Trends of Criminal Activity and Substance Use in a Sample of Welfare Recipients

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 instituted a compulsory work mandate for welfare recipients. However, recipients who experience difficulties finding employment may increase their involvement in criminal activities and their frequency of substance...

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Bibliographic Details
Contributors: Brown, Victoria Lee (Other) ; Montoya, Isaac D. (Other) ; Dayton-Shotts, Cheryl A. (Other) ; Carroll-Curtis, Tiffany L. (Other) ; Riley, Micah A. (Other)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:Undetermined language
Published: 2004
In: Crime & delinquency
Year: 2004, Volume: 50, Issue: 1, Pages: 6-23
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Keywords:
Drogengebrauch
Arbeitslosigkeit
Kriminalität
Description
Summary:The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 instituted a compulsory work mandate for welfare recipients. However, recipients who experience difficulties finding employment may increase their involvement in criminal activities and their frequency of substance use as a means to deal with changes precipitated by PRWORA. This study used a four-wave panel design to analyze the criminal behaviors and substance-use frequency of 534 welfare recipients in Houston, Texas. Data were collected from the Attitudes, Behaviors, and Skills Assessment (ABSA) instrument designed specifically for this study. Results show that a minority of welfare recipients were involved in criminal activity. Furthermore, although participants were losing their welfare benefits, both criminal activity and substance use declined over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Physical Description:Online-Ressource
ISSN:1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/0011128703258866