Peer-reviewed article
National Parent Survey 2017: Worries, hopes, and child well‐being
Karen A. Bonuck, Kathleen McGrath, Qi Gao ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This survey of 1,189 U.S. parents asked about their worries and hopes for their children one year after the 2016 election. Parents' main concerns were national security, the environment, and their children's place in America. The study found that parental employment and dominant religious or ethnic identity reduced worry about discrimination and family health security. The research shows that major political events shape parents' concerns about their children's futures.
Key points
- 39% of parents worried about national security; 30.5% about the environment; 25.7% about their child's continued place in America
- Employment reduced odds of worrying about discrimination (OR=0.67) and family health/security concerns (OR=0.62)
- Being Christian or non-Hispanic White reduced worry about macrolevel future concerns and existential concerns about place in America
- Qualitative comments emphasized macrolevel worries beyond immediate family concerns
- Parents' perspectives on sociopolitical events span across demographics, geography, and generations
Limitations
The survey captures parental worries and hopes but does not measure actual child well-being outcomes or the impact of these worries on children. The cross-sectional design cannot determine causation or how concerns change over time.
Abstract
Sociopolitical events impact population health; parents' perspective of such events crosses demographics, geography, and generations. We elicited changes in U.S. parents' hopes and worries for their children 1 year after the 2016 election via an online survey of school climate, discrimination against child, family health care and security, and macrolevel/future concerns (e.g., environment, postsecondary options). Among n = 1189 respondents, national security (39%), the environment (30.5%), and "continued place in America" (25.7%) were most worrisome. In general linear mixed models, employment buffered against social and material stressors such as discrimination (odds ratio [OR] = 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.49-0.92), and family health care/security (OR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.45-0.86) while being of a dominant religion and ethnicity buffered future macrolevel (Christianity, OR = 70; 95% CI = 0.54-0.92/non-Hispanic, OR = 59; 95% CI = 0.39-0.90) and existential "continued place in America" (Christianity, OR = 69; 95% CI = 0.51-0.94/non-Hispanic, OR = 56; 95% CI = 0.36-0.88) worries. Qualitative comments underscored macrolevel worries. Parents represent a unique vantage for gauging how sociopolitical events impact health and well-being.