| In recent years, many researchers have used empirical models to examine barriers to employment, such as low educational attainment, mental and physical health issues, and difficulty obtaining child care, among individuals receiving benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (Olson and Pavetti, 1996; Danziger, et al., 2000; Blumenberg, 2002; Hauan and Douglas, 2004; Loprest and Zedlewski, 2006). The majority of this research establishes a correlation between the existence of various barriers and the likelihood of finding employment for current and previous TANF recipients. While there is agreement that barriers are in some way associated with employment, there is still disagreement about the causal direction of the relationships (Mascaro, Arnette, Santana, and Kaslow, 2007; Zabkiewicz, 2008; Zabkiewicz and Schmidt, 2007; Lennon, Blome, and English, 2001).;For instance, do mental health issues lead to lack of employment? Or, does being employed in a low wage job lead to depression or other mental health issues? Comprehensive empirical tests of all possible relationships using sophisticated statistical techniques, such as structural equation modeling, are also rare (deLange, Taris, et al., 2004). In this dissertation, I aim to fill this gap in the literature. Specifically, I ask in what direction the relationship between employment and barriers operates.;Using three barriers - depression, substance abuse, and domestic violence - I examine two longitudinal data sets and make use of cross-lagged structural equations to examine three competing causal models: (1) regular causation (depression, substance abuse, and domestic violence influence employment); (2) reverse causation (employment influences depression, substance abuse, and domestic violence); and (3) reciprocal causation (combining regular and reverse causation). My findings suggest that regular causation provides the strongest explanation for the link between depression and employment, while reciprocal causation provides the strongest explanation for the link between domestic violence and employment. The relationship between substance abuse and employment is a complex one, and my findings suggest that more work is needed to understand the relationships in this area. |
