An Insider View: Knowledge and Opinions of Welfare from African American Girls in Poverty

Rebekah Levine Coley, Ann M. Kuta and P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale

JCPR Working Papers from Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research

Abstract: This paper presents African American adolescents girls' views of welfare and welfare reform at the cusp of welfare legislation in 1996. Data were collected from a randomized, community-based sample of families living in impoverished urban neighborhoods through a series of open- and close-ended questions. Results are contrary to public perceptions that such girls are knowledgeable, accepting, and planful about welfare. Rather, responses indicate that urban girls see welfare as an important safety net, yet have negative and derogatory views of welfare recipients and the effects of welfare on recipients. Their knowledge of basic welfare rules and of pending welfare reforms is limited. Finally, the vast majority express agreement with work requirements, and about half believe that a discontinuation of welfare would change adolescent sexual and childbearing behaviors. These results raise the possibility that adolescents are responding to the rhetoric and "signals" of welfare reform; alternately, they may simply be expressing typical adolescent egocentrism and optimism.

Date: 1999-08-01
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wop:jopovw:118

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in JCPR Working Papers from Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Thomas Krichel ().