Table 1.
Summary of Included Studies of Informal Support Among Low-income Mothers Classified by Dependent Variable1
| Author | Data Study & Sample | Valid N/Analytic Techniques & Role of Support | Operationalization of Informal Support | Additional Key Variables2 | Findings Related to Informal Support | Quality rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Informal Support | ||||||
| Harknett and Hartnett (2011) | FFCWBS BA, Y1, Y3, & Y5 | n = 4,618 mothers pooled longitudinally & 12,140 person- waves of data/Random effects models with support as DV | Instrumental support: sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan; Emotional support: someone to share confidence with | IVs: poverty level, physical and mental health problems, and childrearing burden | Poverty, poor physical health, and poor mental health related to lower levels of instrument support, and, to a lesser extent, lower levels of emotional support. | 7 |
| Harknett and Knab (2007) | FFCWBS BA, Y1, & Y3 | n = 12,259 person-waves of data; Logistic regression with support as DV | Dichotomous indicator based on whether mothers had access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | IV: whether the mother or the father had a previous childbearing partner | Most mothers had access to $200 (88%), a place to live (88%), or child care (91%). 80% perceived access to all 3 types of support. Multipartnered fertility related to weaker safety nets. | 7 |
| Meadows (2009) | FFCWBS Y1, Y3, & Y5 | n = 2,953–3,972/logistic regression with support as an IV & a DV | Dichotomous indicator based on whether mothers had access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | DV: depression Other variables: received support | At Y1, a partner, higher education, more income, higher future support availability, and having higher levels of received support in past year related to increased Y3 support. | 7 |
| Osborne, Berger, and Magnuson (2012) | FFCWBS Baseline, Y1, Y3, & Y5 | n = 3,399/HLM models with support as DV | Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | IV: family structure | Mothers in stable relationships with the focal child’s father between Y1 & Y5 surveys perceived more informal support at both Y1 & Y5 surveys compared with mothers consistently single or experiencing transitions. Transitioning to single-mother family related to less support. | 7 |
| Radey (2015) | WCF Baseline | n = 2,219; OLS regression with support as DV | Summed index of 4-item, 3-point scale of access to someone to: (a) listen to your problems when you’re feeling low, (b) take care of your children, (c) help with small favors, and (d) loan you money in an emergency. | IV: Excess network burden | Mothers averaged 5.37 on the 8-point support scale. Less than one fourth of mothers had enough people to count on in all realms. 76% of mothers lacked support in all four domains. Excess network burden related to less support. | 7 |
| Radey and Brewster (2013) | FFCWBS Baseline, Yl, Y3, & Y5; unmarried mothers at BA | n = 3,065 & 10,650 person- year observations/HLM models with support as DV | Dichotomous indicator based on whether mothers had access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | IV: Passage of time from the child’s birth to age 5 | 82% of mothers reported a complete safety net. 40% of mothers lost or gained at least one safety-net component in their child’s first 5 years. Of mothers with unstable support, only 13% gained and kept a net. Support decreased as children aged and the most vulnerable mothers were left without support. | 7 |
| Su and Dunifon (2016) | FFCWBS Yl, Y3, Y5 & Y9, employed mothers | n = 2,716 & 6,839 person- waves of data/OLS regression, propensity- weighted regression, within-person fixed effects, & residualized change models with support as DV | Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | IV: Non-standard work schedules | Nonstandard schedules were associated with weaker support, particularly for Blacks and less- educated mothers. Changing from a standard to a nonstandard schedule was associated with small improvements in support. | 7 |
| Turney and Harknett (2010) | FFCWBS Yl, & Y3 | n = 3,871 −4,211/Poisson regression models with support as a DV | (1) Sum of 6 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan, (d) $1,000 loan, (e) a cosigner for $1,000 loan, (f) a cosigner for a $5,000 loan in an emergency (2) Sum of a-c; (3) Sum of d-f | Neighborhood disadvantage; residential stability | 83–88% of mothers had small amounts of monetary, housing, and child care support available. Less than 50% of mothers had someone to loan them $1,000, and only 40% had someone to cosign a $5,000 loan. On average, mothers had 4 of 6 supports. Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood and residential instability were associated with less support. Support networks existed in disadvantaged neighborhoods, but lacked the means to provide large monetary assistance. | 7 |
