Introduction
Mothers who experience mental health problems often experience the co-occurrence of stress, anxiety, and depression (Ramakrishna et al., 2019). Symptoms of maternal stress, anxiety, and depression are associated with poor physical health (Slomian et al., 2019), disrupted work performance (Napora et al., 2018), social relationship problems (Jones & Coast, 2013), and dysfunctional parenting (Crosby Budinger et al., 2013). Furthermore, because mothers are often the primary caregivers for their children, poor maternal mental health can also negatively impact their children’s mental health, resulting in internalizing (emotional) and externalizing (disruptive) problems (Arroyo-Borrell et al., 2017).
While the negative implications of COVID-19 disruptions on maternal mental health have been documented (Babore et al., 2023; Burns et al., 2022), it is widely acknowledged that further investigation is needed to fully understand the unique impacts and identify potential interventions (Wade et al., 2023). Specifically, it is crucial to investigate the potential negative effects of COVID-19 on maternal mental health for at-risk populations, such as low-income and diverse families, who may face additional stressors and barriers to accessing resources for support (Whitehead et al., 2021). Therefore, the current study uses latent transition analysis to investigate how low-income mothers in Canada’s largest city transited in mental health profiles prior to during COVID-19.