Welfare, Work, and Wellbeing among InnerCity Minority Mothers

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Welfare, Work, and Well-being among Inner-City
Minority Mothers
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• Welfare, Work, and Well-being among Inner-City
  Minority Mothers
•  
• Kathleen S. Crittenden, Seijeoung Kim, Kaoru
  Watanabe, Kathleen F. Norr, Evelyn Lehrer
•  University of Illinois at Chicago
•  
• Learning Objectives 1) Describe patterns of
  welfare, work, and fertility over a three-year
  period among minority, low-income, inner-city
  mothers. 2) Explain work participation. 3)
  Consider the causal impact of employment and
  other predictors on well-being.
•  
• We describe changes over time in work, welfare,
  and fertility among 435 minority, low-income,
  inner-city mothers from pregnancy through their
  babies first three years. We use multi-level
  logistic and linear regression to model
  employment status (working working full time)
  and well-being (depression, self-esteem, and
  difficult life circumstances) at 12, 24, and 36
  months. Non-time-varying predictors are mothers
  ethnicity (African American vs. Mexican
  American) age parity and education recent
  household employment experience birth cohort
  and initial welfare participation. Time and
  fertility (repeat pregnancy at 12, 24, and 36
  months) are nested within individuals.
•  
• Welfare participation, initially 80, declined
  to 46 by 36 months. Repeat pregnancy varied
  from 12 in the first year to 29 in the third.
  Maternal employment increased from 12 at intake
  to 44 at 36 months. Likelihood of working was
  enhanced by high school education and household
  work experience, and hindered by repeat
  pregnancy. Time and ethnicity interacted with
  initial welfare status. Among those initially on
  welfare, working increased over time among
  non-welfare-recipients, African Americans were
  more likely to work. Full-time employment
  increased with time (from 6 to 29), high school
  education, and household employment experience
  repeat pregnancy decreased it. When causally
  prior predictors were controlled, working per se
  had no influence on well-being. Working full
  time decreased difficult life circumstances but
  did not affect depression or self-esteem.

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Acknowledgments

• Funded by AHCPR NINR UIC College of Nursing,
  Great Cities Institute, Center for Research on
  Women and Gender.

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Purposes

• To describe patterns of welfare, work, and
  fertility over a three-year period among
  minority, low-income, inner-city mothers.
• To explain work participation.
• To consider the causal impact of employment and
  other predictors on maternal well-being.

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Study Design

• Data from a randomized clinical trial of a home
  visiting program to improve infant health.
• Low-income mothers recruited from prenatal
  clinics in low-income Chicago neighborhoods, 1993
  1996.
• Interviewed at intake, 2, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36M.
• 345 mothers (72) retained at 24 months.

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Initial Sample Characteristics

• All Medicaid-eligible
• 80 on AFDC
• 68 African American, 32 Mexican American
• 60 aged 20
• 55 primiparas
• 50 have HS education or GED
• 57 have work experience

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Analysis

• Multi-level logistic and linear regression
• Time nested within individuals
• Outcomes at 12, 24, 36M
• Employment (working working full time)
• Well-being (difficult life circumstances
  depression self-esteem)

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Predictors

• Non-time varying
• Ethnicity age parity education recent
  HH employment experience birth cohort
  initial welfare participation
• Time varying
• Time repeat pregnancy at 12, 24, 36M

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Trends Over 36M

• Welfare participation declined 80 ? 46
• Repeat pregnancy increased 12 ? 29
• Employment increased 12 ? 44
• Difficult life circumstances (DLC) decreased
  4 ? 2.5
• Depression (CESD) declined 17 ? 13
• Self-esteem (Rosenberg) increased.

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Consequences of Initial AFDC Participation for
Later Work

• Initial AFDC participation
• did not inhibit later employment rates
• but was associated with lower likelihood of
  working full time

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Employment over Time, by Initial AFDC Status
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Likelihood of working at all

• Enhanced by HS education and HH work experience.
• Hindered by repeat pregnancy.
• Among initial welfare recipients, increased
  over time.
• Among non-welfare recipients, higher for
  African Americans.

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Likelihood of working full time

• Increased over time after birth.
• Hindered by repeat pregnancy.
• Enhanced by HS education and HH work experience.

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Controlling for causally prior predictors

• Working per se has no effect on well-being
• (difficult life circumstances, depression,
  self-esteem).
• Working full time
• decreases difficult life circumstances.
• has no effect on depression or self-esteem.

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Difficult life circumstances

• Decreased over time after birth.
• Higher for multiparas and initial welfare
  recipients.

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Depression

• Decreased over time after birth.
• Increased by repeat pregnancy.
• Higher for initial welfare recipients.
• Decreased by HS education and work experience.

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Self-Esteem

• Increased over time after birth.
• Higher for African Americans.
• Increased by HS education and work experience.

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Conclusions

• Human capital investments (education work
  experience) enhance employment activity and
  well-being among poor, inner-city mothers.
• Repeat pregnancies depress work activity.
• Family life cycle exerts strong influence on work
  activity and well-being.

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Conclusions 2

• Welfare participation around the time of birth
  allows a women to concentrate on parenting
  responsibilities at this critical time.
• This initial welfare participation may facilitate
  rather than inhibit later work activity.

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Conclusions 3

• Employment available to poor, inner-city mothers
  does not remove them from poverty.
• Working per se does not affect well-being.
• Employment reduces difficult life circumstances
  only if it is full time.

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Implications for Welfare Policy

• Moving welfare recipients out of poverty will
  require greater investment in human capital.
• It is essential to protect the access of new
  mothers to short term welfare benefits without
  work requirements.
• Modification of TANF to incorporate family
  planning services could facilitate the welfare to
  work process.