| Turney and Kao (2009) | ECLS-K and 2nd follow-up (1st grade) | n = 12,580/OLS regression with support as DV | Sum of 6-item on 3-point scale: access to someone to watch child to run errand; a ride to get (child) to doctor; if (child) is sick, friends or family will check on; someone to talk things over with if (child) is having school problems; someone to loan money in an emergency; someone to talk about troubles or get advice | Race, Immigrant Status, and Ethnicity | Support was inversely related to need such that immigrants, single parents, those unemployed, those with less education, those in larger households, those with depressive symptoms, and those with more residential moves perceived less support. | 7 |
| Turney, Schnittker, and Wildeman (2012) | FFCWBS Baseline, Y1, Y3, & Y5 | n = 4,132/OLS regression with lagged DV with support as DV | Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) $1,000 loan, (b) cosigner for $1,000 bank loan, and (c) cosigner for $5,000 bank loan. | IV: whether or not mother shared children with a recently incarcerated man | Mothers averaged 4 of the 6 types of support, most commonly non- financial support. Less than half reported access to large financial support. Mothers who shared children with recently, but not currently, incarcerated men reported less non- financial support and less large financial support. | 7 |
| B. Maternal Health & Wellbeing | ||||||
| Ajrouch, Reisine, Lim, Sohn, & Ismail (2010a) | Mothers of low- income children living in Detroit, MI | n = 969/OLS with suppo as mediator | (1) Instrumental support: summed index of support whether they had someone they could count on: (a) if they needed someone to run errands, (b) lend rt money, (c) watch the child/children (d) lend a car or give a ride; (2) Emotional support: whether they had someone they could count on to give encouragement | DV: psychological distress; Other IVs: perceived discrimination | Instrumental support exerted a buffering effect to mitigate the negative influence of moderate levels of perceived discrimination on psychological distress. Emotional support was associated with less psychological distress. | 7 |
| Ajrouch, Reisine, Lim, Sohn, and Ismail (2010b) | Mothers of low- income children living in Detroit, MI | n = 736/OLS with support as mediator | (1) Instrumental support: summed index of support whether they had someone they could count on: (a) if they needed someone to run errands, (b) lend money, (c) watch the child/children (d) lend a car or give a ride; (2) (2) Emotional support: whether they had someone they could count on to give encouragement | DV: psychological distress; Other IVs: food insufficiency, neighborhood disorganization | Instrumental support provided some protection from everyday stress, yet did little for those under acute stress (e.g., high food insecurity; high neighborhood problems). | 7 |
| Beilin, Osteen, Kub, Bollinger, Tsoukleris, Chaikind, and Butz (2015) | Caregivers—mostly mothers—of inner-city children with asthma aged 3 to 10 years | n = 300/Latent growth curve modeling with support as mediator | Summed index of emotional/informational support subscale of the Medical Outcomes Study. The eight-item 5-point Likert scale asks respondents to reflect on support availability in several situations (e.g., “to listen to you when you need to talk”; “to turn to for suggestions about how to deal with a personal problem’). | DV: Quality of life (QOL); Other IVs: life stress | Although the bivariate association was significant in the latent growth curve model, support was not directly related to caregiver QOL. Informal support did not mediate relationships between asthma burden, life stress, and QOL. However, more than one- third of respondents had the highest possible support score, and 70% of caregivers scored 75% or higher. | 7 |
| Burdette, Hill, and Hale (2011) | WCF Study baseline and Y3 | n = 2045–2313/OLS regression with support as mediator | Emotional: how many people respondents could count on to listen to their problems when they were feeling low | DV: psychological distress; Other IVs: household disrepair | Although support related to better mental health, it did not mediate or explain the association between disrepair and distress. | 7 |
| Crocker and Padilla (2016) | FFCWBS Y3 | n = 2,858/Logistic regression with support as IV | Sum of 4 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) $200 loan, (b) $1000 loan, (c) a cosigner for $1,000 bank loan, and (d) cosigner for $5,000 bank loan | DV: life satisfaction | Support was positively related life satisfaction. Relationship was a gradient such that mothers with the most assets had the highest odds of life satisfaction. | 7 |
| Dauner, Wilmot, and Schultz (2015) | FFCWBS Y5 & Y9 | n = 3,284/Logistic regression with support as IV | Sum of 6 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) trust someone to look after child if away, (d) $200, (e) consigner for $1,000 bank loan, and (f) someone to share confidence with. Instrumental support: 6-item | DV: self-rated health | Net of socioeconomic, demographic, and behavioral variables, mothers with informal support had higher odds of reporting favorable health (excellent, very good, or good vs. fair or poor). | 7 |
