Social support, happiness, work–family conflict, and state anxiety among single mothers during the covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic and Israel’s first lockdown created widespread social isolation, job disruptions, and uncertainty that elevated stress and anxiety. Single mothers by choice (SMBC), who lack partner support, may face unique pressures balancing work and family demands. The study examined the relationships among state anxiety (SA), perceived social support, work–family conflict (WFC), and happiness among SMBC in Israel during the first lockdown. Research questions focused on how happiness, WFC, and different sources of social support (family, friends, significant others) relate to SA, and the extent to which background variables (age, income, education, organizational sector, and rank) explain SA. Hypotheses: (1) Age, education, income, and organizational rank would be negatively associated with SA; public-sector employment would be associated with lower SA than private-sector employment. (2) Happiness would be negatively related to SA. (3) WFC would be positively related to SA. (4) Types of social support (family, friends, significant others) would be negatively related to SA.

Theoretical and empirical work documents changing family models and the emergence of SMBC, often older, educated women who choose motherhood without a partner, aided by reproductive technologies. Prior studies show SMBC experience both fulfillment and burden, often compensating for lack of partner support via social networks. Social support, defined as emotional and instrumental resources exchanged through informal (family, friends) and formal channels, is linked to lower stress, anxiety, and depression; broader support correlates with lower SA. Research also distinguishes state anxiety from other anxiety forms and identifies demographic influences (e.g., gender, age, education, socioeconomic status) on anxiety. Work–family conflict (WFC) arises from competing demands across work and family domains and is bidirectional (work-to-family and family-to-work). WFC includes time-, strain-, and behavior-based components and has been linked to stress and psychological distress. During Covid-19, single mothers reported elevated WFC due to blurred boundaries and job insecurity. However, gaps remain in integrating social support, happiness, and WFC to explain SA specifically among SMBC during crises; this study addresses that gap.

Design and sampling: Cross-sectional survey during Israel’s first Covid-19 lockdown (March–May 2020). Public snowball sampling recruited SMBC via referrals and social networks. N = 386 SMBC, ages 30–63 (M = 45, SD = 4.93). Children: 69% had one child, 28% two. Education: 37% bachelor’s, 44% master’s or higher. Employment sector: 48% private, 36% public, 10% self-employed. Organizational rank: 57% junior, 10% senior. Lockdown status: 25% unpaid leave, 25% full-time from home, 18% part-time from home, 33% worked as usual. Income mostly average or above. Measures: (1) State Anxiety (State-Anxiety Inventory; Spielberger et al., 1983): 12 items (7-point scale), reverse-coded positives, higher scores = higher SA; Cronbach’s α = 0.93. (2) Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988; translated by Stattman, 1995): 12 items across friends, family, significant other (7-point scale); α = 0.82 overall; family support α = 0.89 (current study), significant other support α ≈ 0.85–0.86. (3) Formal support seeking: Study-developed 6 items (friends, educational counseling, psychological counseling, social workers, mental health centers, Facebook groups), 5-point scale (0 = did not seek); items analyzed separately (no composite reliability). (4) Happiness (Oxford Happiness Questionnaire—short; Hills & Argyle, 2002): 8 items, 7-point scale; α = 0.82. (5) Work–Family Conflict: 18 items based on Gutek et al. (1991) with additional positive items (reverse-scored); factor analysis indicated work-to-family and family-to-work, combined due to high correlation; 7-point scale; α = 0.89. Demographics: Age, education (years), organizational sector and rank, employment before/during Covid-19, perceived health, income, number/age range of children. Procedure and analyses: Descriptive statistics computed for all variables. Associations examined via Pearson correlations. Stepwise and hierarchical multiple regressions assessed predictors of SA from background variables, happiness, WFC, and social support sources. Multicollinearity checked via tolerance and VIF (tolerance > 1/VIF acceptable; reported range 1.00–1.38 indicating no issues).

Descriptives: SMBC reported moderate SA (M = 3.57, SD = 1.35), moderate WFC (M = 3.25, SD = 1.04), and moderate-to-high happiness (M = 4.60, SD = 1.09). Social support levels were relatively high: significant others (M = 5.59, SD = 1.40), friends (M = 5.33, SD = 1.48), family (M = 5.30, SD = 1.58). Most sought help from family (73%); few used Facebook groups (18%) or formal psychological/social services (~10%). Correlations with state anxiety (SA): - Income negatively correlated with SA (r = −0.12, p < 0.05). No significant correlations for age, education, organizational rank or sector. - Happiness strongly negatively correlated with SA (r = −0.58, p < 0.01). - WFC positively correlated with SA (r ≈ 0.41–0.42, p < 0.01). - General social support negatively correlated with SA (r = −0.35, p < 0.01). By source: friends r = −0.31, family r = −0.29, significant other r = −0.29 (all p < 0.01). Regression results: - Social support sources: In hierarchical models, friend support entered first explained R² ≈ 0.09; adding family support increased R² to ≈ 0.13. Significant other support did not add predictive value. - Full predictor set (stepwise): Happiness alone explained ≈ 34% of SA variance; adding WFC explained an additional ≈ 3%; maternal age and family support together added ≈ 1.5%. VIF/tolerance indicated no multicollinearity concerns.

Findings indicate that among SMBC during Israel’s first Covid-19 lockdown, higher happiness was associated with substantially lower state anxiety and emerged as the strongest predictor of SA. Greater work–family conflict was associated with higher SA, underscoring the role of competing work and caregiving demands in elevating anxiety for single mothers without partner support. Perceived social support related to lower SA, with friend/peer support showing a notable contribution to reducing anxiety beyond family support in regression entry order. Contrary to expectations, most demographic and occupational factors did not relate to SA; only lower income was associated with higher SA, consistent with the socioeconomic stressors exacerbated by the pandemic and the single-earner status of SMBC. Together, the results support the hypotheses that happiness inversely and WFC positively relate to SA, and that social support is protective. The findings highlight the importance of emotional resources and supportive networks in buffering anxiety during crisis conditions for SMBC.

This study contributes evidence on SMBC during a large-scale crisis, demonstrating that happiness is a primary protective factor against state anxiety, while work–family conflict elevates anxiety. Perceived social support—especially from peers/friends—also relates to lower anxiety. Practically, strengthening informal support networks and improving access to effective formal support services may mitigate anxiety. Institutions (e.g., municipal welfare authorities) could proactively identify and reach out to SMBC during crises to assess needs and offer assistance. Future research should: (1) validate measures tailored to SMBC (including formal support seeking), (2) use longitudinal and mixed-methods designs to track changes and deepen understanding, (3) compare SMBC with partnered mothers and examine cross-country differences, and (4) consider child age stratification and additional contextual moderators of WFC and anxiety.

- Cross-sectional, self-reported data collected at a single time point (first lockdown) limits causal inference; longitudinal designs are needed. - Snowball and internet-based recruitment may affect representativeness; probabilistic sampling is recommended. - The formal social support measure was study-developed and not validated, potentially impacting reliability and validity of findings involving formal support. - Lack of established norms for SMBC complicates interpretation of absolute levels (low/medium/high) of constructs. - Insufficient detail on children’s exact ages; child age groups may differentially affect WFC and SA. - Most demographic/occupational variables may not have been sufficiently granular to detect context-specific effects.