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Neighborhood Effects On Afdc Exits: Examining The Social Isolation, Relative Deprivation, And Epidemic Theories, Thomas P. Vartanian

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Linking data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with the 1970 and 1980 censuses, the author finds that, in accordance with the social isolation theory, neighborhood conditions greatly affect the likelihood of exiting the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Neighborhood conditions are especially strong predictors of leaving the program for African Americans, high school dropouts, and for those who marry. Members of each of these groups stay on welfare significantly longer when they live in the most economically depressed neighborhoods of neighborhoods with a relatively high proportion of manufacturing relative to professional and executive workers. I …