Her current research examines the experience and institution of motherhood, with special focus on the psychological and sociocultural impact of pandemic times on American mothers. For more information, questions about her research, or collaborative research opportunities, please send an email to: jessica.roy [at] my.pacifica.edu.
She also specializes in helping academics and clinicians create a soulful online presence with websites and brand development. For more information, please send an email to: hello [at] jess-roy.com.
Jessica Roy is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute and a clinical trainee in the Counseling and Psychological Services Center at Westmont College.
Association of Women in Psychology Annual Conference | March 6, 2021
With the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in March of 2020, American mothers were called to new roles and responsibilities as educators, childcare providers, and at-distance professionals. Many chose to put their careers, personal pursuits, and personal lives on hold (or even abandoned them entirely) to care for their children and families. Additionally these pressures are even more severe for women of color, mothers of children with disabilities, immigrants, single mothers, and women facing conditions of poverty. The weight of making these tough decisions impacts the mental and physical health of mothers, with long-term ramifications for feminist mothering practices. While the pandemic may have thrust women into around-the-clock intensive mothering practices, it has also illuminated and amplified the longstanding socio-cultural expectations of what it means for women to appropriately “mother.” This presentation considers the the amplification of intensive mothering during pandemic times within the context of Gilligan’s (1982) moral development theory.
Recent Work
An Ethic of Care: Intensive Mothering During Pandemic Times
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