How do drug use and social relations affect welfare participation?

This study analyzes whether welfare use is longitudinally related to drug use and various measures of social relations. It conducts secondary analyses on data from a sample of 382 women. The data, which stem from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, were gathered between 1984 and 2002. The results suggest that use of marijuana or cocaine does not affect women's welfare participation to a statistically significant degree. Attending religious services and receiving low levels of child support are associated with statistically significant declines in welfare participation. Changes in marital status are linked to increases in welfare participation.