Monitoring Income Maintenance Policies for Single Mothers

The Supporting Parent's Benefit was introduced in 1973 in an atmosphere of controversy. It provided Australian government support for certain low income groups of mothers with dependent children, for the first time. An attempt has been made in this study to assess the impact of long term income maintenance on these hitherto unsupported mothers. Changes in the population of beneficiaries have been monitored by analysing annual aggregate figures taken at 30 June for the years 1974 to 1979 which were provided by the Department of Social Security. The non-married subgroup which is the largest group of mothers and children is of particular interest. Claims that adolescents have been encouraged to take on the care of their ex-nuptial children simply because financial support is available are not substantiated. However, it is evident that, for more than half the total number of ex-nuptial mothers, Supporting Parent's Benefit must be relied on for a period of many years. This study indicates that this subgroup generally have fewer material resources than the married supporting mothers so that the long term effects of long term low income existence on mothers and children needs to be known in order to gauge the overall results of the introduction of the benefit. The question why some ex-nuptial mothers become independent of support quickly and others do not merits further investigation as it may provide important clues to ways of improving the benefit program.     

Mental Health Problems Among Single Mothers: Implications for Work and Welfare Reform

Welfare reform's emphasis on work and self-sufficiency assumes that poor single mothers are similar in their status and functioning to the rest of the population. However, we find that their status is quite distinct. Logistic regression results reveal that the likelihood of working is 25% lower for those with a psychiatric disorder. Mental health problems may prevent women from undertaking the tasks necessary to find employment, or women with these problems may lack the self-confidence needed to take on new challenges. Our findings suggest that mental health problems among single mothers deserve greater attention as a barrier to self-sufficiency and highlight the need for more effective intervention and treatment efforts to improve economic and social outcomes.     

Achievement and Behavior Among Children of Welfare Recipients, Welfare Leavers, and Low-Income Single Mothers

This article examines the behavior and achievement of children infemale-headed families that were on welfare, that left welfare, and that were not on welfare in the3 years preceding the study. Data come from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, a nationally representative sample of children under age 13 collected in 1997. The results suggest that there are both positive and negative outcomes of welfare transitions. Based upon our results, children whose mothers are able to leave and remain off welfare score consistently better on cognitive tests of their development. The transition period, however, is a difficult one. Children's emotional well-being may suffer during the parental transition from cash assistance to self-sufficiency.     

Psychological Distress Among Single,Employed, Black Mothers and Their Perceptions of Their Young Children

This study investigated the relationship of psychological distress to mothers' perceptions of their 3- and 4-year-old children using data gathered from a sample of 111 single employed black mothers with low income. Findings revealed that parenting a boy child was associated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology, which, in turn, was associated with more negative perceptions of children, especially boys. However, higher educational attainment appears to mitigate the effects of psychological distress on young black children, regardless of sex of child and the extent of the mother's involvement in the paid labor force. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Child Care Costs and Women's Employment: A Comparison of Single and Married Mothers With Pre-School-Aged Children

Objectives . The effects of child care costs on the employment of single and married mothers with pre-school-aged children were analyzed. Methods . Both demographic and employment data from the March Current Population Survey were used, supplemented by child care data from various sources. Results . We find that child care costs have strong effects on employment for women with pre-school-aged children and that these effects are larger for single mothers than for married mothers. Conclusions . Our simulation results suggest that policies that reduce the costs of child care could raise the employment rate of married mothers by 3 to 14 percentage points and the employment rate of single mothers by 5 to 21 percentage points.     

Differences in the Seriousness of Problems and Deservingness of Help: Swedish Social Workers' Assessments of Single Mothers and Fathers

In this vignette study, three hypotheses concerning differencesin social workers’ assessment off single fathers and mothersare tested: first, that single fathers with custody of theirchildren, who have problems similar to those often faced bysingle mothers, are assessed as having more serious problemsthan the mothers; secondly, that single fathers in such a situationtend to be assessed as being less deserving of support thansingle mothers in the same situation; thirdly, that the helpoffered to both sexes follows gender-traditional patterns. Theresults support the hypotheses. The overall problems and mentalhealth tended to be assessed as more serious in the case ofthe father than in the case of the mother. The single fatherwas assessed as being more responsible for his situation. Thesingle mother was assessed as being in need of assistance inmore areas and more varied social welfare measures were recommendedfor her than for the father. Finally, the results also showthat only support which could enable the client to obtain paidwork and be able to pay off the debts on his car was given higherpriority in the case of the father.     

Chemically Dependent Mothers and Their Children

This study identified a profile of women and children from families in which maternal chemical use was either an obvious or the primary reason for referral to a public child welfare agency. Data was also collected on a comparison group of families with no indication of chemical abuse. Findings indicated that the two groups had similar problems and service needs. The drug abusing group faced more frequent and intense personal, social and environmental problems.     

Incarcerated Mothers: Trauma and Attachment Issues

ABSTRACT

Although men comprise the largest portion of the prison population in the United States, the number of women in prison has increased more than 800% during the past three decades. More than 60% of these women are mothers of children under 18 years of age. There continues to be a gap in our knowledge base regarding mothers who are incarcerated. In this study, unresolved issues of trauma and attachment are explored for 28 incarcerated mothers involved with the child welfare system. Data were collected using the Trauma Attachment and Belief Scale (TABS) and the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Findings from the TABS revealed scores of average and high average in beliefs related to five need areas that are sensitive to the effects of traumatic experiences, namely self-safety, self-trust, self-esteem, self-intimacy, and self-control. Most participants were classified as disorganized/disoriented based on their narrative responses to questions from the AAI protocol. Implications for the results are discussed.     

