The Impact of Welfare Reform Knowledge on the Formation of Two-Parent Families

Christina Gibson, Princeton University

Despite the objective of welfare reform to encourage two-parent households, very little research has been done to examine how mothers' understanding of welfare policies impacts marital and cohabitation decisions. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing the links between welfare knowledge, policy environments, and household formation decisions. Data comes from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal study of 5000 parents. Results indicate that levels of correct knowledge about marital eligibility and time limits are quite low, although mothers who more likely to need public assistance have higher levels of knowledge than the general population. While there was no main effect of welfare knowledge on the creation of two-parent households, women who believed that married or cohabiting women were not welfare eligible were more likely to remain single, particularly in states with stricter welfare regulations.