Lone mothers in the UK, have their lives got better since the transition from welfare to work?

241 Pages·2016·2.73 MB·English

by  Mi Yang Jun

Lone mothers in the UK, have their lives
got better since the transition from
welfare to work?

Miyang Jun

Doctor of Philosophy
University of York
Social Policy and Social Work

September 2015
Abstract
The UK governments in recent history have built a strong paternalistic argument describing paid
work as an essential route to improve lone parents’ mental and physical well-being. This thesis
therefore sets out to explore the question of
How does the transition from social assistance benefits into paid work affect the overall subjective
well-being of lone mothers and their quality of life?
On the impacts of the transitions to work on the well-being of lone parents, some less-researched
areas are found when adopting an analytical framework of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI),
and they are: quality of relationships, future security, community-connectedness, safety, and
leisure. This thesis adopted a qualitative method to fill the gap. In-depth interviews were
conducted with some 20 lone mothers with at least one child aged six or under and who had
recently returned from social assistance benefits to paid work.
Overall, the evidence shows that lone mothers may not be ‘better off’ in work either financially,
emotionally, socially or physically. What is clear however, is that they are ‘better-off’ being free
from the stigma associated with claiming social assistance benefits. This raises two policy
implications. One, the social stigma is being generated and effectively delivered by political tactics
to get people off benefits, and it damages the well-being of lone mothers not only during the
period of being on benefits, but also for long after their transition. Two, while low out-of-work
benefits and sanction regimes are considered as the right measures to encourage claimants to
accept a ‘reasonable’ job because it would ultimately benefit their own well-being, it is clear that
taking ‘any work’ is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Moving to any type of work in fact carries a
great risk that threatens the well-being of the lone mothers, as it can equally be stigmatising,
isolating, insecure, and unsafe, and not a route to becoming independent. However, rather it
provides good and legitimate reasons for: reducing quality time with children, being unavailable
to family and friends, and having leisure time that is informal, irregular, and fragmented, and also
for not prioritising their own physical health.

