Mental health treatment and work among African American and Caribbean Black welfare recipients.

Abstract

Untreated depression among Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants greatly reduces chances of securing and holding gainful employment. Logistic regression models were estimated on data describing 1,000 African American and Caribbean Black TANF recipients and 2,123 African American and Caribbean Black non-TANF recipients obtained from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Black TANF participants were more likely than Black non-TANF participants to be depressed and treated. Treatment odds were lower for Caribbean Black than for U.S.-born Black TANF participants. Results indicated that mental health treatment was likely among Black TANF participants if depression was identified. TANF participants working less than full-time did not receive as much treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).