A social psychological perspective on poverty, community-based organization, and career decision making among middle-aged women in east central Illinois

Recent studies have acknowledged the role of community-based organizations (CBOs) in tackling poverty. CBOs could provide a valuable social space, networks, and supporting resources for disadvantaged people in local communities. They could also provide psychological empowerment opportunities and experiences that could positively influence the individuals' perceived self, collective efficacy, and self-determination to counterattack the situational and dispositional barriers caused by poverty. The majority of the people in poverty are women and children. Women tend to create a support system to balance childcare, family, work, and social activities. Middle-aged women participating in a community-based organization might benefit from the networks and resources to improve their lives and support their reemployment. This case study aims to examine the motivation and barriers of middle-aged women towards reemployment in a community-based poverty alleviation organization from a social psychological perspective. This study's findings confirm that CBO provides empowerment opportunities that meet individuals' social, survival, and self-determination needs. But the impact on reemployment is limited due to the lack of decent work and the incomprehensive current safety net and social policy. It is urgent to reform current social policies and programs, create decent work and volunteer opportunities, and shift the focus from human capital development to human flourishing.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Resource Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Coleman, Xue Yang

Contributors dc:contributor

• Li, Jessica
• Pak, Yoon
• Davila, Liv
• Oh, Eunjung Grace

• poverty
• middle-aged women
• motivation barriers
• community-based organization
• reemployment

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Xue Coleman

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116170

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116170