Parental policy-related worry and low-income families' well-being in the context of U.S. executive orders: A cross-sectional analysis

Objective This study examined the relationship between parental worry about current U.S. executive orders, particularly regarding access to federal assistance programs, and family well-being. Methods Cross-sectional data collected in April-May 2025 from 140 low-income parents in the Midwestern U.S. were analyzed. Parents and preschoolers were non-randomly recruited from Head Start organizations. Parents completed an online survey assessing their policy-related worry, stress, anxiety, depression, mindfulness, parent-child relationship, food insecurity, and their preschoolers' social, emotional, and behavioral health. Results Among parents, 24.7 % reported no worry, 11.0 % a little, 20.1 % some, 19.5 % a lot, and 20.8 % extreme worry; 3.9 % were unsure. Parental policy-related worry was dichotomized into low and high. Compared to low-worry parents, high-worry parents reported greater anxiety (<i>p</i> = .01), higher household food insecurity (<i>p</i> < .01), lower mindfulness (<i>p</i> < .01), and more parent child conflict (<i>p</i> = .03). Regarding preschoolers' developmental functioning, preschoolers of low-worry parents showed greater social skills (<i>p</i> = .01), fewer problem behaviors (<i>p</i> < .01), and lower levels of sadness (<i>p</i> < .01), fear (<i>p</i> = .03), and anger (<i>p</i> < .01) than those of high-worry parents. Conclusions Even when not explicitly targeting families, executive orders may contribute to poor health outcomes in low-income households. Public health efforts should recognize policy-related stressors and promote trauma informed, resilience-building interventions to support family well-being and child development.