Post-welfare employment and psychological well-being

Current public assistance policies are removing many recipients from the we lfare rolls, regardless of their income level. This article examines the po st-assistance well-being of a stratified probability sample of 426 "able-bo died" women and men who lost cash benefits when Michigan terminated its Gen eral Assistance program in 1991. The relationship of demographic, human cap ital, and psychological resource variables to employ ment status, depressiv e symptomatology and ii fe satisfaction is examined utilizing two panels of survey data, collected approximately one and two years after the program e nded. Findings demonstrate that personal mastery is related to employment s tatus and risk of depression, and sense of burden is linked to both psychol ogical outcomes, controlling for relevant demographic and human capital var iables. Gender is related to risk of depression; however, its relation to e mployment is dependent on the presence of children in the household. Steady employment is positively associated with psychological well-being. Overall , the findings suggest that the majority of former recipients faced employm ent difficulties and psychological hardship, and that services should be ta rgeted to subgroups of former recipients with particular risk factors. (C) 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.