Economically, socially, and politically, women are essential to the sustainability and cohesiveness of states. They also ensure the welfare of society, educate children, and serve as change agents. Due to limitations, mothers with several children frequently adopt “adaptive preferences” to manage employment and caregiving. In addition to economic considerations, gender constructions shaped by views about women’s duties are reflected in the state policy of Kazakhstan (Bakalbaev et al., 2025). Kazakh women have historically prioritized marriage and large families, but these ideals are changing as a result of modernization. Kazakh women are becoming more autonomous, pursuing occupations, and advocating for gender equality (Al-Bahrani et al., 2020). As men take on more household responsibilities and participate in joint decision-making, modern families are changing to accommodate women’s integration into society while respecting their traditional legacy (Mukhammedov et al., 2024).

These societal changes are accompanied by evolving public opinion regarding women’s roles, especially in the context of motherhood and economic participation. Public opinion, shaped by both formal discourse and everyday interactions, becomes a driver and a reflection of shifts in gender norms and family policies. Theoretical insights from the spiral of silence theory and agenda-setting theory suggest that state-supported narratives and collective sentiments play a key role in structuring the visibility and acceptability of women’s roles in public and private life (Al-Bahrani et al., 2020). Despite a number of governmental initiatives to assist big families, many mothers continue to experience obstacles regarding career growth, gender wage disparities, and difficulty balancing work and family obligations (Van Winkle & Fasang, 2020). In order to ensure that mothers with four or more children are better assisted in attaining economic independence and social equality while upholding their family duties, it is necessary to investigate how these issues might be resolved through more effective social policies.

In Kazakhstan, programs such as the Isker Ana (Almaty.tv, 2021) initiative empower mothers through business training, while the Baqitti Otbasi loan program provides low-interest housing for large families (Baqitti Otbasi …, 2019). Despite these initiatives, males are still slower to take up household duties, and many mothers continue to have limited career options. Mothers’ personal and financial independence is limited by the obligations of housework and unemployment. A gender wage difference was evident from January to September 2022, with the average income for males being 299 thousand tenges (approximately 636 USD) and for women being 223 thousand tenges (approximately 474 USD) (Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2022). Although Kazakhstan’s family and gender policy seeks to increase women’s involvement in all facets of life, mothers’ quality of life and time with their children are negatively impacted by overwork brought on by a lack of domestic help (Bouffet et al., 2020; Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 384, 2016).

Ballarino et al. (2020) and Van Winkle and Fasang (2020) emphasized that public policy should encourage the balance between work and family life, in addition to compensating for child-related expenditures. Having more children has a greater effect on a woman’s career since women’s employment rates decrease as the number of minor dependents, particularly young ones, rises. Public life is reformed when women participate in public policy. In contrast to the individualistic framing of male roles, Fossati et al. (2020), based on a survey conducted in Switzerland, and Ayriza et al. (2020), drawing on data from Indonesia, highlight the altruistic character often associated with motherhood. Both studies assign moral and political value to maternity, shaped by their respective socio-historical contexts. These findings, while grounded in distinct national settings, suggest that caregiving and domestic responsibilities continue to constrain women’s personal and professional development – even in environments with rising levels of female education and public participation.

Mothers and families with four or more children have witnessed cultural, social, and productive transformations in recent decades, with greater social, political, and public opinion awareness. Popescu et al. (2020) and Maftei et al. (2020) noted persistent problems with gender inequality in the political, cultural, and economic domains, particularly in public policy. Caring for a family takes effort, commitment, and time. Most women with several children must continue to work for money while managing childcare and schooling in order to balance work and family obligations.

The present research contributes to public opinion scholarship by analyzing how societal attitudes and normative expectations regarding women’s roles shape the lived experiences and economic agency of mothers in Kazakhstan. With a focus on how labor market conditions, state policies, and traditional gender roles affect their access to employment, social benefits, and well-being, this study sought to analyze the socioeconomic difficulties faced by mothers in Kazakhstan who have four or more children. The research questions aimed at understanding the challenges faced by mothers of large families in rural Kazakhstan include:

RQ1: How do mothers with big families in rural Kazakhstan balance caregiving and financial responsibilities?

RQ2: What strategies do big families adopt to handle limited financial resources, and how does this influence the well-being and opportunities of the children in these households?

RQ3: How do conventional gender norms influence caring and financial duties in large families, and what impact does this have on women’ economic independence?

RQ4: How well do current state policies and social benefits meet the requirements of big families in rural Kazakhstan?

