The study explored a model that integrates human
capital, family resource, employment and psychosocial
factors to explain variation in economic self-sufficiency
(ESS) among single mothers. A sample of 851 single mothers
on Aid to Families with Dependent Children was selected from
the Washington State Family Income Study data base. Data
from a three-year period (6/88-5/91) were utilized to
describe and analyze single mothers in transition from
welfare.
When compared to a sample of non-poor single mothers,
mothers on public assistance differed significantly in
several ways: They were younger, had more children and were
more likely to have parents who received public assistance.
Educational levels were significantly lower, as was
employment activity.
Economic self-sufficiency was measured as the ratio of
welfare benefits to household income. Degree of ESS
improved over the three-year period: While 60 percent of
single mothers relied on welfare for more than half their
income in the first year, only 45 percent did by the third
year. In analyzing differences in degrees of economic self-sufficiency
among single mothers, the following groups of
mothers had significantly higher degrees of welfare
reliance: never-married and divorced mothers; mothers with
a child under age two; mothers with three or more children;
non-white mothers; and mothers living in public housing.
A path analysis was conducted to determine the relative
influence of human capital, family resource, employment and
psychosocial factors on later economic self-sufficiency.
Number of children and receipt of subsidies positively
affected welfare reliance. Education, number of adults in
the household and number of months employed negatively
affected degree of welfare reliance. A key finding was
that, after controlling for differences in human capital,
family resources and employment activity, workplace support
retained a highly significant, inverse relationship with
degree of welfare reliance.
Sense of personal control and social support had both
direct and indirect effects on degree of welfare reliance,
establishing that psychosocial factors mediate impacts of
human capital, family and employment factors on economic
self-sufficiency. The results support the viability of
utilizing stress models to examine objective economic
outcomes in future research. / Graduation date: 1993
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/36360 |
| Date | 13 November 1992 |
| Creators | Parker, Louise Anne |
| Contributors | Olson, Geraldine |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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