Intimate partner violence and use of welfare services among California women

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Dec, 2004 by Rachel Kimerling, Nikki Baumrind

The current study is a population-based investigation of the association between past-year exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and current welfare use, while also accounting for the effects of other violence experienced in adulthood and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These data indicate that acute exposure to intimate partner violence is significantly over-represented among women currently on welfare. However, it appears to be a woman's cumulative exposure to interpersonal violence and associated symptoms of PTSD that are uniquely associated with welfare participation. These data highlight the prevalence of violence against women and its consequences for this population. Results suggest that the prevention and detection of violence is an important welfare issue, and highlight the need for more research in this area.

Key words: Intimate Partner Violence; TANF; Family Violence Option; Mental Health; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Introduction

With the onset of the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Opportunity Act (PRWORA), welfare services took the form of federal block grants called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which place increasing responsibility and pressure on individual participants to find employment sufficient to eliminate welfare dependency. This emphasis, including work requirements and lifetime limits for participation have successfully moved many individuals from welfare to work, leaving a welfare population comprised primarily of women caring for children who experience more serious barriers to employment. As a result, much research has begun to focus on factors associated with welfare use and barriers to employment in this population.

This research suggests that intimate partner violence (IPV) may be a major barrier to education and employment (Horwitz & Kerker, 2001; Tolman & Rosen, 2001). The hypothesis that violence against women is both an etiologic and maintaining factor in women's poverty is plausible. Prospective data reveals that a history of violence predisposes women to unemployment and poverty, while poverty further increases a woman's risk for subsequent victimization (Bassuk & Rosenberg, 1988; Byrne, Resnick, Kilpatrick, Best, & Saunders, 1999). However, some data suggest that violence against women, particularly intimate partner violence, is associated not only with poverty but more specifically with the use of welfare. Studies of welfare populations have documented rates of IPV higher than those found in the general population or among low income women (Brush, 1999; Romero, Chavkin, Wise, Smith, & Wood, 2002; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000; Tolman & Rosen, 2001). These studies have also begun to document these women's problems with employment, health, and mental health. This association is notable because it suggests that violence against women may be a significant determinant of welfare utilization.

IPV among women using Welfare

The few published studies of IPV that have examined welfare populations suggest that the experience of IPV is overrepresented among women using welfare. Tolman and Rosen (2001) administered a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Sugarman, 1996) to a sample of 753 welfare recipients in Michigan and found that 23% of women experienced moderate to severe physical violence in the past year, with lifetime rates of 63%. Women exposed to violence in the past year also had significantly higher rates of psychological disorders, including depression, PTSD, and substance use disorders, when compared to non-exposed women. Another study of 122 welfare recipients enrolled in welfare-to-work training found that 38% of women reported at least one episode of physical violence in their most recent intimate relationship (Brush, 1999). A study of low-income mothers of chronically ill children administered a brief 3-item screen for lifetime exposure to intimate partner violence (Feldhaus et al., 1997) and found significantly lower rates of violence among women who had never received welfare, 16.4%, as compared to women currently participating in welfare, 31.7% and women with pending welfare participation, 40% (Romero et al., 2002). While these studies lack representative samples and consistent definitions of IPV, these estimates do suggest an association between current exposure to IPV and use of welfare.

This association suggests a number of potential implications for intervention. Several authors have noted that increasing access to IPV-focused services may not only increase the safety and well-being of women and their children, but facilitate employment and transition from economic dependence (e.g., Tolman & Raphael, 2002). However, the social context of IPV must be considered, as exposure to IPV often occurs in the context of other violence. Poor women exposed to IPV are at increased risk for living in violent communities (Hien & Bukszpan, 1999), and are likely to have been "re-victimized" as adults, following exposure to violence during childhood (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Furthermore, mental health consequences of violence, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are over represented among individuals in poverty (Bassuk, Dawson, Perloff, & Weinreb, 2001; Davidson, Hughes, Blazer, & George, 1991). In order to fully understand the mental health needs of women using welfare, investigations of the links between IPV and welfare use must also examine the role of prior violence exposure and PTSD.