2
Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... 3
List of tables ............................................................................................................................................ 7
List of figures ........................................................................................................................................... 8
Acknowledgement .................................................................................................................................. 9
Author's declaration ............................................................................................................................. 10
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Background ................................................................................................................................... 11
Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 12
Research questions ....................................................................................................................... 14
The empirical research .................................................................................................................. 15
The structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................ 16
Chapter 1: The Picture of Lone Parenthood in the UK ......................................................................... 18
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 18
1.1 Demographic characteristics of lone parenthood in the UK................................................... 19
Population ................................................................................................................................. 19
Employment and socio-economic backgrounds ....................................................................... 20
1.2 Governmental approaches towards lone parenthood ........................................................... 23
The two conservative governments, 1979 - 1996 .................................................................... 23
The New Labour government, 1997 - 2010 .............................................................................. 30
The coalition government, 2010 - 2015 .................................................................................... 36
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 46
Chapter 2: The Analytical Framework of Subjective Well-Being and Literature Review ...................... 48
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 48
2.1 The conceptual scope of subjective well-being ...................................................................... 49
2.2 Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI).............................................................................................. 51
The use of PWI in the existing literature of lone parents’ transition........................................ 52
2.3 The analysis of existing literature based on the PWI .............................................................. 54
2.4 Making transitions to work ..................................................................................................... 58
Defining the transitional period ................................................................................................ 58
Feeling financially better off ..................................................................................................... 59
Health ........................................................................................................................................ 66
3
Achievement ............................................................................................................................. 72
Future security .......................................................................................................................... 73
Relationships ............................................................................................................................. 75
The three missing domains ....................................................................................................... 77
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 79
Chapter 3: Methodology and the research process ............................................................................. 81
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 81
3.1 Empirical research question .................................................................................................... 82
3.2 The theoretical framework ..................................................................................................... 83
Abductive research strategy ..................................................................................................... 83
3.3 The field work ......................................................................................................................... 87
Ethical considerations ............................................................................................................... 87
The sample ................................................................................................................................ 89
Recruitment .............................................................................................................................. 94
Qualitative in-depth interview .................................................................................................. 98
The stance of the researcher .................................................................................................. 101
Coding and analysis ................................................................................................................. 102
Dissemination ......................................................................................................................... 104
3.4 Methodological implications on adopting a quantitative index in a qualitative research ... 106
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 108
Chapter 4: Quality of relationships ..................................................................................................... 109
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 109
4.1 Quality of relationships with children ................................................................................... 110
Mothers’ rationalisations ........................................................................................................ 110
Being an incompetent mother and poor provider .................................................................. 111
Quality of relationships with children whilst in paid work ..................................................... 112
4.2 Quality of informal relationships .......................................................................................... 118
Quality of informal relationships whilst claiming benefits ..................................................... 119
Quality of informal relationships whilst in paid work ............................................................. 124
4.3 Quality of formal relationships ............................................................................................. 130
Quality of formal relationships whilst claiming benefits ........................................................ 130
Quality of formal relationships whilst in paid work ................................................................ 134
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 139
Chapter 5: Use of non-obliged time and allocation of leisure ............................................................ 141
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 141
4
What is perceived as leisure? ..................................................................................................... 141
Use of non-obliged time ......................................................................................................... 142
Paid work, education, and voluntary works in non-obliged time ........................................... 142
Illegitimacy to have fun, or just an alternative leisure ........................................................... 144
Restrictions and types of leisure whilst on benefit ..................................................................... 145
Restrictions on money and space ........................................................................................... 145
Types of leisure activities allowed while being on benefit ..................................................... 146
Restrictions and types of leisure whilst in paid work ................................................................. 147
Time, space, and money restrictions ...................................................................................... 147
Better leisure with resources and structure ........................................................................... 149
Type of leisure allowed in paid work ...................................................................................... 150
Perceptions towards having less leisure ..................................................................................... 151
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 152
Chapter 6: Feelings of safety and security, and health ....................................................................... 153
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 153
6.1 Safety and security whilst on benefits .................................................................................. 154
Feeling protected .................................................................................................................... 154
Feeling frightened and insecure ............................................................................................. 155
Safety and security whilst being in paid work ............................................................................ 165
Feeling vulnerable during the first few weeks ........................................................................ 165
Feelings of being safe and secured whilst in paid work.......................................................... 167
Feelings of being unsafe and insecure whilst in paid work .................................................... 170
6.2 Reported health whilst being on benefits............................................................................. 172
Feeling depressed and stressed .............................................................................................. 172
Having poor physical conditions ............................................................................................. 173
Reported health whilst being in paid work ................................................................................. 174
Relationship between a sense of safety and security, and health ......................................... 175
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 176
Chapter 7: Discussion of the key findings ........................................................................................... 179
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 179
7.1 Time, sacrifice and quality of relationships with children .................................................... 180
Being supportive but exhausted in paid work ........................................................................ 180
7.2 Stigma, self-esteem and quality of adult relationships ........................................................ 183
Feeling needy and stigmatised ............................................................................................... 184
Feeling less stigmatised and legitimate in paid work ............................................................. 187
5
7.3 Quality of leisure ................................................................................................................... 190
Feeling legitimate to enjoy leisure in paid work ..................................................................... 191
7.4 Sense of safety and security ................................................................................................. 192
Stressors whilst living on social assistance benefits ............................................................... 192
Sense of safety and security in paid work ............................................................................... 193
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 195
Chapter 8: Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 197
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 197
A gap in knowledge and research methods ................................................................................ 197
Policy implications of the research findings ............................................................................... 198
The damages generated by social stigma ............................................................................... 199
Transitions being driven by humiliation and fear ................................................................... 201
Is the overall well-being of lone mothers improved or legitimised by taking up paid work? 202
Further research ......................................................................................................................... 208
Appendices .......................................................................................................................................... 210
Appendix A: Advertisement – for postings on webpages and emails ........................................ 210
Appendix B: Information sheet ................................................................................................... 211
Appendix C: Informed Consent form for Participation ............................................................... 213
Appendix D: Topic guide ............................................................................................................. 214
Appendix E: Contact points and strategies ................................................................................. 218
Appendix F: The sample .............................................................................................................. 219
Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 221
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 222

