NCJ Number
217414
Journal
American Journal of Public Health Volume: 96 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 1409-1415
Date Published
August 2006
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study compared the prevalence of exposure to violence among a sample of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (with children) and a sample of women seeking General Assistance (GA) (without children) in a California county.
Abstract
While the results revealed that recent physical, sexual, and severe violence was highly prevalent in both samples, the GA sample of women without children suffered the highest rates of violence. The findings indicated that the GA women were at higher risk for sexual violence and for more severe forms of physical violence, particularly from intimate partners. The analysis further showed that past year violence among GA women was related to substance use, recent homelessness, family fragmentation, and foster care involvement. The authors point out that the TANF program addresses domestic violence while the GA program does not. The findings from this study indicating the high prevalence of violence among GA women suggest the GA program should implement violence intervention programming similar to what is offered through TANF. Participants were a cross-section of 1,235 adult female welfare applicants representing the countywide population of aid seekers. Of this sample, 1,095 (94 percent) were TANF applicants and 140 (41 percent) were GA applicants. Participants completed a survey that focused on demographic information, marital status, number of children, children in foster care, education, past-year employment, income, receipt of previous aid, previous year homelessness, violence victimization, family support, and health behaviors, including drug use. Data analysis was completed in SPSS version 11.5 and included chi-square calculations. Future research should focus on the associations between violence and other problems within women’s lives. Tables, references