Diaper Need: Tradeoffs of Accessing Diapers and Household Budget Priorities
Conway, Carollyne
Conway, Carollyne
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Abstract
Diaper need is a material hardship wherein caretakers feel they do not have enough diapers to change their child as often as they would like. Pre-pandemic, this issue impacted one in three families with young children in the U.S. Using a nationwide sample of caregivers with children aged 0-4 years, this study estimated diaper need during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the tradeoffs that households at different income levels were making to provide diapers to their children and how they would prioritize their money if diapers were already taken care of. This study found a 44% national prevalence of diaper need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, compared to not low-income households, low-income households more often did not fully pay their bills, cut back on the amount of food they bought, and bought lower-quality foods in order to afford diapers.
Description
Undergraduate
Date
2022-01-01