Aurora P. Jackson

Aurora P. Jackson, assistant professor of social work at Columbia University, studied the experiences of black single mothers working at low-income jobs, with a view toward defining the specific aspects of work and family that most affect their well-being and that of their children. Jackson's longitudinal research documented the job history, child care use, welfare receipt, and sources of income for three hundred New York City families, and probed how economic conditions, family and community support networks, and maternal stress and parenting skills affect children's development in preschool and early elementary years.