Literature Review

To provide a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by Kazakhstani mothers with many children, Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological theory was used in combination with public opinion research on perceived social norms and policy feedback effects (Sadownik, 2023). This theory emphasizes that an individual’s development and behavior are shaped not only by environmental systems but also by publicly shared perceptions of support, fairness, and institutional responsiveness. Applying this framework in our analysis enabled the examination of how these mothers’ experiences are influenced by multiple levels of their environment, ranging from the immediate family and community to broader societal structures and policies, including how mothers interpret public attitudes and government priorities based on lived experiences and institutional interactions.

Schwander (2019) offers a detailed analysis of labor market instability in Western Europe, particularly in countries such as Switzerland and Germany, highlighting how the middle class often faces competing demands from work and family life. Women, particularly mothers, are disproportionately affected by this uncertainty, as they find it difficult to juggle paid employment with caring responsibilities. Schwander underlined that public perception of such policies (whether they are considered adequate or dismissive of women’s roles) plays a crucial role in shaping mothers’ trust in the system and their broader political attitudes.

Baltaci et al. (2020) examined the psychological aspects of career uncertainty among teenagers, focusing on their perceived levels of social support. Despite being aimed at adolescents in Turkey, the study’s conclusions about the need for social support and meeting psychological needs are relevant to the difficulties experienced by mothers of several children. Meagher et al. (2021) investigated how gender functions in the political economics of health, especially when there is armed conflict. Access to social protection and healthcare is essential for all mothers, particularly those raising multiple children in low-income settings. Their trust in health systems and expectations of fairness are closely tied to their experiences and the dominant discourses in public life, which in turn shape public opinion on state responsibility and gender equity.

By observing the health of internally displaced women in Africa, Amodu et al. (2020) added to the conversation on women’s vulnerability. Their results highlighted the wider problems of socioeconomic inequality, lack of access to healthcare, and the difficulties of juggling family obligations under challenging circumstances, even if the setting is different from Kazakhstan. Akseer et al. (2020) examined disparities in the coverage of healthcare interventions and the survival of women, children, and adolescents in countries experiencing war. The study emphasized that parental status and gender play a major role in determining access to necessary care.

A sociological examination of educational practices in Kazakhstan, with an emphasis on higher education, was presented by Duisenova et al. (2020). Women frequently encounter obstacles while trying to further their education and careers, especially mothers with several children, which has an impact on their socioeconomic standing. These barriers, and the visibility or invisibility of institutional support in public discourse, inform public sentiment about gender roles and influence intergenerational transmission of normative attitudes.

Fan et al. (2023) examined the multifaceted challenges faced by caregivers of individuals with dementia, particularly in relation to financial, legal, and functional responsibilities. While their study focused on eldercare, its findings are relevant to the broader burdens of unpaid caregiving, which also affect mothers of large families – many of whom simultaneously care for both children and aging relatives. This intersection of caregiving roles intensifies the strain on women’s time, resources, and emotional well-being. They also highlighted deficiencies in existing support systems and called for digital tools to improve access to caregiving resources, a recommendation that resonates across caregiving contexts. In turn, public discourse around such technological and institutional solutions influences how caregivers and the public assess the legitimacy and responsiveness of government action (Zlenko & Dudar, 2024).

There remains a gap in understanding how public opinion, as shaped by both institutional performance and shared social narratives, reflects and reinforces the intersectional challenges encountered by mothers with many children in Kazakhstan. Although gender inequality, labor engagement, and social welfare have all been studied in the past, large families’ particular socioeconomic challenges, particularly when it comes to juggling caregiving duties with work opportunities, are frequently ignored. Furthermore, public attitudes toward family size, maternal employment, and traditional gender norms remain understudied, despite their role in either legitimizing or challenging state approaches to family welfare.

Materials and Methods

The following methods were used to achieve the research goals: structural-functional method, interviews, and comparative approaches, adapted to the framework of public opinion research. The structural-functional method was used to examine the personality of a woman with many children, with particular attention given to the interplay between external and internal factors affecting. This method highlighted a set of problems and obstacles within the social protection system for low-income populations in Kazakhstan, defined here as households within the bottom 20% of the national income distribution. In the context of public opinion research, this approach also enabled an exploration of dominant societal narratives, including how large families perceive state support and their trust in institutional mechanisms, as reflective of collective attitudes.

