Transmission of Family Values, Work, and Welfare among Poor Urban Black Women

Abstract

Life histories of poor urban Black women indicate that intrafamilial transmission of values about work and welfare is associated with young adult work status and perceptions about future economic self-sufficiency. Multifaceted transmissions in the form of direct parent-child communications about the value of work, tangible support from family and/or outside resources, and multiple examples of work attachment are associated with employment and perceptions of future self-sufficiency, regardless of teenage childbearing status. Where such transmissions are unidimensional, limited, or absent, the women are more likely to be unemployed and predict future economic dependency. Policy implications are directed at work programs, schools, and community-based job training and guidance for youth and their families.