Kim Yeonwoo, Padilla Yolanda C, Zhang Anao, Oh Sehun
Doctoral candidate, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin 1925 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Professor, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin 1925 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2018 Feb;86:316-323. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.001. Epub 2018 Feb 3.
Although not part of its stated aims, current welfare legislation is assumed to benefit children through increased parental employment and self-sufficiency. Research findings on the extent to which parental welfare participation improves child well-being are inconclusive. This study investigates the behavioral outcomes of young children whose mothers have received TANF using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=2,169). Controlling for maternal demographic characteristics, current financial status, and health risks, we found that the difference between children's externalizing behaviors in families of former TANF recipients relative to children of mothers who had never been on welfare decreased the longer mothers had been off welfare. However, overall, externalizing behaviors were significantly higher among children of former TANF recipients relative to children whose mothers had never received welfare. The findings suggest that ensuring healthy development for children requires long-term supports to help mothers as they transition off welfare.
尽管这并非当前福利立法既定目标的一部分，但人们认为现行福利立法可通过增加父母就业和自给自足来使儿童受益。关于父母参与福利计划在多大程度上能改善儿童福祉的研究结果尚无定论。本研究利用脆弱家庭与儿童福利研究（样本量N = 2169）的数据，调查了母亲领取过临时援助家庭补助（TANF）的幼儿的行为结果。在控制了母亲的人口统计学特征、当前财务状况和健康风险后，我们发现，与母亲从未领取过福利的孩子相比，前TANF受助家庭孩子的外化行为差异随着母亲脱离福利的时间延长而减小。然而，总体而言，前TANF受助家庭孩子的外化行为显著高于其母亲从未领取过福利的孩子。研究结果表明，要确保儿童健康成长，需要长期支持，以帮助母亲顺利脱离福利。