The interview method facilitated an in-depth exploration of the parenting practices and social experiences of mothers with many children, emphasizing the socio-economic and emotional dimensions of their lives. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling method, beginning with our own personal networks. This approach relied on interpersonal trust to facilitate access to a vulnerable and hard-to-reach population. Between June and August 2023, we surveyed 50 women and conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 mothers from low-income households residing in the Beyneu, Mangystau, Karakiya, and Munaily districts of the Mangistau region in Kazakhstan. All participants were recipients of Targeted Social Assistance (TSA), had at least four children, and ranged in age from 28 to 47 years; the majority were married, though two were single mothers. Family structures included both preschool- and school-aged children, which enabled a more nuanced analysis of caregiving responsibilities. The snowball sampling method, while effective in reaching this population, presents limitations related to selection bias and lack of generalizability; participants are more likely to share similar characteristics, and the findings may not represent the broader population of mothers with many children across Kazakhstan. Nonetheless, the approach allowed the researchers to access detailed, context-specific insights, which would have been difficult to obtain through random sampling methods. Participation was fully voluntary and anonymous, with informed consent obtained from all respondents.

From the perspective of public opinion research, the interview format allowed the elicitation of attitudinal and belief-based responses about governmental effectiveness, institutional trust, and the perceived legitimacy of social policy interventions. These responses were analyzed not merely as personal narratives but as indicators of collective public sentiment among a demographically specific group. Interviews were arranged according to the participants’ availability, typically in the early morning or late evening when there were fewer childcare obligations. Interviews were transcribed, replies were coded, and recurrent themes pertaining to emotional health, household welfare, and state assistance gaps were found. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to systematize categorical indicators related to the welfare of mothers in Kazakhstan, focusing on social support and budgetary allowances for large families. This process enabled the identification of opinion trends concerning satisfaction with public services and unmet expectations, relevant to gauging public trust in welfare institutions. The main questions asked included:

  1. How is the mother’s daily routine organized?

  2. Who financially supports the family and how are resources distributed?

  3. Who handles the household and chores in the family?

  4. How are children’s education, leisure, and entertainment organized?

  5. How does the mother find time to rest?

  6. What is the mother’s emotional bond with her children and husband?

  7. What educational practices does the mother utilize with her children?

  8. How does the family deal with challenging economic conditions?

  9. How pleased are families with governmental assistance and social advantages for big families?

  10. What are the family’s financial problems, such as debt or limited resources?

  11. What are the family’s living conditions and housing challenges?

  12. What are the mother’s future ambitions, including business ventures?

  13. How do mothers get state support? What sources of information do they use?

The comparative method at the stage of analyzing the opinions of the authors allowed us to analyze the specifics of state policy concerning mothers with many children. The comparison allowed us to highlight the properties of public policy in Kazakhstan while considering the dimensions of social support and programs, as well as the nuances that characterize the life of an average mother with many children. This method also made it possible to identify cross-sectional attitudinal trends among different family structures and geographic regions, thereby reinforcing the study’s alignment with public opinion research.

Results

Individual Level: Daily Life and Caregiving Burdens

The research on mothers with many children begins with a description of their routine and everyday life. As such, a typical day of a mother with many children starts early (often by 6 a.m.), when she gets up and makes breakfast for her children and husband, prepares older children for school, coordinates which older child will accompany younger siblings to preschool, attends to housework, and plans the rest of her day. When preparing meals, the mother should remember how much food she has in stock for the next 2-3 days, what products are already gone, and what needs to be added. It is the mother who reminds the children of their current schedule, who goes to school at what time, who has to do what around the house, who will pick whom up from school, and who will do homework with whom.

At the individual level, the socio-ecological framework highlights the personal challenges faced by mothers in navigating daily obligations under conditions of gendered labor expectations. The findings show that mothers with several children, particularly those with younger children, struggle to balance home responsibilities, childcare, and financial preparation. These women usually start their days early, doing everything from cooking meals to planning their children’s school schedules. The hard physical and emotional labor required restricts their time and energy for paid work, particularly when conventional gender norms lay the burden of caregiving largely on the mother. As one mother shared, “I always have a lot to do in the morning! It takes me a while to get everyone up, feed them, and explain who must do what today… I get tired before I give them all their homework… I’m so tired!” Such caregiving routines reflect internalized social norms around maternal responsibility, which are often reinforced by dominant cultural narratives and widely shared perceptions about gender roles. These findings demonstrate how caring responsibilities, determined by conventional cultural standards, limit mothers’ access to professional prospects, exacerbating their financial vulnerability. The socio-ecological lens implies that these personal issues are molded not just by individual challenges, but also by wider cultural expectations that limit women’ involvement in the labor sector.

