Psychosocial and Physiological Stress Among Women Leaving Welfare
Shawn M. Kneipp ARNP, PhD1*,
Dinah P. Welch ARNP, MPH, PhD1,
Charles E. Wood PhD1,
Carolyn B. Yucha PhD, RN, FAAN2,
and
Hossein Yarandi PhD3
1 University of Florida
2 University of Nevada, Las Vegas
3 Wayne State University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: skneipp{at}nursing.ufl.edu.
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Abstract |
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Women receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report more stress and have poorer health than women in the general population. Studies suggest chronic stress may contribute to poor health via physiological mechanisms, yet little is known about these mechanisms in this population. This study examined psychosocial stress, salivary cortisol, 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate, and health among 40 single mothers before and after exiting TANF. As a group, perceived stress decreased after leaving TANF (p = .02), with other measures of psychosocial and physiological stress remaining unchanged. Within participants, changes in psychosocial stress predicted depression and general health over time (adjusted R2 = .30 and .22; p = .006 and .004, respectively). These findings indicate psychosocial stress is positively associated with depression and negatively associated with general health as women exit welfare. Psychosocial stress was not associated with changes in physiologic indicators of stress.
