Strengths of the Heart: Stressors, Gratitude, and Mental Health in Single Mothers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created significant economic, social, and mental health challenges for many parents. However, single mothers (who are typically both primary caregivers and wage earners for their families) may be especially vulnerable to stress and mental health problems during this crisis. Gratitude is strongly linked to positive emotions as well as mental health and has been shown to be amendable in interventions but has rarely been assessed in regard to parent well-being. In the present study, we assessed the longitudinal relations between life stressors and gratitude on single mothers' mental health (N = 200) prior to, and during, the pandemic using quantitative and qualitative data. We found that stressors contributed to poor mental health both concurrently and across time. However, T1 gratitude was associated with lower internalizing problems at T2 (controlling for prior internalizing problems). Qualitative interviews revealed both challenges and strengths of single mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that fostering gratitude in single mothers could have benefits for their mental health and well-being. Future research should test this in an intervention and further elucidate strength-based resources that single mothers utilize to assist them during challenging times, reduce stressors, and improve their mental health.