[Evaluation of empowerment among socially disadvantaged women - examination in different living circumstances].
This paper follows on from a previous study which assessed the relationship between socioeconomic position, empowerment and the development of psychological health in women after treatment in mother-child rehabilitation centres in Germany. The study revealed that socioeconomic position was less important for mothers caring for young children. For this reason the present study is based on a broader definition of social inequity, taking household conditions and psychosocial stressors into account. The aim of the paper is to answer the following questions: 1) To what extent does the improvement of psychological health depend on the living circumstances of the mothers? 2) What is the impact of living conditions on the success of empowerment? 3) Does the health-related impact of empowerment differ between different living conditions of the mothers? By conducting a cluster analysis on clinical data of the women (n=6094), seven different living circumstances of the mothers could be detected. Two living circumstances could be identified to be related to extremely poor health. These are 'dissatisfied single mothers with high degrees of psychosocial distress and lack of social support', and 'married mothers with conflicts within the family and self-perceived lack of appreciation'. At the end of inpatient treatment these mothers showed the highest reduction of psychological symptoms, but after six and twelve months the symptoms increased again. The results of empowerment showed that empowerment is most health-effective for mothers living in poor living conditions, but the success of empowerment here is less pronounced. As a consequence the health effect of empowerment was smaller for those mothers. The study suggests that health promotion programmes could be more effective when they explicitly take the living circumstances of their participants into account.
Sperlich
S
S
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Medizinische Soziologie, OE 5420, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, 30625 Hannover. sperlich.stefanie@mh-hannover.de
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003467:Cultural Deprivation; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011287:Prejudice; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult