Welfare to Work? Impact of Maternal Health on Employment

Romero, Diana; Chavkin, Wendy; Wise, Paul H.; Smith, Lauren A.; Wood, Pamela

doi:10.2105/ajph.92.9.1462

Cited by 34 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript lower rates of current employment, but no significant differences in their employment patterns over the past 3 years (Romero, Chavkin, Wise, Smith, & Wood, 2002).…”

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 98%

Longitudinal Effects of Domestic Violence on Employment and Welfare Outcomes

Lindhorst

Oxford

Gillmore

2007

J Interpers Violence

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This study uses longitudinal data spanning 13 years from a study of 234 adolescent mothers to evaluate the effects of cumulative domestic violence on employment and welfare use before and after welfare reform. Domestic violence increased the odds of unemployment after welfare reform, but not before; domestic violence had no effect on welfare use during any time period. Psychological distress after welfare reform was associated with unemployment, but not with welfare outcomes. Thus, the authors found that the direct effect of domestic violence on unemployment is not mediated by concurrent level of psychological distress. The relationship of psychological distress to unemployment exists only for those with a history of domestic violence. Cumulative domestic violence can have negative effects on economic capacity many years after the violence occurs, suggesting that policymakers recognize the long-term nature of the impact of domestic violence on women's capacity to be economically self-reliant.Keywords domestic violence; employment; welfare reform; mental health; adolescent mothers After the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (PRWORA; U.S. Pub. L. , researchers began to document that domestic violence is a serious problem for many women interacting with the welfare system (Tolman & Raphael, 2000). Welfare reform shifted policy priorities from the provision of a basic income floor for poor children and their mothers to a primary focus on moving mothers into the workforce. Although research has indicated that economic hardship is one of the main motivations for remaining with a violent partner (see Anderson & Saunders, 2003, for a review), little is known about the long-term effects of intimate partner violence on women's economic resources, particularly under a new welfare policy regime. For economically stressed battered women, employment may be the road to self-sufficiency and freedom from abuse, or it may be an expectation that cannot be fulfilled because of the violence and its consequences (Brandwein, 1999). At this time, no studies are available that assess the long-term impact of domestic violence on economic outcomes such as employment and welfare use since the passage of PRWORA. Further research has been called for that addresses proximal and distal effects of violence, as well as whether these effects are mediated by the mental health sequelae of abuse ).The present study uses prospective longitudinal data spanning 13 years to evaluate the shortand long-term effects of cumulative domestic violence experienced during the transition from adolescence to adulthood on subsequent employment and welfare use. The data derive from a study of adolescent mothers, a group at high risk for poverty because of their early parenting (Garfinkel & McLanahan, 1994) and at high risk for domestic violence because of their age (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980). We assess work and welfare outcomes before and after the implementation of welfare reform, testing first for the direct ...

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Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 98%

Longitudinal Effects of Domestic Violence on Employment and Welfare Outcomes

Lindhorst

Oxford

Gillmore

2007

J Interpers Violence

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“…6 Americans, particularly those in low-income racial/ethnic minority groups, have higher death rates from coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and injury, and these rates have been linked to gender, access to care, and health insurance coverage. 20,59,93,95-98 TANF has not had a notable impact on reducing this disparity, and it continues to be a public health issue.…”

Section: Effects Of Termination On Other Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Results of study after study suggest that the low-income population served by TANF is less educated and poorer than the low-income population not enrolled in TANF and has a high prevalence of mental and physical health problems that persist over time and limit the ability to work. 4,11,58,59,63,78,96,[99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106] found that 35% of Women's Employment Study respondents met the criteria for at least 1 of the 5 diagnoses. These reports drew on data from the earlier years of the TANF program.…”

Section: Effects Of Termination On Other Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…99 National Health Interview Study data indicated that more than 25% of children in TANF families, compared with 21.5% of children in low-income, non-TANF families, had at least 1 chronic health problem or disability such as asthma, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, attention deficit disorder, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, sickle-cell anemia, diabetes, arthritis, or congenital heart disease. 58 In a study of more than 500 low-income mothers of chronically ill children who were former TANF recipients, Romero et al 59 found that 64% were not employed because of their own health problems and 56% were not employed because of their child's health. These health issues of mothers and children contribute to women's need for welfare assistance.…”

Section: Children's Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impoverished Women With Children and No Welfare Benefits: The Urgency of Researching Failures of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program

Hildebrandt

Stevens²

2009

Am J Public Health

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In the United States, the numbers of impoverished women with children and no cash safety net are increasing and constitute an emerging population. Many have exhausted cash benefits from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the work-based welfare program that replaced Aid to Families With Dependent Children in 1996. We examine empirical evidence about poverty and use of welfare programs in the United States, jobs for women on welfare, the consequences of leaving welfare, health disparities disproportionate to those of the general population, and outcomes for children of needy families. It is important that public health researchers investigate the experiences of the families for whom Temporary Assistance for Needy Families has failed.

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“…Women on welfare represent one of the most disadvantaged segments of our society; 39% of are single African American women with children (Parvez, 2002). The prevalence of mental and physical health problems, depression, and obesity, is higher among welfare recipients than other populations (Romero, Chavkin, Wise, Smith, & Wood, 2002). Moreover, African American women reportedly have more mental and physical health problems than women of other races (Corcoran, Danziger, & Tolman, 2003).…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 96%

Predictors of Depressive Symptoms and Obesity in African American Women Transitioning from Welfare to Work

Rowser¹

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Welfare to Work? Impact of Maternal Health on Employment

Abstract: Poor maternal health is associated with need for cash assistance and health insurance. Policymakers must recognize that social policies promoting employment will fail if they do not address the health needs of poor women and children.

Cited by 34 publications

References 12 publications

Longitudinal Effects of Domestic Violence on Employment and Welfare Outcomes

Longitudinal Effects of Domestic Violence on Employment and Welfare Outcomes

Impoverished Women With Children and No Welfare Benefits: The Urgency of Researching Failures of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program

Predictors of Depressive Symptoms and Obesity in African American Women Transitioning from Welfare to Work

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