REPORT

RAPID-Harris County Data Update Many Young Families Face Stress

Abstract

RAPID-Harris County

The RAPID Survey on child and family well-being has partnered with Harris County and the UH Institute for Research on Women, Gender & Sexuality (IRWGS) to hear from families with children under six, as of March 2023. IRWGS works with community partners to connect with parents and other caregivers, who were paid for their time. The data gathered on material hardship, health, mental health, child-care use and needs, and much more will be used to provide stakeholders with actionable insights to inform immediate and long-term program and policy decisions. Recent surveys show many young families under stress on multiple fronts. Those include increasing financial stress, Covid after-effects, climate-change concerns and the effects of Hurricane Beryl on well-being and future planning. These are in addition to such constant stresses on families as balancing everyone’s needs and affordable childcare/workforce access. Many new mothers also experience poor mental health postpartum.

Conclusion

Pressures on young families are high and growing, including both immediate concerns about rising prices, increasing debt, putting food on the table daily, more existential or long-term concerns about weather and health emergencies on the horizon, and whether to stay in Houston or relocate. Mental health of both parents and kids suffers under these and other strains, with kids needing extra consolation during catastrophes and parents burdened with the extra concern of how best to help their kids. Lack of a network to talk through problems can itself become a problem for new mothers negotiating the transition into parenthood.