Sociology 441: Stratification

Paper: option 1

Single mothers with low wage work or on TANF

The purpose of the term paper is to take the ideas discussed in class and in the reading and for you to see if they apply to a specific case you will investigate. The paper focuses on the problem of "making ends meet" for low wage and welfare single mothers. The model for the discussion is Edin and Lein's book, Making Ends Meet. Your task in this paper is to evaluate how the explanations that Edin and Lein describe for poor single mothers around 1990 apply to your interviewee today. Does this individual case fit or not fit the general patterns we (and Edin and Lein) have discussed?

To do this you need to investigate the situation of one poor or low-wage single mother whose confidence you can win. (See Edin and Lein's discussion in chapter 1 of their problems in finding and interviewing this population.) Their appendix A describes their (lengthy!) interview schedules with their 379 single mothers. We don't aim to acquire all this information but want to focus on the "survival strategies" that single mothers use to manage their small budgets.

Your paper should have a clear statement that answers, "Which strategies are predominant in solving the difficulties single mothers face in supporting a family on a low wage job or on welfare?" In answering this question you should evaluate the patterns that Edin and Lein found in their study and describe in what ways the situation of your interviewee is similar to and different from the patterns they describe.

Edin and Lein's main strategy was to get their sample to develop an expenditure budget first and then describe how they managed to get the income to meet that budget. The order of questions was important here since if they asked income first, they almost never were able to get the mothers to explain all the various income sources that were necessary to cover those expenses.

You needn't get as detailed data on all expenditures, but it will be important to ask first about general questions (see their "lead-in" section), then ask about strategies they use for food, medical care, child care, clothing, and housing; and then ask about material hardships they have had to face in the past year. Having established that this is not an easy life, you should find it easier to ask about various sources of income. Feel free to cite examples from the book as ways in which other single mothers have managed to make ends meet.

The one topic you should stay away from which Edin and Lein did occasionally inquire about was potentially illegal activities. Even if your interviewee begins to suggest such sources (very doubtful), you should change the subject and move on to other economic strategies. Realistically, you are not likely to get to know your interviewee well enough for such confidences in the first place, but stay away from even suggesting you are interested in them.

Your paper should give descriptions and comparisons to national samples of:

• savings strategies in purchasing necessities
• hardships experienced
• attitudes towards welfare as a way to get by
• long term strategies for a better life
• how the family manages to get some extras to make life more enjoyable (e.g., Christmas presents)
• the variety of income sources ("survival strategies")

Due: Tuesday, December 3

See also: Option #2 "Class consciousnesss and unionization among the working class."