Individual and Family Level: Economic Struggles, Resource Allocation, and Public Perception of State Support

At the individual and household levels, the findings indicate that mothers in large families from low-income backgrounds suffer severe economic hurdles. The failure to provide basic essentials for their children, such as clothes, educational resources, and recreational activities, demonstrates the micro-level strain on families. To satisfy their children’s requirements, mothers must use tactics such as passing down clothes among siblings or exchanging stuff with other families. The data results emphasize that children from large families have serious limitations in access to additional education, food, and clothing: “But how do we buy… we do not buy clothes! Shoes – yes, we must buy them, because they do not always fit. A shirt or dress can be worn as it is, or it can be altered… We give them to each other, we (mothers with many children) trade with each other with our children’s things.”

In this context, attitudes toward public institutions become particularly relevant. Despite material hardship, parents with many children often express a positive perception of local authorities and state social policy. They believe that the state and its representatives (Akimats – local authorities) work well and help them: “Akimat helps us, yes … when you come, they immediately ask if we got all (benefits) if there are any problems with documents, what else we have … (benefits, social payments) … the state does not leave us!” Such expressions of trust in local governance amidst adverse circumstances provide insight into public opinion shaped not solely by material conditions, but also by perceived responsiveness and symbolic recognition.

This individual hardship is exacerbated by their duty as caretakers, which restricts their capacity to contribute to the household economy through paid work. As a result, the family’s economic stability decreases, adding to feelings of financial stress. From a public opinion research standpoint, the socio-ecological theory may be extended to include how social expectations of motherhood intersect with perceived state roles, thereby influencing both attitudes toward policy effectiveness and the legitimacy of welfare provision. Caring is viewed as the major responsibility for women in large families, and this role shapes how they interpret and evaluate social support mechanisms.

Family and Community Level: Economic Strategies, Social Support, and Public Opinion on Gender Roles

Asked about whether a woman planned to become a mother of many children, the answers of the semi-structured interviews show that children are the most important thing for women because Kazakh culture is child-centered and broadcasts the importance of children. However, when talking about plans for the next child, women said that they do not plan their pregnancies, but try to keep breaks between births because older children can help take care of younger ones: “Well, I did not give birth one after another… I make breaks! I must let them grow up, then the older ones will help with the younger ones… The older girls can replace me… they can cook, feed, and clean (the younger children), if necessary.” The living conditions of large families, despite the existing state housing programs, are not satisfactory. A family of 8 people with different-sex and different-aged children can live in a two-room dwelling (typically 40-50 sq. m. for apartments or 50-70 sq. m. for houses), which includes a kitchen or living room in addition to these bedrooms. These dwellings are provided under income-based rental programs. However, such space is insufficient for ensuring privacy and comfort, and program conditions, such as eligibility criteria, waiting periods, and availability, remain opaque and inconsistently communicated to beneficiaries.

Socio-ecological theory can help explain how women respond to economic stresses through social networks and informal support systems at the family and community levels. Many women rely on their older children to help with domestic duties or care for younger siblings, helping them to better manage their daily workload. While useful, this adaptation shows a dependence on unpaid work inside the family, which reinforces conventional gender roles. In this context, public opinion (particularly widely shared perceptions about women’s “natural” domestic role) shapes both the acceptance and invisibility of this informal labor.

Furthermore, the findings show that some mothers with limited access to formal employment or state assistance rely on community networks and informal borrowing from local merchants to satisfy their financial obligations. This reliance on local assistance, although a survival strategy, does not address the underlying economic insecurity that these families endure. Some people, to make ends meet, increase their debt at local stores or at microcredit organizations, which worsens their financial situation even more: “I take food from the local store… they know me there, they trust me. As soon as I get my TSA, I go to pay debts. I give it away and then I have nothing left again (laughs).” The socio-ecological approach emphasizes how mothers’ economic freedom is limited not just by individual caring responsibilities, but also by the lack of institutional economic and social support mechanisms.

These coping strategies can also be interpreted as responses to collective public perceptions about state responsibility and social assistance, especially in rural areas. By examining attitudes toward the redistribution of welfare resources and the perceived legitimacy of informal borrowing, public opinion research reveals the normative climate that sustains such practices. While community-level adjustments are widespread in many rural Kazakhstani communities, the reliance on older children for assistance and informal money solutions appears to be especially prevalent in the Mangistau region.

