Welfare stigma among low-income, African American single mothers
Welfare stigma among low-income, African American single mothers
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低收入非裔美国单亲母亲的福利耻辱
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发表时间：
1996
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影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Robin L. Jarrett
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Robin L. Jarrett
这篇文章对污名化过程进行了概念化，污名化过程与使用援助有受抚养儿童的家庭（AFDC）计划有关。一个象征性的互动主义的观点，描绘了耻辱的动态被用来框架贫穷的非洲裔美国妇女参与这些项目的经历。一系列定性焦点小组访谈的结果用于评估当前对病耻感的讨论，并为减少病耻感的努力提供信息。过去的研究表明，社会耻辱与公共援助项目的使用有关（Rank, 1994）。参与此类项目有时被用作接受者持有偏差工作取向的证据，他们应该被贴上不可信的标签（Nichols-Casebolt, 1986）。近年来，相对于其他公共援助项目，对受抚养儿童家庭的援助（AFDC）一直是最受诟病的项目（Block, Cloward, Ehrenreich, & Piven, 1987）。AFDC项目最初主要为寡妇及其子女提供服务。然而，在过去的三十年里，它已经从关注离婚和分居的妇女和她们的孩子转变为包括从未结婚的非裔美国妇女和她们的孩子（Quadagno, 1994）。未婚妇女的加入与AFDC越来越多地为不应得的穷人服务的观点相一致（Katz, 1989; Kelso, 1994; Mead, 1986; Murray, 1984）。定量和定性研究为社会耻辱与公共援助项目（包括AFDC）之间的关系提供了重要的见解。定量研究已经确定了耻辱感的关键相关因素及其与经济、社会和心理结果的关系（Horan & Austin, 1974; Kerbo, 1972; Lowenberg, 1981; Murray, 1984; Nichols-Casebolt, 1986）。定性研究描述了AFDC受助人如何在日常生活中处理归咎于的耻辱（Jeffers, 1967; Rank, 1994; Rogers-Dillon, 1995; Rosier & Corsaro, 1993; Stack, 1974; Valentine, 1978）。这些研究机构解决了社会耻辱和公共援助项目研究中的重要实质性问题，但其分析的相关性和描述性模糊了更普遍的动态。鉴于使用AFDC项目的贫困非洲裔美国妇女受到越来越多的诋毁，我们需要更广泛地了解污名化的过程。本研究的主要目的是概念化与使用AFDC计划相关的污名化过程。在现有的主要是相关性和描述性的研究基础上，本文使用象征性互动主义的视角来构建使用此类项目的非裔美国妇女的经历。四个研究问题指导了本研究：1。妇女如何看待社会耻辱，因为这与她们作为AFDC接受者的地位有关？2. 妇女作为AFDC受助人有什么歧视性待遇的经历？3. 妇女使用什么策略来管理污名化的看法和治疗？4. 妇女作为AFDC受助人的看法和经历如何影响她们对政府改革努力的态度？我在讨论中提到几点。首先，我回顾了关于病耻感和公共援助项目的定性和定量研究。其次，我讨论了符号互动主义的观点如何解决现有研究的局限性。第三，描述了样本和研究方法。讨论了焦点小组访谈程序，因为他们是在接受AFDC的非洲裔美国单身母亲样本中进行的。接下来，我使用逐字引用的定性小组访谈的结果，突出了妇女对福利耻辱的看法和经历，以及由此产生的应对策略。然后，我讨论了研究结果的含义，并考虑它们如何为当前关于病耻感的理论讨论和减少病耻感的努力提供信息。…
This article conceptualizes the stigmatization process that is associated with the use of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs. A symbolic interactionist perspective that delineates the dynamics of stigma is used to frame the experiences of impoverished African American women who participate in such programs. Findings from a series of qualitative focus group interviews are used to assess current discussions of stigma and to inform efforts to reduce stigma. Past research documents that social stigma is associated with the use of public assistance programs (Rank, 1994). Participation in such programs is sometimes used as evidence that recipients hold deviant work orientations and that they should be labeled with a discredited status (Nichols-Casebolt, 1986). In recent years, relative to other public assistance programs, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) has been the most stigmatized of all (Block, Cloward, Ehrenreich, & Piven, 1987). At its inception, the AFDC program primarily served widows and their children. However, over the past three decades, it has shifted from a focus on divorced and separated women and their children to include never-married, African American women and their children (Quadagno, 1994). The inclusion of unmarried women has paralleled the view that AFDC increasingly serves the undeserving poor (Katz, 1989; Kelso, 1994; Mead, 1986; Murray, 1984). Quantitative and qualitative studies provide important insights into the relationship between social stigma and public assistance programs, including AFDC. Quantitative studies have identified key correlates of stigma and their relationship to economic, social, and psychologi cal outcomes (Horan & Austin, 1974; Kerbo, 1972; Lowenberg, 1981; Murray, 1984; Nichols-Casebolt, 1986). Qualitative research has described how AFDC recipients manage imputed stigma in their daily lives (Jeffers, 1967; Rank, 1994; Rogers-Dillon, 1995; Rosier & Corsaro, 1993; Stack, 1974; Valentine, 1978). These bodies of research address important substantive issues in the study of social stigma and public assistance programs, yet the correlational and descriptive nature of their analyses obscure more general dynamics. In light of the increasing denigration of impoverished African American women who use AFDC programs, a broader understanding of the stigmatization process is needed. The primary goal of this study is to conceptualize the stigmatization process that is associated with the use of AFDC programs. Expanding upon existing studies that are largely correlational and descriptive in nature, this article uses a symbolic interactionist perspective to frame the experiences of African American women who use such programs. Four research questions guided this study: 1. How do women perceive social stigma as it relates to their status as AFDC recipients? 2. What have been women's experiences of discriminatory treatment as AFDC recipients? 3. What strategies do women use to manage stigmatized perceptions and treatment? 4. How do women's perceptions and experiences as AFDC recipients affect their attitudes toward government reform efforts? I address several points in the discussion. First, I review qualitative and quantitative studies on stigma and public assistance programs. Second, I discuss how a symbolic interactionist perspective addresses the limitations of existing studies. Third, I describe the sample and research methods. Focus group interviewing procedures are discussed as they were conducted with a sample of African American single mothers who received AFDC. Next, I present findings from the qualitative group interviews using verbatim quotes that highlight women's perceptions and experiences of welfare stigma, as well as resulting coping strategies. I then discuss the implications of the research findings and consider how they inform current theoretical discussions of stigma and efforts to reduce stigma. …