The Self-concept of Black and White Women: The Influences Upon Its Formation of Welfare Dependency, Work Effort, Family Networks, and Illnesses |
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| Authors: | Lois Benjamin James B Stewart |
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| Institution: | [Lois Benjamin, Ph.D., is associate professor of sociology at Central State University, Wilberforce, OH 45384;James B. Stewart, Ph.D., is associate professor of labor studies and director of the Black Studies Program, Pennsylvania State University, 236 Grange Building, University Park, PA 16802.) The research reported was supported by a grant from the Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, under the authority of Title HI, Part B of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973. Opinions expressed and statements made are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of the Department of Labor. The authors thank Ames Chapman, Charles Harvey Lewis, Inez Yarbough, and Harold E. Cheatham for helpful comments. |
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| Abstract: | Abstract . The concept of “self-efficacy” is used to test the hypothesis that the negative self-concept of welfare recipients coniributes to long term psychological and material dependency on such assistance. Self-efficacy focuses on the extent to which people are able to produce and regulate events in their lives and is associated with self-imposed performance expectations. The extent to which the minority status which Blacks occupy in this society decreases self efficacy relative to Whites is examined, using information generated from structured interviews with 290 low income Black and White women. Operationalizing the concept of self-efficacy with appropriate controls for socioeconomic status, family composition and other factors results in finding no racial differences in sense of self-efficacy between Black and White women. Observed differences in patterns of receipt of public assistance are found to be more directly related to the persistence of structural barriers to upward mobility that have differential impacts on Blacks and Whites. Long term receipt of public assistance is found to adversely affect both self-worth and work orientation/perceived efficacy for all women. |
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