2011 The Palm Beach County Family Study (Full Report)

Access to Support by TGAFigure 5 shows perceptions of support over time by TGA. Every year, mothers in the Glades were morelikely to report finding access to support to be either “very easy” or “somewhat easy,” when comparedwith their counterparts outside of the Glades. Across all 5 years, more than three-fourths of mothers in theGlades were more likely to report “very easy” or “somewhat easy” access to getting help with houseworkor caring for children. In most cases, however, the percentage of mothers outside the Glades reporting thislevel of access was 10 to 20 percentage points lower. One factor in these geographic differences may bethat families in the Glades appear to be less mobile (see chapter 2); thus, even though this area may havemore “risk” characteristics than do other areas, the level of perceived social support is higher. Becausefamilies are not moving and have lived longer in the Glades, mothers may have more family and friendsaccessible to them as well as more knowledge of community supports and services.Figure 5. Access to Support by TGA over Time aa Data were weighted to account for the oversampling of mothers in the Glades and mothers assessed “at risk.”b Based on a 5-point scale: “Very Easy,” “Somewhat Easy,” “Between Hard and Easy,” “Somewhat Hard,” and “Very Hard.”This table combines the “Very” and “Somewhat Easy” responses.Chi-square tests indicate differences are statistically significant at *p < .05, **p < .01, or ***p < .001.Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago 83