| Israel, Farquhar, Schulz, James, and Parker (2002) | Survey through East Side Village Health Worker Partnership in Detroit, MI. Black women aged 18 and older living in area with minor children in care | n = 679/OLS regression with support as IV | scale, measured access to tangible support including transportation, money, and child care Emotional support: 3-item scale measured access to others for advice or share private worries. Caregivers categorized into high, medium, and low based on distribution for each support type. | DV: Self-rated health; depression Other IVs: chronic stress | Instrumental and emotional support both related to better health. When both were included in the model, instrumental support, and not emotional support, remained as a significant predictor of health outcomes. | 7 |
| Kingston (2013) | Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods longitudinal study Wave 3 | n = 1,957/HLM procedures with support as a mediator | Sum of the Provision of Social Relations Scale (Turner et al., 1983): 13-items using 3-point scale for items such as: “People in my family help me find solutions to my problems” and “I feel very close to some of my friends. “ | DV: depression; IV: economic adversity, neighborhood violence | Support related to fewer depressive symptoms. The effects of informal support were strongest in high-SES neighborhoods and weakest in low- SES neighborhoods. | 7 |
| Manuel, Martinson, Bledsoe- Mansori, and Bellamy (2012) | FFCWBS Baseline, Yl, Y3, & Y5 | n = 3675/GEE with time- lagged effects with support as IV | Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators in an emergency: access to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | DV: maternal depression symptoms; Other IVs: stress | Support related to lower levels of depression and offset negative effects of stress, but only to a certain degree. No significant support interactions between hardship, stress, or health reached significance. | 7 |
| Meadows (2009) | FFCWBS Yl, Y3, & Y5 | n = 2,953–3,972/logistic regression with support as an IV & a DV | Dichotomous indicator based on whether mothers had access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | DV: depression Other variables: received support | Support decreased odds of experiencing a future major depressive episode. | 7 |
| Omelas and Perreira (2011) | Latino Adolescent Migration, Health, and Adaptation Project of first- generation Latino youth and their parents, mostly mothers, in NC | n = 246/Logistic regression with support as an IV | Summed scale of 4-point Likert, 12-item Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12) regarding availability of several supports, such as practical help, advice, and companionship | DV: depression; IV: characteristics of migration | Support negatively related to depression. | 6 |
| Orthner, Jones- Sanpei, and Williamson (2004) | low-income subsample of parents living with their minor children from an annual random, telephone sample of NC households | n = 373/Logistic regression with support as an IV | Separate dichotomous measures as to whether parents could (a) turn to friends when a problem occurs that their household cannot handle or (b) talk to others for help | DV: confidence in solving everyday problems, meeting needs, and getting children into activities Other IVs: family assets | Support increased odds that parents had confidence in their ability to solve problems and meet various needs. | 6 |
| Paxson, Fussell, Rhodes, and Waters (2012) | Opening Doors Study in New Orleans; low- income, community college mothers | n = 532; Multinomial regression with support as IV | Average scale of 4-point Likert, 8-item social support subscale from the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona & Russell, 1987; e.g., “I have a trustworthy person I can turn to if I have problems.”) | DV: psychological distress, posttraumatic stress symptoms | Support related to less psychological distress at second follow-up. | 6.5 |
| Reid and Taylor (2015) | FFCWBS Baseline & Yl | n = 4150/SEM procedures with support as IV and mediator | Sum of 5 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan, (d) $1,000 loan, and (e) cosigner for $1,000 loan | DV: postpartum depression; Other IVs: stress exposure | Support negatively related to depression. Stress negatively related to support. Support did not mediate the relationship between stress and depression. | 7 |
| Sampson, Villarreal, and Padilla (2015) | FFCWBS Baseline & Yl, mothers with romantically involved with child’s father Yl | n = 2,412/OLS regression with support as IV | Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan & dichotomous indicator of access to all three supports | DV: maternal stress | Support was related to lower depression. Support did not influence maternal stress. | 7 |
| Schulz, Israel, Zenk, Parker, Lichtenstein, Shellman- Weir, & Klem (2006) | Random sample survey conducted in 1996 in a geographically defined area on Detroit’s Eastside of Black caregivers, primarily mothers | n = 679/SEM procedures with support as a mediator | 6-item, 4-point Likert summed scale based on access to (a) assistance to care for them if sick, (b) help around the house, (c) watch children for a few hours, (d) move furniture, (e) give monetary assistance, and (f) provide transportation | DV: depression symptoms; IVs: income, years of residence, financial stress, police stress, safety stress | Length of residence positively related to informal support. Informal support partially mediated the relationship between household income and symptoms of depression. | 7 |
