Stress and Health in Women Leaving Welfare

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In 1996, welfare reform legislation required the nation move over 4.5 million single-mothers into employment. The majority of women leaving welfare for work will continue to live at or below the federal poverty level even through they may work full-time and must overcome additional challenges associated with maintaining employment and securing adequate childcare. Studies indicate leaving welfare for work may be a source of significant stress for single-mothers. Women who receive welfare experience depression, anxiety, and poor health status at nearly twice the rate of women in the general population. Despite this, studies determining the extent to which stress during this transition further threatens the health of an already vulnerable population of single- mothers are absent. Our lung range goal is to improve the health of low- income women. The objective of this proposal is to compare psychosocial distress, neuroendocrine and cardiovascular indicators of stress, and health status in 40 single-mothers before and after they leave welfare for employment., These data are necessary to determine whether women incur increased risk to their health when moving from welfare into employment, guide the development of nursing interventions for this population, and inform decision-makers responsible for public policy development. The specific aims of this research are as follows: 1. To compare a) psychological stress, b) neuroendocrine and cardiovascular indicators of stress, and c) health status in single-mothers both status in single-mothers before leaving welfare (Time 1) and 2 months after become employed (Time 2). 2. To determine the extent to which a change in psychosocial stress predicts a change in a) neuroendocrine and cardiovascular indicators of stress and b) health status from Time 1 to Time 2].