Angela Browne

Homelessness in female-headed families : Childhood and adult risk and protective factors

OBJECTIVES To identify risk and protective factors for family homelessness, a case-control study of homeless and low-income, never-homeless families, all female-headed, was conducted. METHODS Homeless mothers (n = 220) were enrolled from family shelters in Worcester, Mass. Low-income housed mothers receiving welfare (n = 216) formed the comparison group. The women completed an interview covering socioeconomic, social support, victimization, mental health, substance use, and health domains. RESULTS Childhood predictors of family homelessness included foster care placement and respondents mothers use of drugs. Independent risk factors in adulthood included minority status, recent move to Worcester, recent eviction, interpersonal conflict, frequent alcohol or heroin use, and recent hospitalization for a mental health problem. Protective factors included being a primary tenant, receiving cash assistance or a housing subsidy, graduating from high school, and having a larger social network. CONCLUSIONS Factors that compromise an individuals economic and social resources are associated with greater risk of losing ones home.

The Impact of Recent Partner Violence on Poor Women's Capacity to Maintain Work:

Recent changes in welfare policy that require women to work have been particularly controversial for survivors of partner violence. This article explores the relationship between partner violence and work through time in an ethnically diverse longitudinal sample of 285 extremely poor women. Controlling for a variety of factors, women who experienced physical aggression/violence by male partners during a 12-month period had only one third the odds of maintaining employment for at least 30 hours per week for 6 months or more during the subsequent year as did women without these experiences. The study has important implications for welfare-to-work programming and public policy.

Intimate Partner Homicide

Despite her pregnancy, LaQuana decided that she must leave her boyfriend, Blakely. He had been physically assaulting her for over a year, and she believed she had to leave him for the safety of herself and her child. One night, Blakely found her at her family’s home with her mother and brother. He insisted that she come back to him. When he tried to force her to go with him, LaQuana threatened to call the police. Blakely then announced his intention to kill everyone in the house. He shot and killed LaQuana, and also shot and wounded her mother as she tried to shield LaQuana. In court, Blakely claimed that he accidentally shot LaQuana while struggling with her brother, who had reached for the gun. (adapted from Michigan Domestic Homicides, 1995-1996)

Public Health and Solitary Confinement in the United States

The history of solitary confinement in the United States stretches from the silent prisons of 200 years ago to todays supermax prisons, mechanized panopticons that isolate tens of thousands, sometimes for decades. We examined the living conditions and characteristics of the populations in solitary confinement. As part of the growing movement for reform, public health agencies have an ethical obligation to help address the excessive use of solitary confinement in jails and prisons in accordance with established public health functions (e.g., violence prevention, health equity, surveillance, and minimizing of occupational and psychological hazards for correctional staff). Public health professionals should lead efforts to replace reliance on this overly punitive correctional policy with models based on rehabilitation and restorative justice.