| Surkan, Peterson, Hughes, and Gottlieb (2006) | Mothers selected from health center obstetrical and pediatric patient lists inNE US city | n = 415/OLS regressions with support as IV | 20-item, 5-point scale Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (Sherboume & Stewart, 1991) including having someone to give advice, confide in, and listen to you; Having 2+ friends or family members available | DV: Depression; Other IVs: sociodemographic characteristics | Informal support related to fewer depression symptoms and acted like a gradient such that as support increased, depression symptoms decreased. | 6.5 |
| Turner (2006) | Data from telephone interviews with unmarried women age 18–39 living with dependent, minor children in rural areas of NE | n = 508/OLS regression with support as an IV | Mean scores of 9-item, 4-point Likert scale of a modified version of the Provisions of Social Relations Scale (Turner, 1983) including attachment, social integration, reassurance of worth, reliable alliance, and guidance for (a) family and (b) friends. | DV: depression; Other IVs: stress; marital status | Although both friend and family support directly related to depressive symptoms, support from neither source buffered the negative effects of stress. Divorced mothers also benefited less from emotional support from family members than did never- married mothers. | 7 |
| Wilmot and Dauner (2016) | FFCWBS Y5 & Y9 | n = 3474/Logistic regression with support as IV | Sum of 6 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan, (d) $1,000 loan, (e) cosigner for $1,000 bank loan, and (f) cosigner for $5,000 bank loan | DV: depression; Other IVs: neighborhood characteristics | Support related to lower odds of depression net of extensive controls including prior depression and prior self-rated health. | 7 |
| C. Economic Wellbeing | ||||||
| Ciabattari (2007) | FFCWBS Y1; unmarried mothers who had been employed since giving birth | n = 1,676/OLS, Multinomial regression with support as IV | Sum of 4 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan, and (d) consigner for $1,000 loan | DV: work-family fit, employment status; Other IVs: family structure, income | Support was negatively related to work-family conflict, but did not significantly influence employment status. | 7 |
| Fertig and Reingold (2008) | FFCWBS Y1 & Y3; mothers at or below 50% of poverty level or homeless | n =1,262; Multinomial logistic regression with support as IV | 3 separate dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to live, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | DV: homelessness or doubling up | Support was related to less doubling up and less homelessness. | 7 |
| Hanson and Olson (2012) | Rural Low- Income Families Project; families under 200% of poverty level with at least one child under age of 13 | n = 225/Multinomial regression with support as mediator | Parenting Support Ladder. Respondents ranked themselves on six-point scale on 5 indicators: someone to talk to, to offer advice or moral support, to help in an emergency, and to relax with, professionals to talk with, and overall satisfaction with parenting. Parents in the highest quartile of support were distinguished from those in the lower quartiles. | DV: food security Other IVs: human capital, financial resources, expenses | Mothers with no food insecurity had higher levels of support than mothers with persistent or discontinuous food insecurity. | 6.5 |
| Henly, Danziger, and Offer (2005) | Women’s Employment Survey Waves 1 & 3; single TANF mothers at Wave 1 | n = 632/OLS regression, OLS regression lagged model, change analysis, SEM procedures with support as IV | Time 1: Summed index based on 6 dichotomous indicators of access to someone: (a) to buy child’s shoes, (b) lend money, (c) to watch child, (d) give a ride, (e) to check on us when my child is sick, (f) to talk to when have troubles. Time 2: Average scale score from 7-item, 5-point Likert score on subscale from Social Relationships Scale (O’Brien et al., 1993). Items include access to someone: (a) if you were upset, nervous, depressed; (b) to talk about personal problem; (c) to help take care of you if you were confined to bed; (d) to barrow $10, ride to doctor; (e) to barrow several hundred dollars for medical emergency; (f) to get information or guidance; (g) for advice. | DV: material wellbeing; Other IVs: economic status, coping strategies, economic status variables | Mothers with the most need reported the least access to support. Support related to less perceived and actual economic hardship and decreased odds of engaging in extra-network coping activities, such as selling blood or plasma. The advantage did not extend to earnings or job quality. | 7 |
| King (2016) | FFCWBS Y3 & Y5 & in-home assessments | n = 2481/Difference-in- difference approach with support as a mediator | Sum of 4 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan and (d) consigner for $1,000 loan | DV: housing instability; IVs: food insecurity, material hardship, maternal depression | Support partially mediated the relationship between food insecurity and housing insecurity accounting for 5% of the mediation. | 6.5 |
