The Effect of Domestic Violence on Welfare Use, Employment and Mental Health: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis.

This dissertation is an empirical policy analysis which investigates the effect of domestic violence on a woman\u27s welfare status, employment, and mental health within the context of new policies instituted by welfare reform. It uses quantitative data from a panel survey, and qualitative narratives from respondents who reported current domestic abuse. Multivariate analysis of welfare outcomes finds that domestic violence affects welfare outcomes indirectly through its effect on depression. Depression is associated with unemployment, continuing on TANF, and being sanctioned off welfare. Domestic violence is one of the strongest predictors of the level of reported depression. Abuse is not directly related to whether a woman is on TANF, leaves welfare voluntarily or has been sanctioned off the program. Further analysis shows that domestic violence is not statistically significant in predicting employment. This suggests that when domestic violence affects welfare status and employment it does so through its effect on mental health. Women\u27s stories about abuse indicate that domestic violence is a serious life threatening problem. Even though the state has adopted the Family Violence Option to assist women who are experiencing abuse, none of the ten women interviewed received help through this program. Reasons for the failure of this policy to provide meaningful help include the lack of knowledge women have about the policy; their unwillingness to disclose the abuse, and the inability of the system to take meaningful action on their behalf. None of the women in the qualitative sample were employed during the worst of the abuse. The qualitative findings suggest that the window during which violence affects employment may be relatively short for most women---a statistical effect may only be noticeable if women are surveyed during the period surrounding the end of the relationship. Narratives show that domestic violence has immediate consequences that affect employment through interaction with the criminal justice system, increased isolation, lack of stable housing, need for closer supervision of children who have also been traumatized by the abuse, and ongoing health and mental health concerns

Domestic Violence and the Implementation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction: Japan and U.S. Policy

Around the world, an increasing number of married couples have at least one person who is not a citizen of their spouse’s country. The global growth in transnational families has necessitated the development of international legal agreements to address issues that have arisen upon the dissolution of these relationships. Of particular note to feminist scholars has been the issue of domestic violence in these relationships and how these circumstances are addressed under international agreements such as the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. In 2013, Japan became the last of the major industrialized countries to sign on to the Hague Convention. This comparative, case-based policy analysis centers concerns about domestic violence in the development and implementation of the Hague Convention in Japan and the United States. Although Japan has a much shorter legislative history regarding domestic violence (DV), it has taken a much stronger position about DV in its adoption of the Hague Convention. Based on this analysis we propose methods for addressing domestic violence in Hague cases in both countries that prioritize the safety needs of abused mothers and their children

Structuring Support for Volunteer Commitment: an Aids Services Program Study

Since the AIDS epidemic began over a decade ago, the bulk of services for people living with HIV in the community setting have been provided by volunteers. Volunteers are confronted with the stigmatized status of people with HIV and must learn to manage multiple crisis issues. This paper describes research on volunteerism in a buddy program for people living with AIDS and the perceptions of volunteers about the structural supports of the volunteer program. Issues around perceptions of stress and the relationship between bereavement and volunteering are explored

The Social and Economic Impact of Sanctions and Time Limits on Recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

A central feature of the reforms enacted through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (welfare reform) has been the adoption of strategies to involuntarily remove Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients from the welfare rolls, including increased use of sanctions and time limits on welfare receipt. Drawing on data from a three year panel study of women who had been receiving welfare in a state which adopted stringent sanctioning and time limit policies, we investigate predictors of recipients\u27 TANF status after implementation of welfare reform, and identify differences in post-reform material resources, hardships and quality of life based on TANF status. Almost half of all welfare case closures during the first time period after reforms were implemented through involuntary strategies. Relatively few baseline characteristics predicted different outcomes once welfare time limits and sanctions were implemented. Those who were timed off welfare had substantially lower incomes in the year following their removal. One third of all respondents, regardless of reason for leaving TANF reported having insufficient food, housing problems and lack of access to needed medical care

Toward A Multi-Level, Ecological Approach To The Primary Prevention Of Sexual Assault: Prevention In Peer And Community Contexts

