Running Head: Mental Health and Welfare Reform MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG SINGLE MOTHERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR WORK AND WELFARE REFORM

The 1996 welfare reform bill changed the nature of public assistance from an open-ended entitlement to a transitional program with work requirements and time limits. The emphasis on self-sufficiency and the expectation of work is based on the assumption that poor single mothers are similar in their status and functioning to the rest of the population. However, we find that their psychological status is quite distinct. Findings indicate that 17 percent of all single mothers, 22 percent of women receiving welfare and 20 percent of non-working single mothers, had experienced a psychiatric disorder within the past year. Logistic regression results reveal that having a psychiatric disorder is associated with a 25 percent lower likelihood of working. Mental health problems may prevent women from undertaking the tasks necessary to find employment, or women with these problems may lack the self-confidence needed to take on new challenges. Even after obtaining employment, mental health problems can play an important role in welfare and self-sufficiency outcomes. Our findings suggest that mental health problems among single mothers deserves greater attention as a barrier to self-sufficiency, and highlights the need for more effective intervention and treatment efforts to improve economic and social outcomes. Mental Health and Welfare Reform/3