Ex-Offenders, Family Relations, and Economic Supports: The “Significant Women” Study of the TARP Project

This article offers additional information from the Transitional Aid Research Project. From interviews with 198 “significant women” of the male, ex-offender TARP participants, payments were found to be either unrelated or negatively associated with the financial contributions and employment of the men. Payments were also found to be negatively associated with the aspects of companionship and with home management activities. The reports did indicate, however, that payments may have made a successful impact on the husband ex-offenders who were returning to their wives. This was consistent from the reports of the wives. The article also bears on the recent exchange between Zeisel (1982) and Rossi et al. (1982) on the interpretations of the success of TARP financial payments.