| Staggs, Long, Mason, Krishnan, and Riger (2007) | The Illinois Families Study, a 4-year statewide study of families who received welfare in the Fall, 1998 | n = 1,315; OLS regression with support as IV and mediator | Summed index of 4-item, 3-point scale of access to someone to: (a) listen to your problems when you’re feeling low, (b) take care of your children, (c) help with small favors, and (d) loan you money in an emergency. | DV: employment stability; Other IVs: IPV | Support related to more stable future employment. Current employment stability did not predict future support. Support did not predict future IPV, and support did not mediate the relationship between IPV and employment stability. | 6.5 |
| Usdansky and Wolf (2008) | FFCWBS Baseline, Yl & Y3, mothers who used nonparental child care at Y3 | n = 1309/Logistic regression with support as IV | Sum of 6 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan, (d) $1,000 loan, (e) cosigner for $1,000 bank loan, and (f) cosigner for $5,000 bank loan | DV: Child care disruption; missed work due to child care | Support related to less child care disruption and less days of missed work due to child care. | 7 |
| Wu and Eamon (2010) | Survey of Income and Program Participation (1996, 2001), householders (mostly mothers) with children living at 185% of poverty or less | n = 3649/Logistic regression with support as an IV | Dichotomous indicator based on whether householders expected to receive all or most of the help needed with problems (e.g., sickness, moving) from family or friends living nearby. | DV: need for public benefits; IVs: public benefit receipt; informal support receipt | Support related to lower perceptions of income-based need for public benefits. | 6.5 |
| D. Parenting Stress & Outcomes | ||||||
| Cardoso, Padilla, and Sampson (2010) | FFCWBS Baseline and Y1 | n = 2998/OLS regression with support as IV | Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | DV: Parenting stress; Other IVs: Race and Ethnicity | Support was negatively associated with parenting stress. | 7 |
| Green, Furrer, and McAllister (2007) | National evaluation of the Early Head Start program; urban, African American, low- income parents of children 14–36 months | n = 152/Path models with support as IV | Summed scale of the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona & Russell, 1987) consisting of 22, 4-point Likert response items, including tangible support, emotional support, advice or appraisal support, and esteem support. | DV: parent-child activities; Other IVs: parent anxiety; parent avoidance, parent ambivalence | Support related to less parental anxiety about relationships, and in turn, parents with less relationship anxiety and ambivalence showed greater increases over time in their level of engagement with their children. | 6.5 |
| Hill, Burdette, Regnerus, and Angel (2008) | WCF Study baseline and Y3 | n = 2344/OLS regression with support as a mediator | Summed scale of 4-item, 3-point scale of access to someone to: (a) listen to your problems when you’re feeling low, (b) take care of your children, (c) help with small favors, and (d) loan you money in an emergency. | DV: Attitudes towards parenting IVs: religious involvement, self esteem, psychological distress | Support did not mediate the association between religious attendance and parental satisfaction or perceived demands. To a small extent, support mediated the association between religious attendance and parental distress. | 7 |
| Jones, Forehand, O’Connell, Armistead, and Brody, (2006) | A community sample of singlemother, low- income Black families with a child 7–15 years in Southeast US. | n = 248; OLS regression with support as a mediator | Summed scale of 5-item, 6-point scale of access to friends/neighbors to: (a) watch your home for a few days? (b) watch your children for a few hours while you are away suddenly? (c) help if you cannot do something yourself? (d) get together for a party? Are most of your contacts with your neighbors ? (rated very positive to very negative). | DV: Maternal monitoring; IVs: Neighborhood risk | Support related to higher levels of maternal monitoring. Perceptions of dangerous neighborhoods heightened the positive relationship between higher levels of support and maternal monitoring. | 7 |
| Jackson, Gyamfi, Brooks-Gunn, and Blake (1998) | Black, single mothers of preschoolers and former or current welfare recipients recruited through the public employment office in New York City | n = 188/OLS regressions with interactions with support as IV | Summed scale of 4-item, 6-point scale of access to someone to (a) watch my child(ren) if I need to run an errand, (b) provide a ride to get my child to the doctor, (c) provide cash for me to buy my child shoes, (d) to cope with at the end of a long day | DV: spanking; Other IVs: Maternal depression, stress, employment, and child behavior | Support related to increased frequency of spanking, especially among mothers with high depression or stress. | 7 |
