The Impact of COVID-19 on Maternal Mental Health in the African American Community While Being a Single Parent Who is Parenting Young Children Under the Age of Five: A Grounded Theory
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Authors
Victorian, Angelia
Issue Date
2025-12
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
qualitative , single mothers , African American
Alternative Title
Abstract
In response to the impact of COVID-19 on African American single mothers’ mental health, this study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on maternal mental health in the African American community, while being a single parent who was parenting young children under the age of five. This qualitative study employed grounded theory methodology (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 2015) as described in Creswell and Poth (2018, 2025). The problem that was addressed in this study was that the pandemic adversely affected the mental health, daily routines, and struggles of African American single mothers. The interpretive theoretical framework for the study was the intersectionality theoretical framework. The framework was interconnected to the study because of the intersectionality of racism and sexism. The research questions were: How do AA single mothers describe their experiences of depression or anxiety while raising young children during the COVID-19 pandemic? How did COVID-19 affect AA single mothers' daily routines and struggles while raising young children? All 15 participants volunteered to participate in the study and were from Northern California. The emerging theory that resulted from this study was that as a result of the vulnerability of being a single AA female parent and the environmental and historical factors, such as systematic racism and the COVID-19 pandemic, AA single mothers who were parenting young children under five were disproportionately at a higher risk of personal obstacles. The obstacles included mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and other psychological concerns; problems concerning physical wellbeing for themselves and their children; struggles with childcare, and fretting about finances and employment.