Will unwed new mothers seek employment?: The role of government and social support

In this paper, we use recent data on unwed new mothers living in urban cities to examine employment plans of low-income women the year following childbirth. We conceptually distinguish work expectations, a cognition; from work, a behavior. We argue that government support & social support are re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gender issues 2003-10, Vol.21 (4), p.31-49
Main Authors: Powers, Rebecca S, Livermore, Michelle M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Employment
Expectations
Government Role
Low Income Groups
Medical Services
Mothers
Single Parent Family
Social support
Urban Areas
Welfare Services
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Summary:In this paper, we use recent data on unwed new mothers living in urban cities to examine employment plans of low-income women the year following childbirth. We conceptually distinguish work expectations, a cognition; from work, a behavior. We argue that government support & social support are related to the work expectations of unwed new mothers. The results provide evidence that the receipt of various forms of government & social support are positively associated with work expectations. The only variations from this pattern were found for government medical assistance & support from the baby's father. Overall, these findings are contrary to the idea that self-sufficiency is more likely to be achieved when support is denied. Our results suggest that any effort to engage low-income unwed mothers in work activity should consider the importance of support for employment. 2 Tables, 1 Appendix, 26 References. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:1098-092X
1936-4717
DOI:10.1007/s12147-003-0009-9