Parenting by mothers from marginalised Roma communities in Slovakia: The role of financial insecurity, social support and perceived stress

Background: Although mothers from marginalised Roma communities (MRCs) prefer responsive parenting, the context of MRCs and associated stress are associated with more frequent harsh discipline practices. Objective: Our study explored the relationship of belonging to MRC with harsh discipline practices and the potential mediating pathways of this relationship through perceived stress of mothers, social support and financial insecurity. Participants and setting: We used data from the RomaREACH study collected in 2021-2022, including 112 mother-child dyads from MRCs and 106 from the majority population (children aged 12-21 months) in Slovakia. Methods: Harsh discipline was assessed by the Comprehensive Early Childhood Parenting Questionnaire, perceived stress by the Shortened Perceived Stress Scale, and social support by the Perceived Social Support Scale. Financial insecurity was assessed with five items. Data were analysed using linear regression, and mediation was tested using PROCESS Macro in SPSS. Results: Our results confirmed a partial serial mediation of financial insecurity and perceived stress on the relationship of belonging to the MRCs with harsh discipline (b = 0.46, t = 2.27), as well as a partial serial mediation of social support and perceived stress in the relationship of belonging to the MRCs with harsh discipline (b = 0.46, t = 2.30). Conclusions: Mothers from MRCs experience higher amounts of stress due to more frequent financial insecurity and lower social support. These factors may contribute to the greater use of harsher disciplining practices. The systemic disadvantage faced by MRCs poses challenges to creating an environment that supports nurturing caregiving practices.