Uncertainty as a Psychological Cost: Mothers’ Perceptions of Financial Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was a time of economic instability, parenting stress, and disrupted approaches to making ends meet for families with low incomes. However, families also received pandemic-related income supports. Within the context of a cash transfer randomized controlled trial, this study investigates how mothers with low incomes perceived various financial resources during the onset of the pandemic and how those perceptions shaped their engagement with these resources. We analyze interviews with 43 mothers with limited economic resources and find that mothers attend to both the quantity of financial resources they need as well as their certainty about these resources. Mothers’ certainty about resources is driven by their confidence that resources will actually be delivered. Without certainty, mothers were reluctant to include these resources in their financial planning. We establish mothers’ uncertainty regarding benefit delivery as an administrative burden—specifically, a psychological cost. The way policies are designed can induce or limit uncertainty about resources—a key factor in how families think about and plan to make ends meet.