Intimate Partner Violence, Welfare Receipt, and Health Status of Low-Income African American Women: A Lifecourse Analysis

Although the association among intimate partner violence (IPV), welfare receipt, and health status has been well-established, little is known about the temporal sequencing of these events. In a random sample of low-income African American women in an urban Midwestern county, lifecourse data about IPV and welfare receipt were obtained using the Life History Calendar method (D. Freedman, A. Thornton, D. Camburn, D. Alwin, & L. Young-DeMarco, 1988), along with data about mental and physical health status. Controlling for relevant factors, longitudinal analyses found that previous experience of IPV increased women's odds of receiving welfare benefits in a given year, but previous welfare receipt did not. Cumulative IPV, but not cumulative welfare receipt, was associated with current and past-year health problems. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that IPV leads women to turn to welfare assistance, and that compromised physical and mental health due to past cumulative IPV interferes with women's gainful employment.