| Kang (2013) | FFCWBS BA, Yl, Y3, & Y5 | n = 2910/SEM and probit regressions with support as IV | Sum of 4 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan and (d) consigner for $1,000 loan | DV: child neglect; Other IVs: material hardship and personal control | Support had an indirect effect on neglectful parenting by reducing material hardship and increasing personal control. | 7 |
| Kenigsberg, Winston, Gibson, and Brady (2016) | Black sample of primarily mothers from low-income elementary school in MW US | n = 46/OLS regression with support as IV | Sum of Social Provisions Checklist (Davis et al., 1998): 6, 5-item perceived support subscales: (a) Attachment (e.g., emotional closeness); (b) Reassurance of worth (e.g., appreciation of abilities); (c) Guidance (e.g., trustworthy advice); (d) Reliable alliance (e.g., reliable help); (e) Social integration; (e.g., feeling of being included); (f) Opportunity to nurture (e.g., feeling of being needed) | DV: children’s perception of support from caregiver, conflict with caregiver; Other IVs: Stressful life events, affective symptoms | Support was associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and children’s report of greater caregiver instrumental support and emotional support to a lesser degree. | 7 |
| Kimbro and Schachter (2011) | FFCWBS BA, Yl, Y3, & Y5 | n =3,448/Fixed effects logistic regression with support as IV | Dichotomous indicator based on whether mothers had access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan | DV: maternal fear of child playing outside; Other IVs: neighborhood, mental health | Support related to less maternal fear of letting child go outside to play due to violence. | 6.5 |
| Kotchick, Dorsey, and Heller (2005) | Low-income, urban Black single mothers recruited from Family Health project in New Orleans | n = 123/SEM procedures with support as a mediator | Sum of 6-item, 4-point Likert scale of support from friends; Sum of 5-item, 4-point Likert scale of support from family (e.g., ease of getting help from a neighbor with something that you can’t do yourself; are your contacts with neighbors scale: positive to negative) | DV: engagement in positive parenting; IVs: neighborhood stress, maternal stress | Support moderated the relationships among high neighborhood stress, high psychological distress, and less engagement in positive parenting practices raising the vulnerability of mothers with little support. | 6.5 |
| Lee (2009) | FFCWBS Yl & Y3 & in-home assessments; mothers 19 years or younger and adult mothers 26 years or older at Baseline | n = 1387–1,813/Negative binomial regression with support as IV | Sum of 4 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan, and (d) consigner for $1,000 loan | DV: harsh parenting; Other IVs: human capital, cultural capital | Support related to increased physical aggression in parenting and spanking. | 7 |
| Prelow, Weaver, Bowman, and Swenson (2010) | WCF Baseline and Y3; Latina caregivers of young adolescents | n = 535/SEM procedures with support as a mediator | Summed index of 4-item, 3-point scale of access to someone to: (a) listen to your problems when you’re feeling low, (b) take care of your children, (c) help with small favors, and (d) loan you money in an emergency. | DV: parenting behaviors; IVs: financial strain, neighborhood & housing problems, psychological distress | Support mediated the impact of ecological risk on the quality of mothers’ parenting behaviors by decreasing mothers’ psychological distress. | 7 |
| Raikes and Thompson (2005) | Mothers of toddlers enrolled in Early Head Start in a midsized city in the Midwest. | n = 65/OLS regression with support as a mediator | Summed 5-item subscale of the Dunst Family Resource Scale (Dunst & Leet, 1987; e.g., having someone to talk to, having babysitting and childcare for children); average of T1 and T2 scores | DV: Parenting stress; IVs: Self- efficacy | Support was not related to lower parenting stress levels. Support did not moderate the effect of income on parenting stress. | 6.5 |
| Shanahan, Runyan, Martin, and Kotch (2017) | subset from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect database; mothers of children at-risk | n = 505/Logistic regression with support as a mediator | Functional Social Support Questionnaire: 5-item, 10-point Likert summed scale containing confidant support, affective support, and instrumental support (e.g., people care what happens to me) | DV: physical neglect IVs: depression, history of maltreatment, neighborhood quality | Support did not moderate the relationships between the predictors (depression, neighborhood quality, caregiver history of maltreatment) and physical neglect. | 6 |
| Taraban et al. (2017) | for maltreatment and controls Early Steps Study, randomized intervention trial of families with 2-year olds recruited from WIC centers in 3 US cities & 1 | n = 131/OLS regression with support as a mediator | Mean score of 8-item, 4-point Likert subscale from the General Life Satisfaction Questionnaire including availability and satisfaction with social support in 3 areas: intimate relationships, friendships, and neighborhood | DV: Parenting; IVs: Depression, marital quality | Support moderated the negative relationship between depression symptoms and positive parenting behavior only among mothers not married or cohabiting. | 5.5 |
