Longitudinal trajectories of maternal perceived support: The role of household conditions

ABSTRACT Objective This study examines the relationship between mothers' household conditions and their perceptions of available support across their children's development. Background Many U.S. mothers and children live in arrangements with nonnuclear kin and experience changes in arrangements. Mothers and children living outside nuclear family structures and those with residential instability fare worse across mental and physical well‐being measures. The contribution of household conditions to mothers' support networks is less clear. Methods The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing dataset is a national birth‐cohort study of U.S. children born in 1998–2000. The study used data from mothers from baseline through Year 15 ( n = 4,587). Bivariate statistics and multilevel models of change examined household conditions and mothers' perceived support. Results Net of extensive socioeconomic characteristics, mothers living alone had lower odds of perceiving support (odds ratio [OR] = .78, 95% confidence interval [CI] [.65, .93]) while mothers living with nonpartner adults had higher odds (OR = 1.24–1.29, 95% CI [1.02, 1.59]) than those in nuclear families. Odds of support increased for mothers in nuclear families over time while decreasing or stabilizing for other groups. Cumulative living arrangement and residential changes related to lower odds of support. Conclusions Our findings signify the importance of considering the context, including timing, of specific relationships among adults in a household and household changes when assessing perceived support. Implications The absence of consistent perceived support, particularly for those outside of nuclear family arrangements and those with changes in housing conditions, suggest the importance of connecting families to community and public support systems.