Department of Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 97 Paterson St., Room 435, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
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Effects of Welfare Participation on Marriage
Article first published online: 23 OCT 2009
DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00641.x
Copyright © National Council on Family Relations, 2009
Additional Information
How to Cite
Teitler, J. O., Reichman, N. E., Nepomnyaschy, L. and Garfinkel, I. (2009), Effects of Welfare Participation on Marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71: 878–891. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00641.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 23 OCT 2009
- Article first published online: 23 OCT 2009
- Abstract
- Article
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Keywords:
- marriage;
- welfare;
- welfare reform
We investigated the widely held premise that welfare participation causes women to refrain from marriage. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,219), we employed an event history approach to study transitions to marriage among mothers who have had a nonmarital birth. We found that welfare participation reduces the likelihood of transitioning to marriage (hazard ratio is 0.67, p <.01), but only while the mother is receiving benefits. Once the mother leaves welfare, past receipt has little effect on marriage. We infer that the negative association between welfare participation and subsequent marriage reflects temporary economic disincentives rather than an erosion of values.