Premium
Intimate Partner Violence as an Obstacle to Employment Among Mothers Affected by Welfare Reform
Author(s) -
Riger Stephanie,
Staggs Susan L.,
Schewe Paul
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-4537.2004.00387.x
Subject(s) - public assistance , welfare reform , domestic violence , welfare , obstacle , demographic economics , longitudinal study , work (physics) , low income , single mothers , human factors and ergonomics , occupational safety and health , psychology , suicide prevention , poison control , political science , economics , environmental health , medicine , developmental psychology , mechanical engineering , pathology , law , engineering
Welfare policies in the United States now make benefits contingent on employment outside the home. Yet violence from intimate partners and aspects of the mothering role may impede low‐income women's ability to sustain employment. This article presents results of a longitudinal study conducted over a three‐year period of 965 Illinois mothers who had received public assistance. Results suggest that recent (but not past) intimate partner violence is associated with women working fewer months. Associations over time between obstacles to employment and women's ability to maintain work highlight the need for longitudinal studies of employment among low‐income women.