Friday, 14 January 2005 - 12:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Poster Session I

The Impact of Parental Public Assistance and Employment on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Outcomes for Emerging Adults

Purpose: The general outcry on welfare use and the support of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, commonly known as "welfare reform," by the American public could arguably be based on a number of faulty and misinformed assumptions about welfare families and their children. For example, in addition to the common belief that welfare recipients are unwilling to work (therefore, a work first approach is adopted), another stereotype is that children growing up in welfare families are likely to have poorer social outcomes as adults. Empirical evidence is needed to dispute these myths. This study examined the effect of parental public assistance usage and employment history on the mental health and substance abuse behaviors of emerging young adults (i.e., children 18-24 years old).

Methods: A secondary data analysis of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), a nationally representative probability sample, was conducted examining the relationship between Wave 1 (1987-1988) parent information and Wave 2 (1992-1994) parent and emerging adult information (N=835). Using logistic and OLS regressions, variables related to a parent's public assistance utilization, work history, and level of poverty were used to predict a focal child's mental health and substance abuse outcomes during transition into adulthood. Mental health measures were scaled using a Partial Credit Item Response Theory Model. Demographic variables (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and age) were also controlled.

Results: Results indicate that a parent's public assistance utilization and work history were not significant predictors of an emerging adult's future substance abuse behaviors. As with previous research substance abuse in emerging adults was positively related to being male, smoking cigarettes, and heavy drinking parents; African Americans were less likely to use substances than any other ethnic groups (e.g., whites, or other ethnicity). These relationships were consistent for all levels of poverty. The percentage of parent's work-based income had a moderately positive association in OLS regression (p<.10) with an emerging adult's mental health outcome. Poorer mental health outcomes (i.e., increased depression) for emerging adults was significantly related to the parent's mental health and substance abuse behaviors, but parent's utilization of public assistance was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that growing up in a welfare-reliant family has no relationship to an emerging adult's future substance abuse history. Stereotypes of children growing up in welfare dependent families becoming heavy alcohol and drug users are not supported. However, living in poverty appears to have a negative impact on an emerging adult's mental health.. The relationship found between a parent's work-based income and an emerging adult's mental health indicates a need for more research in this area. Targeting services toward material hardship (i.e., housing, hunger, and income maintenance) and self-sufficiency (i.e., education and employment) may be more effective than targeting behavioral health services.

See more of Poster Session I
See more of Oral and Poster

See more of Celebrating a Decade of SSWR (January 13 - 16, 2005)