And the prevalence of some psychiatric disorders is even greater. In a survey of 750 welfare mothers in an urban Michigan county, funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the researchers found about 35 percent of welfare recipients have either major depression, post traumatic stress disorder, general anxiety disorder, alcohol dependence or drug dependence. Substance abuse and mental health problems restrict a woman's ability to effectively participate in training programs, and her ability to leave welfare for work within a specified time. These problems may prevent recipients from undertaking tasks necessary to find employment or impair the self confidence needed to take on new challenges. Some welfare recipients may succeed in obtaining employment but have difficulty in keeping a job or in performing effectively in it.
Recent research highlights the importance of social skills in employability and job performance.
Many welfare recipients obtain employment only to lose those jobs due to confrontations with co-workers or supervisors, lateness, and similar violations of workplace norms. By impairing social functioning, mental health problems may play an important role in sustained employability. Policy makers have assumed that when it comes to the ability to work the poor are like the general population and that welfare recipients are like the poor overall, explains Danziger. However, socioeconomic status is well known to be associated with mental illness, with those on the lowest end of the income and education scale more likely to have mental health problems than those of even modestly higher status. Research that documents the prevalence of substance abuse and mental health problems among single mothers and contributes to the delivery of appropriate services will also help meet the national policy goal of improving the home lives of children in poverty.