6
List of tables
Table 1 Social assistance benefit edibility, by work status and age of the youngest child.38
Table 2 Existing research of lone parents moving to work…………………………………………….. 55
Table 3 Sample criteria changes …………………………………………………………………………………… 90
Table 4 The rolling-out date of Universal Credit…….……………………………………………………… 94
Table 5 Gatekeepers and recruitment…………………………………………………………………………… 97
Table 6 Feeling of safety and security whilst being on benefits…………………………………… 154
Table 7 Feeling of safety and security whilst being in paid work…………..…………………….. 168
Table 8 Locations and number of the participants…………………………………………….………… 219
Table 9 Age of respondents…………………………………………………….…………………………………… 219
Table 10 Number and age of dependent children…………………….…………………………………… 219
Table 11 Types of work of the participants…………………….……………………………………………… 220
Table 12 Working hours of the participants………………….………………………………….…………… 220
Table 13 The period since moving off social assistance benefits………….………………………… 220

7
List of figures
Figure 1 Percentage of families with dependent children, by family type………………….…… 19
Figure 2 Usual gross weekly household income of families with dependent children by
family type…………………………………………………….…………………………………………………. 21
Figure 3 The combination of unique and shared variance of the seven domains………….… 56
Figure 4 The coding paradigm…………………………………………………….………………………………… 104

8
Acknowledgement
At the very end of this long process, my family comes to my mind first. Thank you, mum, dad,
brother, and (maternal) grandma who have been supportive practically and emotionally, I cannot
even imagine how I would have done this without you. Thank you for being there, listening to me
and supporting me. Thank you (paternal) grandma, grandpa, (maternal) grandpa and Ajumma,
and sorry I wasn’t there when you left us. 사랑해요. 보고싶어요.
My supervisor, Dr. Christine Skinner, I cannot thank you enough with the words I can express.
Thank you for your guidance, insight, wisdom, supports, but most of all, your patience. I was
extremely lucky to have you as my teacher, and I am grateful for your time and efforts to develop
me as a researcher. I also thank my TAP members, Dr. Aniela Wenham and Dr. Naomi Finch, for
your supports and guidance. I would like to thank the department of social policy and social work
of University of York, and the staffs who have always been keen to help and support. Thank you
Dr. Neil Lunt, Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, Professor John Hudson, Dr. Stefan Kuhner, Dr.
Antonios Roumpakis, Dr. Chris Holden, Dr. Stuart Lowe, and graduate administrator Samantha
McDermott.
Huge thanks to the twenty lone mothers who agreed to take part in this study and shared their
valuable life experiences. It was such a privilege and I am grateful for your bravery.
Special thanks to the wonderful people in my personal life. Thank you to Hyun-Gyung for your
support, encouragement and reassurance, and love - I cannot tell you how difficult this road
would have been if I haven’t met you. Special thanks to Gill Main for your help in the recruitment
process, the valuable comments on my draft, and survival tips of PhD. Thank you to my - office
ghosts - friends for being there days and nights in the same gloomy office, but have never failed to
amaze me with the amount of support and love you give, Seungeun, Ikhyun and Jieun (it is a real
pleasure working with you!), Eunkyung, Shirely, Taka, Youngbin, and Helen.
The last but certainly not least, I am grateful for this opportunity and strength you have given me
to keep this going, my Lord.

9
Author's declaration
I, Miyang Jun, declare that this thesis is a presentation of original work and I am the
sole author. This work has not previously been presented for an award at this, or any
other, University. All sources are acknowledged as References.

10