Using data from two waves of a short-term longitudinal study, the authors examined the impact of maternal socioeconomic conditions (education, employment, and income) and family processes (quality of mother-father relations, frequency of nonresident fathers' contacts with their children, and mothers' parenting stress) at time (T) 1 on maternal…

This three-year longitudinal study investigated whether low-wage employment was associated with improved psychological and parenting outcomes in a sample of 178 single mothers who were employed and unemployed current and former welfare recipients both before and subsequent to the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity…

Examined data from 111 single, black, employed mothers concerning their perceptions of their 3- and 4-year-old children. Results revealed that mothers with some postsecondary education/training maintained more positive views of their children, regardless of child gender. Boys were perceived more negatively than girls by mothers who were high in…

Investigates the effects of depressive symptomatology, parental stress, and instrumental support on maternal spanking. Results show that employment has a moderating effect on the relationship between mothers' psychological functioning and their decision to use spanking. The availability of instrumental support seems to increase the frequency of…

Examined relationship between employment preferences and well-being among 111 black, single, employed mothers with preschool child and low income. Mothers whose employment status was consistent with preference had lower role strain and higher life satisfaction. Having no education past high school and male child predicted significantly higher…

Using data from a sample of 178 single black mothers and their young children who were ages three to five at time 1 and ages five to eight at time 2, this study examined the links between and among low-wage employment, mothers' self-efficacy beliefs, depressive symptoms, and a constellation of parenting behaviors in the preschool years to…

Explores the relations among perceived self-efficacy, social support, children's behaviors, and maternal parenting in a sample of 188 single Black mothers of a preschool-age child. Results show a positive relationship between child behavior problems and parenting stress. Fewer child behavior problems and higher material educational attainment were…

Uses data from an ongoing study to determine how mothers' concerns about their preschool children's well-being affects maternal role strain, depression symptoms, and feelings about work. Findings reveal that beliefs that maternal employment can be detrimental to young children contributed to mothers' role strain, whereas appraisals of greater…