Maternal Factors Associated with Family Social Distancing Practices During the Coronavirus Disease-2019 Pandemic

Despite social distancing being an effective method for mitigating community transmission of viruses, little is known about factors associated with social distancing practices among children and their families. The current study assessed maternal socio-demographic characteristics and political party identifications associated with family social distancing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants in this study were 1266 mothers (mean age = 39.92 years; 84.9% white) of children ages 17 years and younger from across the United States. They were recruited online through social media platforms and completed questionnaires on Qualtrics about their family's social distancing practices and socio-demographic characteristics.

Women with a Doctorate (mean = 35.37; SD = 4.24) and Master's (mean = 34.26; SD = 5.70) degree reported higher levels of family social distancing compared to women with some college (mean = 31.11; SD = 8.11) or a college degree (mean = 32.62; SD = 6.91; p's = .00). Women who identified as Democrat (mean = 35.92; SD = 3.30) or Independent (mean 34.13; SD = 5.63), or indicated not identifying with a political party (mean = 34.19; SD = 5.69), reported higher levels of family social distancing compared to women who identified as Republican (mean = 29.70; SD = 8.12; p's = .00). The largest effect was found between women who identified as Democrat and Republican (effect size = 1.00). After controlling for relevant predictor variables, maternal education (standardized beta coefficient = .116; p = .000), race (standardized beta coefficient = .072; p = .007), and political party identification (standardized beta coefficient = - .348; p = .000) were significantly correlated with the Social Distancing Total Score. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: The current findings suggest there may be a benefit to COVID-19 public health campaigns targeting families with lower educational attainment and more conservative regions in the United States.