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Does Welfare Affect Family Processes and Adolescent Adjustment?
Author(s) -
Kalil Ariel,
Eccles Jacquelynne S.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06179.x
Subject(s) - receipt , aid to families with dependent children , welfare , affect (linguistics) , psychology , welfare reform , legislation , developmental psychology , family income , demographic economics , social psychology , economics , economic growth , political science , market economy , accounting , communication , law
Recent welfare reform legislation requires increased parental work effort and imposes time limits on the receipt of federal assistance. These changes were based in part on assumptions that parental welfare receipt may be negatively related to family processes and children's attitudes and behaviors. Currently, researchers know little about the effects of welfare by itself relative to the effects of related variables such as family demographic characteristics, economic strain, and neighborhood factors on processes among families with adolescent children. This study investigates parenting behaviors, parent‐adolescent relationships, and adolescent attitudes and behaviors in three family types. Families of adolescents ages 11–15 who received income from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in the previous 12 months are compared with poor families who have not received AFDC in the last year and with families who are neither poor nor welfare dependent. We found minimal support for the hypothesis that welfare is negatively related to family processes and adolescent attitudes and behaviors, although mothers receiving welfare report fewer effective parent management practices than their poor non‐welfare counterparts. Implications of the findings for current social policy debates are discussed.