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Work Attitudes, Employment Barriers, and Mental Health Symptoms in a Sample of Rural Welfare Recipients
Author(s) -
Taylor Lorraine C.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1023/a:1010323914202
Subject(s) - welfare , mental health , health psychology , extant taxon , psychology , social welfare , welfare reform , social work , sample (material) , social support , work (physics) , public health , gerontology , social psychology , medicine , nursing , economic growth , psychiatry , political science , economics , mechanical engineering , chemistry , engineering , chromatography , evolutionary biology , law , biology
Most of the extant research on welfare reform has neglected to consider the experiences of families in rural settings. Fifty women receiving welfare for their dependent children in a rural community were interviewed about their work experiences and aspirations, barriers to employment and service use, as well as mental health and social support. The findings indicate that the majority of participants were connected to the labor force and expressed positive attitudes about work. Barriers to employment (lack of available jobs, child care) and service use (transportation, inconvenient office hours) were endorsed. Perceived social support was negatively related to depression symptoms and positively related to self‐efficacy and self‐esteem. The importance of understanding the life experiences of welfare recipients in different contexts is discussed.