The Effects of AFDC On American Family Structure, 1940-1990

Bibliographic Data

ID6079536
AuthorsSteven Ruggle (0000-0001-5353-2578, Twin Cities Orthopedics, corresponding author)
Year1997
Volume22
Issue3
Pages307-325
Publication date1997-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Family History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0363-1990 • E-ISSN: 1552-5473
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/036319909702200303
OpenAlexW2052542297
LanguageEN
Citations received11

The "end of welfare as we know it" in the United States was predicated on the belief that the welfare system was responsible for a dramatic upsurge of single- parent families. This article addresses the issue historically, examining the poten tial impact of interstate differences in Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefit levels on family structure from 1940 to 1990. The author's results reveal that the impact of AFDC on family structure was considerably smaller in the period from 1940 to 1970 than in 1980 or 1990. It is concluded that increasing welfare benefits cannot account for a significant portion of the increase in illegitimacy, divorce, or separation in the postwar period. Nevertheless, rising benefit levels are significantly associated with changes in the living arrangements of unmarried mothers

Aid to Families with Dependent Children · Demographic economics · Developmental psychology · Economic growth · Economics · Labour economics · Single mothers · Single parent · Welfare · Welfare reform · Welfare system · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology

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