and low self-esteem.
On the same note, Broussard (2010) states that single mothers with low-income together with their children, are vulnerable to various chronic factors and are likely to experience mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and substance use diseases. Besides, in a study to explore mental health of single mothers with low incomes, Peden et al. (2004) found that over 75% of their respondents showed mild to severe depression levels. Consistent with these findings, Turner (2006) found that single mothers have a substantially higher level of significant depressive disorders compared to the general popula. In a study to determine the predictor of depression among low-income single mothers who earn low income, Hatcher et al. (2008) established that negative thinking is a major cause of depression among single-income mothers.
On a different note, Stack and Meredith (2018) reveal that single mothers are face financial hardships, which adversely affect their psychological well-being. According to the authors, single-mothers experience increased anxiety, depression, and general stress levels in their efforts to meet their financial obligations. Broussard (2010) further explains that low-income single mothers have a higher likelihood of living in unsafe neighborhoods with poor housing, which exposes them to a higher risk of environmental health risks. Agnafors et al. (2019) further add that lower income and less time spent with children cause single mothers with low income to experience mental problems. Lack of social support also causes low-income single mothers to face increased levels of depression, anxiety, and stress (Daliana & Antoniou, 2018). Kim et al. (2018) explain that single mothers experience weak social support and have infrequent contact with family and friends. Furthermore, poverty among low-income single mothers heightens maternal stress by increasing exposure to adverse life events such as poor housing, insecure and dangerous sorrounding, job loss, and chronic strains (Beeber et al., 2008).
Employment Experiences of Low-Income Single Mothers
Single mothers joined the workforce in large numbers in the 1990s, an approach that opened up more possibilities for achieving economic self-sufficiency (Hauan & Andersson, 2012). According to Nieuwenhuis & Maldonado (2018), the average employment rate of single parents in the OECD countries increased from 67% to above 75% between the years 1980 and 2008. The authors further suggest that majority of single-parent families are in paid employment positions, but 21% of these families live in poverty. According to a report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, single mothers are approximately twice as likely to be in occupations that offer low wages, and yet they are the sole providers for their children. According to the report, one out of three women workers in low-wage occupations are mothers, and approximately 15% are single mothers (Shaw et al., 2021). This suggests that the earnings of single parents in these countries are not enough to lift their households from the poverty threshold (Nieuwenhuis & Maldonado, 2018).
The low-wage positions that single mothers occupy have aspects of unpredictable scheduling practices. According to mothers (Shaw et al., 2021), employees in low-wage occupations encounter daunting challenges such as nonstandard, unstable, and unpredictable hours which are assigned via software programs developed to minimize labor costs of the employees. This makes it hard for the employees to plan essential logistics, for example, child care, early morning and late-night shifts. (Van den Eynde et al., 2019) suggest that low-income single mothers who are employed also experience work-family conflicts. Work-family conflict can be regarded as a form of inter-role conflict whereby work and family pressures are mutually incompatible in some manner. This conflict can be categorized into two that is work-interfering-with-family (WIF) and family-interfering-with-work (FIW). WIF refers to the conflict that occurs when work seems to interfere with the family role, for instance, when the mother picks up her children late from school due to a work meeting. FIW, on the other hand, occurs when family roles interfere with work-associated activities, such as when the mother has to cancel a meeting in order to pick up her children. In general, single mothers experience more hardships combining work and family.
Flexibility is an aspect that can help single parents achieve a good work and family balance. However, this can be hard for single mothers due to financial and role strain. Maldonado and Nieuwenhuis (2015) suggest that single mothers have a higher risk of poverty because they have more household demands after separation, and the risk becomes higher due to the fact that the gender pay gap still exists. To reduce this strain, single mothers may be tempted to increase work time, and this may increase the challenges that they encounter in maintaining the parenting role they desire (Thielemans & Mortelmans, 2019).
Another experience that low-income single mothers encounter is limited opportunities for advancement. The women working in domestic home care, cleaning, fast food, cashiers, and food serving places experience very limited opportunities for advancement. Even though some of them may be promoted and offered additional roles, the wages are not often boosted very much. Additionally, low-wage occupations commonly come with few benefits and poor working conditions. Single mothers working in these occupations do not get paid leaves which makes it hard for them to take time off to take care of their children when they are sick. It can also be hard for such mothers to get temporary disability insurance coverage that is available for other employees (Shaw et al., 2021).
Conclusion
Overall, single mothers with low income have various experiences. In postsecondary education, low-income single mothers lack access to childcare due to a lack of finances to pay for childcare as they attend classes, as well as a lack of on-campus facilities for child care. Besides, they find it difficult to enroll full-time or maintain at least half-time enrollment throughout the school year, which limits the amount of financial aid available to them. Also, single mothers with low income struggle to balance their school and work-life and their parenting responsibilities. Low-income single mothers also experience financial strain and have higher chances of leaving college without a degree. Also, poor single mothers face challenges in accessing quality child care. These challenges are due to reliance on child care vouchers and lack of insurance cover. Also, since most single mothers work on a standard hours schedule, they lack access to quality child care as most community hospitals are only open during the day, which forces them to depend on informal care providers. Findings revealed that most single mothers are poor and have lesser chances than mothers in two-parent families to be insured. Also, it has been established that single mothers with low income experience mental and physical health problems. Among these health issues include depression, stress, and anxiety. Mental illnesses among low-income single mothers are a result of financial hardships.
References
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