Publication Date
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Jacqueline Bergdahl (Committee Co-Chair), Gary Burns (Committee Chair), Jonathan Varhola (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Abstract
This study examined relationships between work ethic and welfare dependency. The 65-item Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) (Miller, Woehr, & Hudspeth, 2002) and the 28-item MWEP (Meriac, Woehr, Gorman, & Thomas, 2013) with attached socioeconomic surveys were administered to n=338 and n=247 adult subjects, respectively. A negative correlation between the two variables was anticipated, so that as levels of agreement with work ethic increase, reported use of welfare benefits decrease. After running correlation matrices to examine Pearson’s r, hierarchical regressions were conducted, culminating in a model which partially predicts the connection between the variables. Bivariate analyses for the 65-item MWEP data indicated that marital status, age, sex, centrality of work, waste time, delayed gratification, self-reliance, morality/ethics, hard work, and leisure were statistically significantly correlated. Bivariate analyses for the 28-item MWEP data indicated that centrality of work and hard work were statistically significantly correlated. These findings could be used in the design of a comprehensive assessment tool to be utilized at the point of entry into the welfare system.
Page Count
144
Department or Program
Applied Behavioral Science
Year Degree Awarded
2017
Copyright
Copyright 2017, some rights reserved. My ETD may be copied and distributed only for non-commercial purposes and may not be modified. All use must give me credit as the original author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
