A new study from the Urban Institute explores whether providing cash transfers to young men at risk of violence exposure can help improve their health and well-being. The results suggest that cash transfers alone reduce risky behaviors for young men at risk of violence exposure. Cash transfers paired with after-school programming also improve the financial health of these young men.
The randomized control trial included young men between the ages of 14 and 17 who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a group with an after-school program combined with a cash transfer that participants received if they attended the first few weeks of programming, an unconditional cash transfer group (without any program requirements), and a control group.
The study posits that receiving a cash transfer plus after-school programming improved the financial health of participants. The young men who participated in the after-school program told the researchers that the programming plus cash transfer helped them avoid the violence of their neighborhoods, stay out of trouble, learn valuable skills, and form meaningful connections.
The study also shows that receiving the cash transfer alone led to a reduction in unhealthy behaviors such as drinking alcohol, using marijuana, taking prescription medication without a prescription, being in a physical fight, carrying a weapon, or using a vapor product. There were no statistically significant differences between either the treatment group and the control group for spending on alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, or other drugs, meaning the treatment groups did not purchase more of these items than the control group.