Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 5-14-2023

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dana Nikki Reinemann

Second Advisor

Anne Cafer

Third Advisor

Carey Dowling

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Student parents, both undergraduate and graduate, already face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face, such as virtual-schooling, daycare costs and closings, staying home with sick children, and potentially not having a local support system, among others. Further, students who are performing laboratory research to fulfill their STEM educational requirements had their
research progress come to a halt when the country locked down. This study aims to identify the struggles student parents faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what issues the pandemic exacerbated, and what new problems have since arisen. Questions focused on: (1) consequences of being a student parent during the pandemic, (2) coping resources, (3) effects on mental health, and (4) demographic information. After 3 months, 35 surveys were completed. In analyzing the survey data, we hope to (1) inform higher education administrations about the unique problems student parents face and (2) formulate a set of recommendations to help mitigate these issues.

Accessibility Status

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Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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