Community Level: Social Networks and Information Sharing in Public Opinion Formation

At the community level, the socio-ecological model demonstrates how social networks assist mothers in accessing state support and share resources. Mothers rely extensively on informal community support networks to obtain knowledge about social benefits. When asked how they obtain information about available state support, mothers of large families reported that they primarily rely on both online social media platforms and informal interpersonal networks. They actively seek out, share, and discuss this information with neighbors, relatives, and other mothers in similar situations. “The last time, I learned about the documents [the list of required documents for TSA] from Instagram – one mother had posted a photo with a list… I do not have time to go anywhere [to state agencies]! Then my neighbor and I, who is just like me (a mom with many children), go together to complete the documents.”

This example illustrates how opinion leaders within informal peer networks, particularly in digital spaces, influence the dissemination and uptake of information about public policy. This dynamic reflects the two-step flow theory in public opinion research, which posits that information flows first to influential individuals, who then interpret and transmit it to others within their social networks. This highlights how peer networks, including social media, may be valuable instruments for collecting information that is not always readily available through official channels. The spread of policy-relevant knowledge in this manner contributes not only to behavioral responses but also to the collective perception of state responsiveness, which is central to public opinion research. This reliance on informal information-sharing networks shows that conventional government communication systems may be less successful than they should be, particularly in rural areas where access to state services is restricted.

Furthermore, the practice of sharing resources and knowledge within the community demonstrates how big families rely on communal relationships to live financially. According to socio-ecological theory, while community-level adaptations can help ease some stress, they are frequently insufficient to provide long-term solutions. In public opinion terms, such experiences can influence trust in institutions and shape narratives of state effectiveness, as shared within local discourse. This dynamic also demonstrates a dependence on social networks to fill in the gaps created by the state’s incapacity to properly meet the requirements of large families.

Broader Social and Policy Level: Public Perceptions of State Support and Gender Roles

At the broader social and policy level, socio-ecological theory allows for a critical analysis of how state policies interact with established gender norms to influence the socioeconomic situation of women with multiple children. This study integrates a public opinion perspective by analyzing how women evaluate and respond to policy interventions, revealing prevailing sentiments about institutional trust and effectiveness. Although mothers were generally pleased with the state’s initiatives, such as social assistance and housing programs, there are substantial disparities in their efficacy. For example, while the TSA program provides some relief, the financial assistance is insufficient to meet all fundamental necessities, particularly in education, healthcare, and childcare services. As a result, mothers are unable to fully participate in the job market or attain economic independence since conventional gender norms still favor their position as caregivers over income earners. Although hurdles to state support, such as inadequate housing and childcare, exist throughout rural Kazakhstan, the Mangistau region’s economic weakness may compound these barriers, making these women more reliant on governmental interventions.

The data collected represent a form of public opinion – specifically, the lived experiences and expressed attitudes of mothers toward existing welfare measures. State initiatives, while valuable, do not fully address the special requirements of large families, notably in terms of cheap housing and comprehensive childcare facilities. Many women live in overcrowded circumstances, and others cannot afford to send their younger children to state-run kindergartens, limiting their employment opportunities. One mother lamented: “They [the children] do not go to preschool because it is expensive! I must pay 54,000 tenges [approximately 106 USD] a month for three kids, and what are we going to live on? My husband’s salary is not enough. His job is on and off… the allowance [for food and rent] just goes [it all gets spent on necessities] … let them stay at home with me… Besides, the children are always sick in kindergarten… then you spend more on medicines!” Being a mother with several children requires managerial abilities and functions that enable a woman to plan each family member’s day and complete the chores required for maintaining family unity. However, the mother, her kids, her spouse, and her family all believe that it is solely a woman’s job. A mother with numerous children is unable to send her younger children to kindergarten due to the high cost, and she remains at home with them since she is unable to find employment that would allow her to support the family and become financially independent. Inadequate housing and preschool availability are indicators of larger systemic barriers that keep mothers from becoming financially independent. According to the socio-ecological framework, these difficulties come from structural flaws in the planning and execution of social assistance programs rather than being purely human or family related.

