Chunk #97 — Theory of Heightened Risk of Drinking and Problems among Low-Income African American Men — Access to Standard Life Reinforcers — African American men versus African American women
TANF requirements state that “failure to participate in work requirements can result in reduction or termination of family benefits.” Participation in work requirements involves demonstrable efforts to find and maintain employment. Sobriety surely facilitates efforts to maintain employment, both in the short-term to retain TANF benefits and in the long-term once TANF assistance is finished. Indeed, empirical findings have supported the claim that TANF assistance and employment are related to reduced substance use (Corman, Dave, Richman, & Das, 2010). Thus, it appears that poor African American women face different circumstances with respect to both access to SLRs and incentives for sobriety than do poor African American men.
