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Sources And Types Of Formal And Informal Assistance: Patterns Among Louisiana's Welfare Population., Alison Kay Neustrom

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

My purpose in this dissertation is to examine the extent to which recipients report social capital in the form of social support and what I call informal assistance. I define informal assistance as those assets that assist in the daily lives of welfare recipients. This dissertation examines the role of residence, human capital, family of origin, and current household structure on informal assistance. I also compare the forms of assistance and instrumental resources of non-metropolitan and metropolitan welfare recipients to determine whether geographic context mediates the use of informal assistance. Data for this study were from the Louisiana State University …