The macro-level focus of socio-ecological theory is on the ways that social institutions and governmental policies affect the welfare of individuals and families. The economic stability of big families is greatly influenced by policies designed to safeguard them, such as governmental housing programs and social subsidies. Public opinion research in this context captures how beneficiaries interpret these policies, with perceptions acting as a proxy for evaluating governmental legitimacy and social trust. The mothers in our study were generally satisfied with the state’s efforts, stating that the few advantages they receive are crucial to their survival. When asked whether the social benefits that they receive are sufficient for their families, women said that they were satisfied with the number of benefits but identified themselves as a socially vulnerable category of the population: “We get benefits, yes…not little, enough! The state does care about us!” When asked what they were planning for the near future, many of them talked about plans to open their businesses: “We are not leaving here [from the aul, i.e., rural village] …we will open our own business here…a bakery or a canteen…maybe a studio…we will pay the loans and open one!” The mothers with many children who participated in the interviews tended to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. Women hoped for a better future not so much for themselves as for their children. They aim for their children to get an education as well as employment: “We are not discouraged! I believe that when the children grow up, they will be educated and everything will be fine! We hope for a better future, not for ourselves, but for our children!”

These attitudinal responses reflect broader public opinion trends among socially vulnerable groups and help reveal perceived gaps between policy intentions and lived realities. This illustrates the beneficial effects of state interventions at the policy level, when government initiatives serve as a safety net for groups that are socially disadvantaged. The socio-ecological framework, however, makes it evident that although these government initiatives offer the required assistance, they can fall short in addressing the more profound, systemic problems that big families face. Even if these advantages are valued, they do not enable mothers to become financially independent in the long run, as evidenced by the fact that they still view themselves as a vulnerable group. Understanding how these perceptions are formed and expressed provides insight into public trust in government policy and its social resonance. The policy approach must be more all-encompassing, incorporating initiatives that help people access work, education, and entrepreneurial possibilities in addition to financial assistance.

Discussion

Multi-Level Policy Interventions and Public Attitudes Toward the Empowerment of Mothers with Many Children

Mothers of large families face significant caregiving responsibilities that limit their participation in the labor market, highlighting the need for comprehensive policy measures to address these structural limitations. Expanding access to flexible, affordable daycare options (such as part-time, subsidized, or community-based childcare) is essential, particularly in remote areas, and should be complemented by business incentives for adopting family-friendly practices like flexible schedules or on-site childcare. Informal support networks, though vital, often fall short; thus, community-based childcare cooperatives and microfinance initiatives empowering mothers to start small businesses can enhance both financial stability and social cohesion. On a broader scale, social benefits must be recalibrated to reflect real living costs, with programs like TSA adjusted to local expenditures and expanded to include non-monetary support such as education and healthcare subsidies. Overcrowded housing, a prevalent issue for large families, requires targeted solutions like affordable housing projects with rent support or low-interest mortgage programs. Finally, enhancing access to the labor market through publicly funded job training programs tailored to in-demand sectors, combined with childcare support, can create stable employment opportunities, especially when developed in partnership with private sector organizations.

Each of these operations must be designed with consideration of gender equality. Addressing ingrained gender stereotypes that place a disproportionate amount of caregiving on women is necessary to promote more participation in the workforce. Laws that provide equal support to both sexes in the workplace and in providing care, as well as public campaigns that encourage men and women to share family responsibilities, would alter social norms. To ensure public support for such policy interventions, it is essential to examine public opinion toward gender equality and state-funded caregiving initiatives. A recent study by Van Winkle and Fasang (2020) suggests that support for family-related social policies is significantly influenced by normative beliefs about gender roles, perceived fairness in the distribution of welfare, and levels of trust in state institutions. According to this socio-ecological study, the effectiveness of policy interventions depends not only on their administrative execution but also on the degree to which they reflect and shape public attitudes. The goal of policy should be to provide customized childcare options that are both flexible and easily accessible so that mothers may balance employment and caregiving. This will necessitate expanding access to affordable childcare services and offering rewards to businesses that provide family-friendly work arrangements.

Some of the financial burdens on mothers may be alleviated at the family and community levels through initiatives that strengthen informal support systems and promote local economic development. With the help of microfinance programs or community-based entrepreneurial initiatives, mothers may manage their caring responsibilities and make additional income. According to our analysis, at the broader policy level, the state must reevaluate its approach to social assistance, labor market access, and housing projects. Future research could also assess how shifts in public opinion influence policy design, with special attention to regional variations in support for large-family subsidies and women’s employment programs. A more thorough policy approach that integrates gender equality into the development of social services may enable mothers to achieve economic independence. To address the challenges identified, policy measures should include targeted job training and employment programs for women, expanded housing initiatives tailored to the needs of large families, and social benefits calibrated to adequately reflect the actual costs of living – particularly for households with many members. It is important to note whether current benefit structures sufficiently account for household size, as this affects the efficacy of social support.

