Single mothers are more likely to experience mental health problems and stress-related negative health behaviors than their married counterparts, but a more generous safety net may improve these outcomes. We use a simulated safety net eligibility approach that accounts for interactions across safety net programs and relies on changing policies across states and time to identify causal effects of safety net generosity on psychological distress and risky behaviors of single mothers. Results suggest that a more generous safety net is protective of maternal mental health: a $1,000 increase to the simulated potential combined cash and food benefit package reduces severe psychological distress by 8.4 percent. Breaking out effects by individual programs while still controlling for potential benefits from other programs, we find protective effects of tax credits, cash benefits provided by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and food benefits provided by Supplemental Nutritional Assistance, but no effects of Medicaid eligibility. The effects are primarily driven by single mothers with the lowest levels of education. We find no significant effects of generosity on daily smoking, but we find evidence that benefits reduce the likelihood of heavy drinking. Results suggest that government investments in resources available to low-income families can be effective at improving well-being.

中文翻译：

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安全网慷慨对孕产妇心理健康和危险健康行为的影响

与已婚母亲相比，单身母亲更有可能出现心理健康问题和与压力相关的负面健康行为，但更慷慨的安全网可能会改善这些结果。我们使用模拟安全网资格方法，该方法考虑了安全网计划之间的相互作用，并依赖于各州和时间之间不断变化的政策来确定安全网慷慨对单身母亲的心理困扰和危险行为的因果影响。结果表明，更慷慨的安全网可以保护孕产妇的心理健康：模拟潜在的现金和食品福利组合增加 1,000 美元，可以减少 8.4% 的严重心理困扰。打破单个计划的影响，同时仍然控制其他计划的潜在收益，我们发现税收抵免、贫困家庭临时援助提供的现金福利以及补充营养援助提供的食品福利具有保护作用，但医疗补助资格没有影响。其影响主要是由受教育程度最低的单亲母亲造成的。我们发现慷慨对日常吸烟没有显着影响，但我们发现有证据表明慷慨可以降低酗酒的可能性。结果表明，政府对低收入家庭可用资源的投资可以有效改善福祉。我们发现慷慨对日常吸烟没有显着影响，但我们发现有证据表明慷慨可以降低酗酒的可能性。结果表明，政府对低收入家庭可用资源的投资可以有效改善福祉。我们发现慷慨对日常吸烟没有显着影响，但我们发现有证据表明慷慨可以降低酗酒的可能性。结果表明，政府对低收入家庭可用资源的投资可以有效改善福祉。