| Woody and Woody (2007) | year follow up Black mothers between 19 & 26 years who were parenting at a child 4 years of age or older recruited from the public welfare office or Head Start center | n = 135/OLS regression with support as an IV | Mean score of 45-item, Likert- scale Social Support Behaviors Scale (Vaux, Riedel, & Stewart, 1987) that measures available advice/guidance, emotional support, financial assistance, practical assistance, and socializing from family and friends. | DV: Parenting effectiveness | Support related to increased parenting effectiveness. | 6.5 |
| E. Child Outcomes | ||||||
| Choi and Pyun (2014) | FFCWBS BA, Yl, Y3, in-home Y3 & Y5; low- income unmarried mothers | n = 679/SEM procedures with support as IV | Sum of 4 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan, and (d) consigner for $1,000 loan | DV: child behavior, child cognitive development; Other IVs: maternal hardship, parenting | Support was directly and indirectly associated with cognitive development and behavior problems of children transmitted through maternal economic hardship, parenting, and parenting stress. | 7 |
| Ghazarian and Roche (2010) | WCF study Baseline & Y3; Latina and African American mothers of youth ages 10–11 at Baseline | n = 432/SEM procedures with support as IV & mediator | Summed index of 4-item, 3-point scale of access to someone to: (a) listen to your problems when you’re feeling low, (b) take care of your children, (c) help with small favors, and (d) loan you money in an emergency. | DV: adolescent delinquency; Other IVs: Maternal depression, engagement | Support related to increased engaged parenting and, consequently, lower levels of delinquent behavior. | 7 |
| Jackson (1998) | Black, singlemothers of preschoolers and former or current welfare recipients recruited through the public employment office in New York City | n = 188/OLS regressions with interactions with support as IV | Summed scale of 4-item, 6-point scale of access to someone to (a) watch my child(ren) if I need to run an errand, (b) provide a ride to get my child to the doctor, (c) provide cash for me to buy my child shoes, (d) to cope with at the end of a long day | DVs: Maternal depression, parent stress, and child behavior; Other IVs: child contact with father, maternal satisfaction with child’s father | Support related to fewer depression symptoms. Symptoms of depression, in turn, predicted greater parental stress, which predicted reports of more child behavior problems. | 7 |
| Jackson, Brooks-Gunn, Huang, and Glassman (2000) | Employed, Black, single mothers of preschoolers and former or current welfare recipients recruited through the public employment office in New York City | n = 93/Path analysis with support as IV | Summed scale of 4-item, 6-point scale of access to someone to (a) watch my child(ren) if I need to run an errand, (b) provide a ride to get my child to the doctor, (c) provide cash for me to buy my child shoes, (d) to cope with at the end of a long day | DVs: Maternal depression, parenting behavior, and child behavior; Other IVs: perceptions of financial strain | Support related to less financial strain. Financial strain, in turn, related to higher depressive symptoms, which were directly and negatively implicated in parenting quality. Parenting quality related to children’s behavior problems and preschool ability. | 7 |
| Jackson, Preston, and Thomas (2013) | Black, single mothers of preschoolers and former or current welfare recipients recruited through the Pittsburgh welfare office | n = 99/SEM procedures with support as IV | Summed scale of 4-item, 6-point scale of access to someone to (a) watch my child(ren) if I need to run an errand, (b) provide a ride to get my child to the doctor, (c) provide cash for me to buy my child shoes, (d) to cope with at the end of a long day | DV: child behavior problems | Support was associated with more adequate parenting at T1 (age 3) and through parenting to child behavior problems at T2 (age 5). | 7 |
| Jung, Fuller, & Galindo (2012) | ECLS-B Baseline and 3-year follow-up | n = 4,400 mother- father pairs/OLS & logistic regressions with support as a mediator | Dichotomous indicator: whether mother has kin member or friend available to lend support in the event of a family emergency | DV: Child’s early learning IV: Nativity, family functioning | Support not significantly related to maternal social-emotional functioning or maternal reading practices. | 6.5 |
| Lee, Lee, and August (2011) | Caregivers of child at risk of behavior problems in school districts in rural MN | n = 290/HLM procedures with support as a mediator | Sum of 40-item 4-point, Likert scale, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List including appraisal, tangible, self-esteem, and belonging domains | DV: externalizing behaviors IVs: income, depression, parenting practices | Support mediated the relationship between lower family income and both less positive parenting and children’s externalizing behaviors. | 6.5 |
