Latino and Black children are two times more likely to experience three or more economic and health related hardships as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new study of Census Household Pulse Survey data released recently, reports NBC News.
The nonpartisan research organization Child Trends analyzed Census survey responses and found that 29 percent of Latino and 31 percent of Black households with children are experiencing three or more health and economic difficulties at the same time. These include unemployment, difficulty paying expenses, not being caught up on rent or mortgage payments, as well as food insufficiency, lack of health insurance and poor physical or mental health.
“It’s easy to look at the hardships that we’ve identified and think that this is mainly happening to the parents,” said Dana Thomson, a researcher at Child Trends and co-author of the report. “But research shows that the stress that families and parents experience definitely trickles down to their children either indirectly through parent-child interactions or by the types of experiences that they’re able to provide, or directly.”
If a family is missing rent payments and they have to move, that has a lot of impact in the stability and environment of a child as well,” she added.
Latino and Black children are simultaneously experiencing these hardships at twice the rate of their Asian American and White counterparts. Only 13 percent of Asian American households and 16 percent of White households with children are experiencing three of more hardships.
