Financial vulnerability and the impact of COVID-19 on American households

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 14;17(1):e0262301. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262301. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

In May 2020, Westat, in partnership with Stanford University School of Medicine, conducted a nationally-representative household survey of American attitudes and behaviors regarding COVID-19. In this article, we examine what the Coronavirus Attitudes and Behaviors Survey tells us about the impact of COVID-19 on financial status and how this impact varies by demographic characteristics, the presence of health risk factors, and financial status (including employment factors). The survey reveals significant inequality in financial impact, as those who were most financially vulnerable prior to the pandemic found themselves under greater financial strain, while those who were more financially secure have experienced a neutral or even positive impact of the pandemic on household finances. These findings have important implications for public policy as policymakers seek to target aid to those who need it most.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • Economic Status
  • Employment*
  • Family Characteristics
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Income
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United States
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

Westat provided funding in the form of salaries for CB, MG, JDM, KL, TM, JN, and JW. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.