Agreement with Socio-Ecological Theory

The socio-ecological paradigm highlights how human behavior and outcomes, such as health, educational attainment, or economic well-being, are shaped by the interaction of the person, family, community, and larger social institutions. This framework can also be extended to examine public opinion formation, especially as it relates to perceptions of social policy, gender roles, and governmental efficacy. This concept is strongly supported by the data gathered from mothers with large families in rural Kazakhstan, which shows how governmental policies and larger societal expectations impact caregiving duties and financial hardships. Numerous studies have shown that this result is foreseeable in civilizations where the division of labor is still heavily gendered (Van Winkle & Fasang, 2020). These women’s excessive caregiving obligations leave them with little time or energy to work for financial independence, which is consistent with the theory’s assertion that social and cultural norms, particularly those pertaining to gender expectations, have an impact on people’s behavior. Crucially, such experiences also shape attitudes toward state policies, reinforcing public support for family-centered assistance but also fueling dissatisfaction with structural neglect.

According to the socio-ecological hypothesis, families create coping mechanisms to adjust to their surroundings. One such adaptation is the transfer of caregiving responsibilities to older daughters, which reinforces traditional gender roles within the household and reflects a common strategy for managing the mother’s excessive workload. These family-level adjustments are consistent with studies on gendered labor allocation by Maftei et al. (2020), which shows that girls are more likely to be involved in household chores from an early age, which restricts their future professional goals and upholds conventional gender norms. These adaptive behaviors illustrate the theory’s contention that both internal dynamics and external forces, such financial limitations and resource accessibility, influence interactions at the family level. These dynamics, when reflected in shared community narratives and local discourse, become a basis for collective public opinion on gender equity and policy priorities.

Reliance on social networks to share resources and obtain governmental advantages at the local level is consistent with the socio-ecological framework. In rural areas where state institutions might not be completely prepared to meet local needs, community ties and informal social capital are crucial. This reliance on informal support systems is a practical response to the ineffectiveness or inaccessibility of formal state mechanisms (Popescu et al., 2020). Such patterns of informal adaptation contribute to public skepticism regarding institutional reliability and shape grassroots-level public opinion about the legitimacy and responsiveness of government actors. This result is in line with the theory’s focus on how crucial interactions at the community level are in determining results.

According to socio-ecological theory, structural elements like economic systems and governmental regulations have a big impact on the well-being of individuals and families at the larger social and policy level. This is supported by the facts, which show that women are generally satisfied with state assistance, but they also point out shortages in housing, childcare, and job opportunities. The phenomena of relative contentment and cultural elements unique to Kazakhstan, where resiliency and independence are highly prized, might account for this pleasure despite recognized shortcomings (Schwander, 2019). However, this coexistence of gratitude and critique reveals layered public opinion, shaped not only by institutional performance but also by cultural expectations and value orientations toward state-society relations. The theory’s emphasis on the larger socioeconomic environment impacting family outcomes is supported by the fact that, although governmental interventions offer a vital safety net, they fall short in addressing the structural obstacles these families confront.

Differences from Socio-Ecological Theory

Although the socio-ecological framework and the data generally agree, there are some significant discrepancies that show how inadequate the theory is at capturing the subtleties of this particular situation. According to socio-ecological theory, families would experience discontent and unfavorable consequences as a result of structural deficiencies, such as inadequate governmental support. Even while they acknowledged inadequacies in areas like daycare and housing, the findings show that many mothers were satisfied with the amount of help they got. This paradox can be interpreted through the lens of public opinion theory, which highlights how individual attitudes are shaped by subjective value orientations and cognitive framing. In the context of Kazakhstan, cultural characteristics play a critical role: women’s emphasis on resilience and self-reliance leads them to evaluate public assistance more favorably, despite objective insufficiencies. This implies that although socio-ecological theory offers a strong framework for comprehending structural impacts, it may insufficiently account for the subjective nature of public opinion formation, which incorporates culturally specific norms and emotional adaptations.

The need for older children, especially females, to provide care is another departure from the principle. Although family adjustments to economic constraints are taken into consideration by the socio-ecological framework, the gendered nature of these adaptations is not entirely explained by it. According to our analysis of our interviews, elder daughters were disproportionately given caregiving duties, which served to uphold conventional gender norms in the home. This observed pattern also reflects underlying public perceptions of gender roles and expectations, which are shaped by both cultural traditions and media narratives. This feature implies that a more sophisticated gender analysis might be included into socio-ecological theory to better integrate how gendered public attitudes reinforce specific familial adaptations, particularly in patriarchal societies like Kazakhstan.

