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Adjustment Profiles of Low-Income Caregivers from the United States and South Africa: Contrasts and Commonalities

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Abstract

Although low-income parents living in under-resourced communities in the United States and around the world face challenges, many do well while others struggle in one or more areas of functioning. The present study examined patterns of adjustment among maternal caregivers living in the United States (US) (N = 320) and South Africa (SA) (N = 324). Cluster analyses across four domains of functioning representing both positive and negative adjustment and conducted within country revealed similar patterns of adjustment, with a majority of caregivers (37.8% in the US; 47.5% in SA) landing in a “holding steady” pattern, exhibiting good but not exceptional adjustment. Other patterns of adjustment (three additional in the US sample; two additional in the SA sample) showed elevated impairment in somatic complaints, problems with alcohol, or life satisfaction. In both the US and SA, support from family, friends, and neighbors differentiated the adjustment profiles. Further, both current stressors within and outside of the family and previous stressors including direct and indirect exposure to violence discriminated caregivers who were “holding steady” from those who were struggling in one or more domains. Additionally, across both countries, caregivers who were “holding steady” evidenced less avoidant coping. Implications of this work for fostering resilience among caregivers and their children are discussed.

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Author Contributions

W.K. designed and executed the study, conducted the data analyses, and wrote portions of the paper. J.S.Y. and A.W.W. collaborated with the design of the study and wrote portions of the paper. B.J.P. contributed to the design of the study and collaborated in editing the final manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by grants R21DA020086 and K01DA015442 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284-2018, USA

    Wendy Kliewer & Anna W. Wright

  2. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Wendy Kliewer & Basil J. Pillay

  3. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Joana Salifu Yendork

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  1. Wendy Kliewer
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  2. Joana Salifu Yendork
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  4. Basil J. Pillay
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Correspondence to Wendy Kliewer.

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All procedures performed in these studies were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committees of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who approved the studies, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Kliewer, W., Salifu Yendork, J., Wright, A.W. et al. Adjustment Profiles of Low-Income Caregivers from the United States and South Africa: Contrasts and Commonalities. J Child Fam Stud 27, 522–534 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0907-1

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