18 December 2008 – Work and well-being over time: lone mothers and their children
Findings are published today from research that explores how lone mothers and their children manage and adapt to employment over time. The report ‘Work and well-being over time: lone mothers and their children’ is based on a third interview with families where mothers had originally entered work voluntarily around 4 – 5 years ago after a period of time on benefits. This third wave of the study consisted of interviewing 34 mothers and 37 children.
Interviewing children was an important and innovative element of the research and this provides a rare opportunity to hear from children themselves about how their lives have been affected when their mothers started work and to explore how they helped to sustain employment.
Findings from the research show that:
- Gaining reward from work, especially financial reward, had been an important factor in the decision of many mothers to take employment and most said that they thought they would be better off staying in work.
- Tax credits played a vital role in mother’s decisions to enter employment and ensuring that their employment was viable and sustainable.
- In some cases mothers were uncertain about changes in entitlement to their tax credits award. Changes in tax credit entitlement due to children leaving home or ageing out of the system created financial pressures for some mothers.
- Child support played a key role in helping to sustain employment for some families. For those who did receive them, though, irregular payments and changes in amounts could make budgeting difficult.
- Most of the children in the study were of school age and mothers had tended to use informal care wherever possible. Wider family members, such as grandparents, were the mainstay of many mothers’ work and care strategies.
- Children played a key role in enabling their mothers to remain in work.
- Children’s perspectives on their mother’s employment revealed both positive and negative dimensions of change.
Notes to Editors
- ‘Work and well-being over time: lone mothers and their children’ (DWP Research Report number 536) by Tess Ridge and Jane Millar is published today as part of the DWP Research Report series. A copy of the report (and summary of the research) can be downloaded from the Department’s website at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp
- The research was carried out by the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy, University of Bath.
Prepared by: the Department for Work and Pensions Parents Employment Division