| Leininger, Ryan, and Kalil (2009) | National evaluation data of single-mother welfare recipients with young children in 3 US cities Baseline, Yl, & Y5 | n = 1280/logistic regression with time-lagged effects with support as IV | Quartile score based on 10-point, 5-item scale: (a) if mothers could ask someone for cash for to buy child’s shoes, (b) to watch child if need to run errands, (c) to give a ride to get child to doctor, (d) to check on us when my child is sick, (e) to talk to when have troubles | DV: whether or not child experienced an accident, injury, or poisoning that required ER visit or clinic between Yl and Y5 | Mothers with the least amount of informal support had increased odds of their child experiencing an injury compared to other mothers. | 7 |
| Mistry, Lowe, Benner, and Chien (2008) | Mixed-methods approach from the New Hope project; low- income mothers had dependent between 1–10 years at Baseline | n = 516/SEM procedures with support as IV | Sum of 4-point Likert, 4-item scale if she could rely on (a) family, (b) friends, or (c) neighbors to help out if they were in a jam and (d) if any adults could help them out financially in a pinch | DV: economic hardship, children’s behavior; Other IVs: maternal economic stress, psychological wellbeing, parent practices | Support negatively related to economic pressures, indirectly relating to positive children’s behavior through maternal psychological wellbeing and parenting practices. | 7 |
| Padilla, Hamilton, and Hummer (2009) | FFCWBS Baseline & Y5 | n = 2,819/Logistic regression with support as IV | Access to $1,000 loan | DV: child chronic health condition or asthma | Support not related to prevalence of child chronic health conditions or asthma. | 6.5 |
| Reynolds and Crea (2014) | Parents of 11–14 year-old, urban youth attending summer camp in Boston. | n = 781/SEM procedures with support as a mediator | Summed 4-item 5-point Likert scale items based on if parents perceived a strong support network, support from family and relatives, support from church or place of worship and support, and support from neighbors | DV: Adolescent behaviors; IVs: Household stress, mental health | Support related to prosocial activities in adolescents and less poor mental health outcomes for parents. Support related to reduced parent depression and anxiety, which in turn decreased youth vulnerability. Support was not directly related to youth vulnerability. | 7 |
| Ryan, Kalil, and Leininger (2009) | FFCWBS Yl, Y3, & Y5, unmarried mothers; National evaluation data of single-mother welfare recipients with young children | n = 1,162 and 1,308/OLS regression and residualized change models with support as IV | Summed index categorized as low, medium, high based on whether mothers had: access to a place to stay, child care, $200, $1,000, cosigner for $1,000 loan, and cosigner for $5,000 loan in an emergency; Summed 10- point, 5-item scale: (a) if mothers could ask someone for cash for to buy child’s shoes, (b) to watch child if need to run errands, (c) to give a ride to get child to doctor, (d) to check on us when my child is sick, (e) to talk to when have troubles | DV: children’s socioemotional well-being | Support related to a decrease in children’s internalizing symptoms and an increase in pro-social behavior. | 7 |
| Turney (2012) | FFCWBS Baseline, Yl, Y3, Y3 in-home, Y5, & Y9 | n =2655/OLS regression and propensity score matching with support as IV | Instrumental support: Sum of 3 dichotomous indicators: access in an emergency to (a) a place to stay, (b) child care, and (c) $200 loan; Emotional support: presence of a confidante; # of close friends | DV: Child behaviors; Other IVs: depression | Support related to less depression, but did little to attenuate the relationship between depression and poor child behaviors. | 7 |
| Turney (2013) | FFCWBS Baseline, Yl, Y3, Y5, & Y9 | n = 4342/Pooled ordered logistic and fixed effect regressions with support as IV | Instrumental support: Sum of 6 dichotomous indicators categorized into low, medium, and high support: access in an emergency (a) to a place to stay, (b) child care, (c) $200 loan, (d) $1,000 loan, (e) cosigner for $1,000 bank loan, and (f) cosigner for $5,000 bank loan in an emergency; Emotional support: presence of a confidante; # of close friends | DV: child’s general health; overweight/obese; asthma, # of ER visits | Support positively related to overall child health with extensive controls, a lagged indicator of children’s health, and in fixed-effect models. The relationships between support and asthma, overweight/obese, and number of emergency room visits were not significant after controls. | 7 |
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Acronyms:
BA: Baseline
DV: Dependent variable
ER: Emergency Room
ECLS-B: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort
ECLS-K: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort
FFCWBS: Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study
GEE: Generalized Estimating Equations
HLM: Hierarchical Linear Modeling
IV: Independent variable
OLS: Ordinary Least Squares
SEM: Structural Equation Modeling
WCF: Welfare, Children, Families: A Three City Study
Y1, Y3, Y5, Y9: Year
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Most models included an extensive number of control variables. Rather than an exhaustive list, stated variables are central to the article’s focus.