abstract: 'In Britain the government is currently proposing legislation that will

  encourage welfare recipients to gain employment. A central tenet of this

  `welfare to work'' policy is that employment will not only reduce the

  poverty of welfare recipients, but also improve their health. This

  research assessed the extent to which the movement from `welfare to

  work'' is likely to benefit the mental and physical health of lone

  mothers with preschool children. The sample was 719 lone mothers and a

  comparison group of 8779 women with partners drawn from the Avon

  Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC). Data collected

  by self completion questionnaire at 33 months postpartum provided

  information about average weekly take home family income and the

  mother''s employment status. The health outcomes measured were general

  well being, both minor and major depression (using the Edinburgh

  Postnatal Depression Scale), self report of respiratory symptoms

  (cough/cold, wheeze, influenza) from 18-33 months postpartum and self

  report of symptoms common in the childbearing years (backache,

  haemorrhoids) also from 18-33 months postpartum Lone mothers who were

  not employed were the poorest group in the sample; 94\% of this group

  (402) had a family income of less than pound 200 per week, compared with

  72\% (188) of lone mothers who were employed, 25\% (905) of partnered

  women who were not employed and 12\% (466) of partnered women who were

  employed. Lone mothers were significantly more likely than women with

  partners to report poorer well being (chi(2) = 11.7, df = 3, P = 0.01),

  to have a major depressive disorder (chi(2) = 92.6, df = 1, P = 0.0001)

  and to report wheeze (chi(2) = 31.1, df = 1, P = 0.0001), but

  significantly less likely to report cough/cold (chi(2) = 9.9, df = 1, P

  = 0.0001) or haemorrhoids (chi(2) = 16.6, df = 1, P = 0.0001). Lone

  mothers who were unemployed and living on less than pound 100 per week

  were significantly more likely to be depressed (chi(2) = 3.9, df = 1, P

  = 0.05) than those who were employed and living on pound 200 or more per

  week, and significantly less likely to report cough/cold (chi(2) = 3.8,

  df = 1, P = 0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed no significant

  independent association between employment and better health for lone

  mothers. Rather, when compared with lone mothers who were not working,

  those who were employed were more likely to report minor respiratory

  symptoms such as cough/cold (OR = 1.51, 95\% CI = 1.00,2.31). Overall,

  the results suggested that the movement from `welfare to work'' is

  unlikely to improve the health of lone mothers. (C) 1999 Elsevier

  Science Ltd. All rights reserved.'
affiliation: 'Baker, D (Corresponding Author), Univ Manchester, Natl Primary Care
  Res \& Dev Ctr, 5th Floor,Williamson Bldg,Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, Lancs,
  England.

  Univ Manchester, Natl Primary Care Res \& Dev Ctr, Manchester M13 9PL, Lancs, England.'
author: Baker, D and North, K and Team, ALSPAC Study
author_list:
- family: Baker
  given: D
- family: North
  given: K
- family: Team
  given: ALSPAC Study
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00104-5
files: []
issn: 0277-9536
journal: SOCIAL SCIENCE \& MEDICINE
keywords: lone mothers; employment; UK; inequality in health
keywords-plus: 'PAID EMPLOYMENT; PHYSICAL HEALTH; YOUNG-CHILDREN; SINGLE MOTHERS;
  WOMENS

  HEALTH; ILL HEALTH; UNEMPLOYMENT; DEPRESSION; POLICY; ROLES'
language: English
month: JUL
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '48'
orcid-numbers: Northstone, Kate/0000-0002-0602-1983
pages: 121-131
papis_id: 9613eca6ab024efdac38f57ceea39e76
ref: Baker1999doesemployment
researcherid-numbers: Northstone, Kate/A-8165-2011
times-cited: '48'
title: Does employment improve the health of lone mothers?
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000080963200010
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '13'
volume: '49'
web-of-science-categories: 'Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health; Social Sciences,

  Biomedical'
year: '1999'