Reichman Nancy E, Corman Hope, Dave Dhaval, Kalil Ariel, Schwartz-Soicher Ofira
Department of Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA.
Department of Economics, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, USA.
Children (Basel). 2023 Jan 31;10(2):260. doi: 10.3390/children10020260.
This paper explores a missing link in the literature on welfare reform in the U.S.-the effects on positive health and social behaviors of adolescents, who represent the next generation of potential welfare recipients. Previous research on welfare reform and adolescents has focused almost exclusively on negative behaviors and found that welfare reform led to decreases in high school dropout and teenage fertility among girls, but increases in delinquent behaviors and substance use, particularly among boys. Using nationally representative data on American high school students in 1991-2006 and a quasi-experimental research design, we estimated the effects of welfare reform implementation on eating breakfast, regular fruit/vegetable consumption, regular exercise, adequate sleep, time spent on homework, completion of assignments, participation in community activities or volunteering, participation in school athletics, participation in other school activities, and religious service attendance. We found no robust evidence that welfare reform affected any of these adolescent behaviors. In concert with the past research on welfare reform in the U.S. and adolescents, the findings do not support the implicit assumption underlying welfare reform that strong maternal work incentives would increase responsible behavior in the next generation and suggest that welfare reform had overall adverse effects on boys, who have been falling behind girls in terms of high school completion for decades.
本文探讨了美国福利改革文献中一个缺失的环节，即对青少年积极健康和社会行为的影响，这些青少年代表着下一代潜在的福利领取者。以往关于福利改革与青少年的研究几乎完全集中在负面行为上，发现福利改革导致女孩高中辍学率和青少年生育率下降，但不良行为和物质使用增加，尤其是男孩。利用1991年至2006年具有全国代表性的美国高中生数据和准实验研究设计，我们估计了福利改革实施对吃早餐、定期食用水果/蔬菜、定期锻炼、充足睡眠、花在家庭作业上的时间、完成作业、参与社区活动或志愿服务、参与学校体育活动、参与其他学校活动以及参加宗教仪式的影响。我们没有发现有力证据表明福利改革影响了这些青少年行为中的任何一种。与过去关于美国福利改革和青少年的研究一致，这些发现不支持福利改革背后的隐含假设，即强大的母亲工作激励会增加下一代的责任行为，并表明福利改革对男孩产生了总体不利影响，几十年来，男孩在高中毕业方面一直落后于女孩。