Justification Through Social, Cultural, and Economic Factors

Our study identifies structural economic factors as the primary cause of the financial limitations that big families in rural Kazakhstan face, including restricted access to basic requirements and financial resources. Large families frequently have more dependents without increasing their income, which feeds the cycle of survival tactics. According to theories of economic inequality, families are unable to escape the cycle of poverty because of structural obstacles (Ballarino et al., 2020). These difficulties are made worse by the rigid labor market and scarcity of well-paying employment in rural regions, underscoring the socio-ecological theory’s emphasis on larger economic systems that affect family well-being. From a public opinion perspective, these economic constraints shape perceptions of state legitimacy and fairness. Individuals in disadvantaged contexts are more likely to form opinions based on lived material conditions, which influence their evaluation of public policies and trust in governmental institutions.

A practical response to the ineffectiveness or inaccessibility of official state procedures is the dependence on unofficial networks and community-based solutions. Families use social networks to make up for the flaws of formal institutions in rural regions when access to governmental resources is restricted. This dependence emphasizes the value of informal social capital and community ties, supporting the socio-ecological theory’s view that community-level interactions are essential for gaining access to resources and knowledge. The distribution of caring duties among older children, especially females, is a reflection of culturally molded family labor relations. These informal practices also shape public opinion formation, as reliance on community support rather than the state can lead to lower expectations from government and alternative standards for evaluating state performance. Research on opinion formation in marginalized communities shows that individuals assess institutions not solely through direct interaction, but through mediated experiences within peer networks (Zlenko & Dudar, 2024).

Despite the shortcomings of state assistance, mothers’ overall happiness with it might be interpreted through cultural and psychological perspectives. The theory of relative contentment, in which people assess their circumstances in light of existing options rather than ideal criteria, explains why any government assistance may be seen favorably in economically difficult situations. Furthermore, these views may be influenced by the cultural emphasis on resilience and independence, as even a small amount of household maintenance and childcare fosters a sense of achievement and hope (Schwander, 2019). Subjective appraisals such as satisfaction with government services are central to public opinion studies, particularly in low-resource settings. These feelings of contentment extend beyond individual experience, serving as socially shared assessments that shape the broader public opinion climate. While our study did not aim to test these dynamics comprehensively, its findings provide valuable insights that can inform future research on public trust and service satisfaction in similar contexts.

The socio-ecological theory’s emphasis on the interplay between the individual, family, community, and policy levels is supported by the data collected from mothers of large families in rural Kazakhstan. However, the gendered allocation of caring obligations and cultural conceptions of governmental support are not adequately explained by the theory mentioned above. These results point to ways that the socio-ecological framework may be broadened to include more complicated cultural, psychological, and gender considerations in order to better represent the complexity of family dynamics in rural Kazakhstan.

Conclusions

According to this study, mothers with large families in the Mangistau region deal with a lot of caregiving and financial difficulties, which are mostly caused by the rural setting and conventional gender norms. Mothers’ economic vulnerability increases as a result of their inability to engage in the economy due to a lack of affordable daycare and restricted employment alternatives. In order to cover basic requirements, families frequently turn to resource-saving techniques, such as sibling clothes sharing or informal borrowing at nearby businesses. These findings reflect broader public perceptions of gender roles and welfare dependency in rural Kazakhstan, where traditional beliefs about motherhood influence both social expectations and attitudes toward women’s participation in the labor market.

Public opinion plays a central role in shaping and legitimizing social policies that address these issues. Thus, it is essential to assess how rural populations perceive government interventions aimed at supporting large families. Customized policy initiatives are necessary to solve these problems. First, programs for vocational training tailored to rural women would provide them adaptable, marketable skills to boost their earning potential while juggling caring obligations. Second, the establishment of government-subsidized community-based childcare cooperatives would alleviate some of the strains associated with childcare and enable women to pursue part-time jobs or vocational training. Furthermore, encouraging nearby companies to hire mothers with flexible work schedules will improve their capacity to manage their caregiving responsibilities and contribute to household income.

In order to encourage rural mothers’ economic engagement and enhance family well-being, practical implementations include developing subsidized, community-based childcare cooperatives and putting into effect vocational training programs. Future studies should employ survey-based methodologies to examine public support for these policy measures, particularly in relation to perceived fairness, gender equity, and state responsibility in rural development.