Although sexual assault prevention programs have been increasingly successful at improving knowledge about sexual violence and decreasing rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs among participants, reducing sexually assaultive conduct itself remains an elusive outcome. This review considers efforts to support change for individuals by creating prevention strategies that target peer network and community-level factors that support sexual violence. To this end, the article examines successful ecological prevention models from other prevention fields, identifies the components of multilevel prevention that appear critical to efficacy and discusses their application to existing and emerging sexual violence prevention strategies

Frontline Worker Responses To Domestic Violence Disclosure In Public Welfare Offices

Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts ofinterviews between welfare caseworkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by workers to client disclosures of abuse and to assess the match or mismatch of these responses with FVO policy requirements. Only 22 of 782 client interviews involved the disclosure of abuse to the welfare caseworker. A typology of worker responses was created, from least to most engaged. This typology shows that only half of those who disclosed abuse received assistance from the welfare worker, despite policy mandates that clients receive information on TANF waivers and community resources. This study suggests that problems with implementation of the FVO reflect a systemic reluctance to address issues of violence with women rather than problems of individual workers

The Situational-Cognitive Model of Adolescent Bystander Behavior: Modeling Bystander Decision-Making in the Context of Bullying and Teen Dating Violence.

Objective: Despite the proliferation of bystander approaches to prevent aggression among youth, theoretical models of violence-related bystander decision making are underdeveloped, particularly among adolescents. The purpose of this research was to examine the utility of 2 theories, the Situational Model of Bystander behavior (SMB) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), for identifying mechanisms underlying adolescent bystander behavior in the context of bullying and teen dating violence (TDV). Method: Data were collected via face to face (local) and online (national) focus groups with 113 U.S. adolescents aged 14-18 and were subsequently analyzed using deductive and inductive coding methods. Results: Youth endorsed beliefs consistent with both the SMB and TPB and with additional constructs not captured by either theory. Adolescents reported a higher proportion of barriers relative to facilitators to taking action, with perceptions of peer norms and social consequences foremost among their concerns. Many influences on bystander behavior were similar across TDV and bullying. Implications: Findings are organized into the proposed Situational-Cognitive Model of Adolescent Bystander Behavior, which synthesizes the SMB and TPB, and supports the tailoring of bystander interventions. For teens, intervening is a decision about whether and how to navigate potential social consequences of taking action that unfold over time; intervention approaches must assess and acknowledge these concerns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Is Welfare Reform Working? A Study of the Effects of Sanctions on Families Receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

This research provides a preliminary descriptive analysis of the impact of new welfare sanctions on recipients living in a southern metropolitan region. The data from this phone survey indicate that many families report considerable hardship no matter why they exited from welfare. Compared to those who left voluntarily, those who were sanctioned off welfare were significantly different in terms of having unmet medical needs, going without food, and having their utilities turned off. Given the high number of problems reported and the low income reported by these respondents, it is not surprising to find that only 10 percent of former recipients who were sanctioned off of welfare feel that they are better off now than when they received cash assistance. These problems can represent a significant disruption in the lives of children and their parents

The long-term effects of intimate partner violence on adolescent mothers' depressive symptoms

Adolescent mothers are at high risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) which may increase their likelihood of depressive symptoms in adulthood, yet little is known about the long-term effects of IPV on adolescent mothers' trajectories of depressive symptoms. The study reported here uses prospective data spanning 14 years from a study of 229 adolescent mothers from Washington State, USA to evaluate the effects of adolescent exposure to IPV on the trajectories of depressive symptoms over time, as well as the likelihood of depressive symptoms at age 28 years. After controlling for levels of economic insecurity, the results indicate that adolescent IPV and an early vulnerability to depression were significantly related to the intercept, but not the slope of the adult depressive symptom trajectories. Both cumulative and concurrent IPV predicted the likelihood of depressive symptoms at age 28 years. Follow-up analyses indicate that adolescent IPV is associated with greater levels of adult IPV, and that women who report both adolescent and adult IPV have the highest mean levels of depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that exposure to IPV in adolescence may alter the life course of young women, increasing their risk for continuing exposure to intimate partner violence in adulthood and its concomitant negative mental health effects. Efforts aimed at prevention and early intervention in IPV among adolescent mothers are important components of the clinical care of young mothers.Domestic violence Adolescent mothers Poverty Longitudinal Latent growth curve modeling Depression USA