Mothers of adolescent girls 1

Abstract

It is increasingly difficult to distinguish natural events from those influenced by human actions. Furthermore, researchers in various fields have established that the level of devastation and the predicted likelihood of recovery of neighborhoods and communities correspond with the amount of political and socioeconomic capital held by neighborhoods and communities prior to disasters such as the Hurricane Katrina. In this paper we analyze the significance of the discourse of “natural disasters” through the framework of social ecology. We contest the neutralist discourse of “natural disasters” by underscoring the numerous interdependent sociopolitical forces, which shape the context in which disasters occur.     

明星妈妈的宝贝计划

最麻辣的婆媳星妈:狄波拉&张柏芝当年狄波拉怀了宝贝儿子谢霆锋后,每个礼拜,她都要上一次杂志封面,报告身孕情况,盛况不亚于现在的儿媳张柏芝.     

Coping Skills Training for School-Age Mothers

This study reports the development and evaluation of a program to increase adolescent mothers' ability to cope by promoting their interpenonal and cognitive skill and social supports. Program development efforts identified high-stress situations for young mothers and informed construction of a skills-training program to improve direct and indirect methods for handling stressful situations. Adolescent mothers in the program more than a comparison group of teenage mothers report improved self-reinforcement and interpersonal problem-solving after the groups and at 4-month follow-up. Videotape performance measures indicated that trained participants increased their interpersonal skills for buildmg and keeping social supports. Self-reports of social supports and parenting skill showed modest posttest gains but significant improvement by follow-up. Measures of well-being show change for participants with the lowest well-being at pretest. Consumer ratings were favorable. These results argue that social and cognitive skills training can increase social supports and perceptions of parenting skill and enhance well-being for those mothers at greatest risk.     

Social Support Training for Abusive Mothers

This paper describes a twelve-week group program designed to help low-income abusive mothers build more effective bases of social support in their daily lives with friends, family and neighbors. The group, conducted at a therapeutic day nursery, was supplemental to ongoing services for maltreated children and their families. The group incorporated training in a range of interpersonal competencies including basic conversational skills, self-protection, and assertion. Sessions were designed around a metaphoric Relationship Roadmap for friendship which visually depicted definitional terms and time frameworks appropriate to various friendship stages. Humor, stress-reduction, and visual aids were components of the teaching process. Individualized goals and skill rehearsal were used to increase relevance and mastery of content. Socialization of mothers to group norms and expectations was enhanced by pregroup induction procedures and by members' previous involvement in an agency-based parenting support group.     

Informal Support Networks of Hispanic Mothers

One hundred eighty-five pregnant and postpartum Hispanic mothers completed anonymous questionnaires regarding the composition, extent, and quality of their support networks. Mothers were found to provide the most support for the younger English-speaking respondents (12-20 years of age) and husbands for the older English-speaking respondents and all age groups in the Spanish-speaking subsample. The 18 to 20 year old respondents appeared to have the broadest based and most responsive support network.     

论“代理母亲”的伦理和法律问题

人类辅助生殖技术的进步给不孕患者带来了福音,但也引发了新形式的代理母亲的问题。在国外,以合同形式为约定的代孕案例很多,且呈商业化倾向。尽管这种代理制度被合约条款所约束,但仍面临着诸多伦理和法律问题。我国也出现了类似的问题。在伦理层面,代孕有可能对妇女的身心健康造成损害,她们的利益难以得到保证;在法律层面,涉及代理母亲的身份、代理合同的执行、亲子关系的认定等问题。此外,代理母亲还涉及体外受精和胚胎移植的法律问题。     

Birth Mothers and their Mental Health: Uncharted Territory

Correspondence to Janette Logan, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester Summary This article reports the findings of a study commissioned bythe Mental Health Foundation which examined the experiencesand needs of birth mothers who relinquished a child for adoption.Historically, birth mothers have been neglected in the Britishliterature; their experience is considered to have ended atthe time of placement. This research however, indicates thelong-term implications of relinquishment are severe—particularlyin relation to mental health. They demand that the complexityand uniqueness of relinquishment as a form of loss be more fullyunderstood, birth mothers' reactions to those experiences arenot pathologized and professionals learn to respond more positively.GP's in particular need to develop a more sensitive understandingof their needs and in so doing could prevent the medicalizationof some birth mothers.     

Unmarried Mothers in Australia: A Review

An increase in both illegitimate births and in the number of single women retaining their offspring has become evident in all Commonwealth industrialized English-speaking countries. It is shown that women who bear ex-nuptial children are getting younger, and that about 40 per cent are keeping their children. All States show a gradual increase in ex-nuptial births, with those in Western Australia and Queensland rising to over 10 per cent of annual live births for the areas. Further research is needed on single women in Australia who keep their children.     

Marginalized Mothers: Parenting Without a Home

The authors of this study used participatory and interpretive methods to capture the lived experience, strengths, and needs of homeless mothers. The interview data obtained challenge unfounded stereotypes and provide information about women's coping behaviors and resilience. The findings were developed in collaboration with shelter guests and staff and have important implications for public and university policy and shelter programs. For example, researchers need to become more aware of the limitations of current psychological theories and assessment tools designed to measure "effective coping" in disenfranchised individuals. To accomplish this goal, increased collaboration among researchers, activists, policy makers, and homeless families is recommended (e.g., by instituting roundtable discussions as a standard part of shelter programs). It is also suggested that professional staff who work with women living in poverty avoid using deficit-oriented, victim-based models of intervention, and that staff provide women with opportunities to participate in the development of the curriculum for parenting classes.