Recent research has connected childhood abuse to decreased physical and mental health for low-income women in Utah. Further, mental health has established a link to employment problems. This study conducted a secondary analysis of data collected from individuals accessing public assistance to investigate the relationships among retrospective self-reports of childhood emotional, physical and sexual abuse and prospective indicators of mental health and mental health barriers to work.

The present study used secondary data gathered from a statewide random sample of 1,073 adult women enrolled in Utah’s single-parent cash assistance program and logistic regression to examine associations between self-reported physical, emotional, and sexual abuse during childhood and later-life physical and mental health indicators.

About 700,000 cases of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect are substantiated each year, making childhood maltreatment a common form of trauma in the histories of adults. We summarize the literature on the consequences of child maltreatment across the lifespan, agreeing with researchers who see maltreatment as a public health problem.

Lifetime limits on public assistance were introduced by the United States federal government in 1996 as part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Many former recipients are no longer eligible for benefits having reached their lifetime limit. Local and national studies of post-welfare reform TANF leavers describe their circumstances.