The effects of welfare participation on parenting stress and parental engagement using an instrumental variables approach: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we examined the causal effect of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on parenting stress and parental engagement.

Background: With this study, we offer insight into the effects of SNAP policy on families beyond economic and human capital outcomes, and its findings can inform the ongoing reevaluation of SNAP policy design and enrich the theoretical understandings of how welfare programs affect family interactions.

Methods: Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we exploited the temporal and state variations in SNAP policy rules to employ an instrumental variables method. The sample included children in households with income below 130% of the federal poverty line and whose guardian has a high school degree or less.

Results: Our results indicate that SNAP participation reduced parenting stress for guardians of children aged 0–17 years. In addition, we found evidence that SNAP participation reduced levels of parental engagement in families with children aged 0–11 years. The statistical significance of the findings can be sensitive to sample or model specifications, yet the effect directions are robust.

Conclusion: Although SNAP participation played a role in reducing parenting stress, its benefits did not translate into parental engagement with children, and the requirements of food preparation may crowd out time for parental engagement. In reforming the food assistance program, policy makers should consider relaxing the program restrictions or boosting the benefit levels to strengthen support for low-income parents raising children.