Low-Income Mothers' Experience with Poor Health, Hardship, Work, and Violence

• NCJ Number: 202459
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 9 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 1231-1244
• Author(s): Diana Romero; Wendy Chavkin; Paul H. Wise; Lauren A. Smith
• Date Published: October 2003
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses battered women’s health outcomes in the context of welfare policies that emphasize work.

Abstract

The emphasis on rapid welfare-to-work transition in current welfare policy precludes evaluation of health-related barriers to employment. This research examines health and employment among poor mothers with chronically ill children. It compares health and employment outcomes for low-income mothers that do and do not report experiencing violence in their relationships. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal study of low-income mothers with children with chronic illnesses living in San Antonio, TX. Respondents had to be either the parent or the primary caretaker of a child between 2 and 12 years of age, with one of seven diagnoses. The survey was designed to elicit information on child health, maternal health, health insurance, employment status, maternal mental health, experience with domestic violence and substance use, child care, and demographics. The results showed that respondents reported a much higher rate of experience with domestic violence than rates reported from national samples of the general population. The reported domestic violence rate was close to that of studies of welfare recipients despite that only about one third of the sample had ever received cash assistance. Low income, hardship, lack of a car, and no health insurance were more prevalent among women that had experienced some violence than among the other poor women in the study. Factors such as marital status and experience with hardship revealed the close association between economic factors and violence in this sample. Domestic violence can affect a woman’s health status as well as her employment experience. Both physical and mental health measures are significantly worse among women experiencing violence, and battered women identify health problems as barriers to obtaining or maintaining employment. Unless they receive services to address their physical and mental health needs, their children’s health needs, and violence, many poor women will find it difficult to attain the levels of work activity mandated by welfare reform. 3 tables, 41 references