Sustaining work force inclusion and well-being of mothers on public assistance: Individual deficit and social ecology perspectives

This study compared theoretical perspectives on the psychological and paid labor activity implications of mandating mothers initially on US welfare to participate in labor force activities. Data were collected that reflected these areas: government public policy interventions, family social ecology measures, mother s psychological and human capital, and community capital. A quasi-experimental design was used, and multiple source data was collected over time. In the initial part of the study, 144 welfare mothers and one of their children between 9 and 13 years were interviewed. Results indicated that having high levels of individual human and psychological capital and lower levels of family social ecological barriers predicted higher levels of maternal paid labor market activity and psychological well-being. Using archival records, additional analyses involved a 32-month review of state records for nearly 1200 mothers initially on welfare. Results revealed that the lower one s The authors wish to thank the Institute for Children Youth and Family and the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University for support of this study. Domini Castellino is thanked for help with managing the children s data collection. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E. Ernst Kossek), [email protected] (M.S.Q. Huber), [email protected] (J.V. Lerner). Journal of Vocational Behavior 62 (2003) 155–175 www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb 0001-8791/02/$ see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00029-5 initial capital—either educational (lacking GED or high school diploma) or communitybased (residents spending a high percentage of gross income on rent), the greater one s economic dependence on public welfare, regardless of whether one was assigned to a welfare to work program or to a control group. Thus, mandating labor market activity as a government public policy was not effective as an isolated strategy to uphold employability over time. These results suggest that employers and government leaders need to provide individual human capital and community capital investments to sustain work force inclusion of low-income mothers. 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.