SOCIAL SUPPORTS AND WOMEN WITH FULL·TIME WORK AND PARENTING ROLES: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

With the increase in the number of female headed households and the rise in dual career families, the traditional conceptions of family support networks and functions have come under serious question. Mothers who work full time assume major responsibilities in providing for the econontic needs of the family system as well as the psychological needs of the family members. Understanding how these mothers develop and use natural social support networks is vital in the development of social welfare services that will build on the strengths of mothers who perform foil-time work and parenting role. The importance of employment to many single and married mothers is critical to the maintenance of a family lifestyle above the poverty level. According to Burden (1986), fIfty-one percent of single parent families where the female head does not work are liVing in poverty and of those where she works foil time only seven percent are in poverty conditions. Norton and Glick (1986) reported that two of every three mothers having sole custody of children under the age of 18 years in 1984 were members of the labor force. Due to the rapid increase in the number of single female heads of households and the number of single and married mothers in the labor force foil time, examining how these women perceive social supports in their environment and how these social supports affect their sense of well-being is crucial This research i