Exposure of Young Welfare Recipients to Family and Peer Receipt of Welfare and Unemployment Benefits

The current study examined exposure to family and peer receipt of unemployment and general welfare benefits for a sample of 262 unemployed youth between 16 and 24 years of age who were in receipt of social assistance. The findings reveal that exposure to receipt of benefits was most pervasive through peers, with moderate exposure via siblings and minimal exposure via parents. The findings are discussed in relation to existing explanations which suggested that the receipt of benefits is intergenerationally transmitted. It is recommended that future investigations of the cultural transmission of poverty and receipt of benefits include the influence of peers