Effects of health and co-occurring perceived barriers on self-sufficiency

Introduction: Low income individuals face a host of employment barriers including health, education, childcare, transportation, and lack of opportunities in the labor market.  These barriers present a significant public health issue in that physical and mental health conditions co-occur with other human capital problems among low-income individuals, impacting economic self-sufficiency (ESS).  However, there is little body of knowledge on how one perceives and experiences various barriers, particularly how they co-occur with perceived health barriers.  The research question is: How do health and co-occurring perceived employment barriers (PEB) affect employment hope (EH) and ESS?

Methods: Sample included 842 individuals completing a job readiness program in Chicago.  They were surveyed about their PEB, EH, and their current economic status.  Health barriers include mental, physical, and substance abuse, and co-occurring variables are in the following barrier domains—labor market exclusion, childcare, personal balance, and human capital.  Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to examine the hypothesized effects of health and co-occurring PEB on EH and EH on ESS.

Results: SEM showed good fit indices [x²=67.117 (.029), df=47, NNFI=.996, CFI=.997, RMSEA=.023 (.008-.034)]. The paths from health and co-occurring labor market PEB have significant negative effects on EH (p<.05), and EH positively affects ESS (p<.000).

Conclusion: Confirming the hypothesis, health and its co-occurring community PEB contributes to EH, and EH mediates the path to ESS.  Workforce development practitioners need to examine health PEB and its co-occurrence with perceived labor market exclusion among low-income jobseekers in order to motivate them through EH and achieve ESS.