Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion

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This finding looks at the relationship between mothers’ employment and welfare transitions and their adolescents’ cognitive and behavior outcomes.

Among a sample of low income mothers, for 9 separate child development outcomes, entering the labor force produced no consistent negative effects for children, and in fact, transitioning into the labor force tended to decrease—albeit very moderately—the psychological distress and anxiety of young adolescents.

Sample or Data Description
Household-based, stratified random-sample, longitudinal survey; respondents comprised of 2402 low-income children and their mothers in low-income neighborhoods of Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio. Approximately 46% of the children were African American, 48% were Hispanic, and 6% were non-Hispanic white and other ethnicities.

Source
"Mothers' Transitions from Welfare to Work and the Well-Being of Preschoolers and Adolescents"
Chase-Landsdale, P. Lindsay
Science Vol. 299, Number . March, 2003. Page(s) 1548-1552.

FindingID: 8038