Welfare-to-work interventions and their effects on the mental and physical health of lone parents and their children

Gibson, Marcia; Thomson, Hilary; Banas, Kasia; Lutje, Vittoria; McKee, Martin; Martin, S.R.; Fenton, Candida; Bambra, Clare; Bond, Lyndal

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd009820.pub2

Cited by 10 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…Previous research 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 has suggested that welfare reforms might have adverse effects on the health of people with long-term sickness, elderly people, and the general population, but less evidence is available for lone parents. A 2017 Cochrane review 9 included 12 randomised controlled trials of welfare-to-work interventions for lone parents, of which seven investigated mandatory interventions (all were in the USA). The review found that the small positive effects of the interventions on income and employment disappeared over time, often because control group participants found work independently.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of restrictions to Income Support on health of lone mothers in the UK: a natural experiment study

Katikireddi

Molaodi

Gibson

et al. 2018

The Lancet Public Health

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SummaryBackgroundIn the UK, lone parents must seek work as a condition of receiving welfare benefits once their youngest child reaches a certain age. Since 2008, the lower age limit at which these Lone Parent Obligations (LPO) apply has been reduced in steps. We used data from a nationally representative, longitudinal, household panel study to analyse the health effects of increased welfare conditionality under LPO.MethodsFrom the Understanding Society survey, we used data for lone mothers who were newly exposed to LPO when the age cutoff was reduced from 7 to 5 years in 2012 (intervention group 1) and from 10 to 7 years in 2010 (intervention group 2), as well as lone mothers who remained unexposed (control group 1) or continuously exposed (control group 2) at those times. We did difference-in-difference analyses that controlled for differences in the fixed characteristics of participants in the intervention and control groups to estimate the effect of exposure to conditionality on the health of lone mothers. Our primary outcome was the difference in change over time between the intervention and control groups in scores on the Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12).FindingsThe mental health of lone mothers declined in the intervention groups compared with the control groups. For intervention group 1, scores on the MCS decreased by 1·39 (95% CI −1·29 to 4·08) compared with control group 1 and by 2·29 (0·00 to 4·57) compared with control group 2. For intervention group 2, MCS scores decreased by 2·45 (−0·57 to 5·48) compared with control group 1 and by 1·28 (−1·45 to 4·00) compared with control group 2. When pooling the two intervention groups, scores on the MCS decreased by 2·13 (0·10 to 4·17) compared with control group 1 and 2·21 (0·30 to 4·13) compared with control group 2.InterpretationStringent conditions for receiving welfare benefits are increasingly common in high-income countries. Our results suggest that requiring lone parents with school-age children toseek work as a condition of receiving welfare benefits adversely affects their mental health.FundingUK Medical Research Council, Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office, and National Health Service Research Scotland.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In its equality impact assessments of the 2017 reduction in the child age threshold to 3 years, the UK Department of Work and Pensions stated that there would be positive effects on wellbeing. 8 Studies 9 of welfare-to-work interventions in the USA found only small positive effects on health and economic outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of restrictions to Income Support on health of lone mothers in the UK: a natural experiment study

Katikireddi

Molaodi

Gibson

et al. 2018

The Lancet Public Health

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“…Katikireddi, Molaodi, Gibson, Dundas, and Craig () suggest that attaching sanctions‐backed work search requirements to benefit receipt has adverse impacts on the mental health of lone mothers with school age children. Additionally, a Cochrane review of the effects of welfare‐to‐work policies on lone parents' mental and physicalhealth found such interventions to be “unlikely to have any tangible effects”, conceding that in some circumstances, “small negative health impacts” were likely to ensue (Gibson et al, ). More positively, Sage's () international literature review drew favourable conclusions on the potential of active labour market polices to improve the health of sick and disabled people by reducing negative outcomes such as depression, low self‐esteem and motivation, psychological distress, and suicide rates among unemployed people.…”

Section: Work Welfare Conditionality and Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work, welfare, and wellbeing: The impacts of welfare conditionality on people with mental health impairments in the UK

et al. 2019

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The personal, economic, and social costs of mental ill health are increasingly acknowledged by many governments and international organisations. Simultaneously, in high‐income nations, the reach of welfare conditionality has extended to encompass many people with mental health impairments as part of on‐going welfare reforms. This is particularly the case in the UK where, especially since the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance in 2008, the rights and responsibilities of disabled people have been subject to contestation and redefinition. Following a review of the emergent international evidence on mental health and welfare conditionality, this paper explores two specific issues. First, the impacts of the application of welfare conditionality on benefit claimants with mental health impairments. Second, the effectiveness of welfare conditionality in supporting people with experience of mental ill health into paid work. In considering these questions, this paper presents original analysis of data generated in qualitative longitudinal interviews with 207 UK social security benefit recipients with experience of a range of mental health issues. The evidence suggests that welfare conditionality is largely ineffective in moving people with mental health impairments into, or closer to, paid work. Indeed, in many cases, it triggers negative health outcomes that make future employment less likely. It is concluded that the application of conditionality for people with mental health issues is inappropriate and should cease.

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“…Single mothers have such a heavy burden and had to survive for themselves and the children. Single mothers' welfare does not necessarily improve despite the high income (Bauman, 2002;Campbell et al, 2016;Gibson et al, 2017). It explains that though a single mother has a relatively stable life, the burden remains enormous.…”

Section: Single Parents Survival Mechanism Amid Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Single Mothers' Survival Strategies of University Students During Covid-19 Pandemic

Febrianto

2021

Society (Bangka. Online)

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The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the social and economic sectors. Family, the smallest social unit, is experiencing the impact, particularly for the woman as single-parent. Being a single parent is either a choice, decision, or condition that must be accepted due to the spouse’s passing or other condition. Single parents carried numerous burdens alone, including earning a living and raising the children. These burdens have a significant impact on single parents. This study aims to reveal single-parent families’ survival mechanisms. The research applied a qualitative method by interviewing single mothers from university students in East Java Province, Indonesia. This study used the theory of survival mechanism proposed by James Scott. The study found that instabilities generated by the COVID-19 pandemic produced enormous diminishing income. Such ordeals faced by single parents are burdensome because they initially had to support the family amid the feeble economy. Income vulnerability becomes a deep concern for single mothers. Pandemic COVID-19 caused these mothers to empower themselves and develop various survival strategies. The mothers from middle-class families live frugally and selective when they buy something they need. While mothers from lower-class families did different survival mechanisms, range from careful spending, owe some money, and open a business using their ex-husband’s savings. Furthermore, they are also working overtime, empowering their children to help with the work, diversifying jobs by opening food stalls up to have an online shop. Therefore, it can be assumed that the COVID-19 pandemic has made single parents struggle even more to fulfil their family needs.

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Welfare-to-work interventions and their effects on the mental and physical health of lone parents and their children

Cited by 10 publications

References 94 publications

Effects of restrictions to Income Support on health of lone mothers in the UK: a natural experiment study

Effects of restrictions to Income Support on health of lone mothers in the UK: a natural experiment study

Work, welfare, and wellbeing: The impacts of welfare conditionality on people with mental health impairments in the UK

Single Mothers' Survival Strategies of University Students During Covid-19 Pandemic

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