US lawmakers discontinued the expanded child tax credit payments over concerns that parents were using the money to buy drugs. However, a new study contradicts that argument.
A group of researchers, led by the University of Pittsburg's J. Travis Donahoe, examined drug use trends among over 40,000 parents and nonparents in 2021, particularly around the six months when the US government sent out monthly child tax credit payments of up to $300 per child.
The study, published on JAMA Network, found that the use of alcohol and other illicit substances did not increase after parents received child tax payments. In fact, alcohol use decreased from 56.2% to 51.5% after the $300 checks were sent out.
Apart from a decrease in alcohol use, the report also found tobacco and cigarette use fell from 17.6% to 16% following the child tax credit payments.
Study on Child Tax Credit and Parents' Substance Use
The researchers also analyzed the "number of days of use" of parents who received the checks. The "number of days of use" refers to the average number of days within the past 30 days (the 30-day period preceding the survey) that individuals in the study reported using a particular substance.
Cigarette use saw a slight decrease of 0.1 days, with parents reporting an average of 22.4 days of smoking before receiving the payments, compared to 22.3 days within the six months the government was sending out checks.
The trend was also seen in the number of days of use of other substances, including alcohol (7.8 to 7.4 days), cannabis (17.9 to 17.2), and illicit drugs (10.6 to 8.3).
What Do the Findings Mean?
The study's findings contradict arguments from US lawmakers, especially then-Sen. Joe Manchin, who believed parents spent the payments on drugs, HuffPost reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
His comments came even after a study from the US Census Bureau found that three in 10 families spent the monthly payments to pay their school expenses, and one in four used the extra money to cover childcare expenses.
Other parents also reported using the childcare payments for basic needs such as food, utilities, rent, and clothing.
