Cash transfers in adolescence: a developmental perspective

Abstract

Low-income and middle-income countries have increasingly relied on cash transfer programmes to expand social protection among the most poor and vulnerable people. Many of these cash transfer programmes have given cash directly to adolescents to incentivise behaviour that improve a range of health and social outcomes. The evidence for the effectiveness of these programmes has been mixed. Some studies show cash transfer to be effective in promoting desired behaviours among adolescentssuch as school participation and reducing sexually transmitted infections-whereas others find no evidence for an effect. One possible reason for these mixed results is that cash transfer programmes targeting adolescents have not taken into account the many biological, cognitive, and social changes that occur during this transitional period, thus failing to incorporate a developmental perspective in the design.

Strategies and interventions for healthy adolescent growth, nutrition, and development

“…In both HICs and LMICs, economically vulnerable families struggle to provide healthy most regions (69) but globally only a few cash transfer programmes include adolescents in the target group, such as South Africa's Child Support Grant (70). Even without being explicitly targeted towards adolescents, there is good evidence that CTs can be effective in influencing wider adolescent outcomes, including extending schooling, delaying parenthood and reducing HIV risk (71). Emerging evidence suggests that they may also be a powerful tool to support adolescent nutrition in some contexts, with potential to combine healthy meals, micronutrient supplementation with the wider educational and social goals listed above, but current evidence is limited and a potential caveat is that CTs can lead to excess weight gain (71).…”

“…Even without being explicitly targeted towards adolescents, there is good evidence that CTs can be effective in influencing wider adolescent outcomes, including extending schooling, delaying parenthood and reducing HIV risk (71). Emerging evidence suggests that they may also be a powerful tool to support adolescent nutrition in some contexts, with potential to combine healthy meals, micronutrient supplementation with the wider educational and social goals listed above, but current evidence is limited and a potential caveat is that CTs can lead to excess weight gain (71). As with interventions in other sectors, CTs clearly need to be planned as part of an integrated strategy that is designed and evaluated according to local needs and priorities.…”

Potential mechanisms by which cash transfer programmes could improve the mental health and life chances of young people: A conceptual framework and lines of enquiry for research and policy

“…Reduced shame and increased selfesteem may also lead to increased participation in social Click or tap here to enter text. (Bastagli et al, 2019;MacPhail et al, 2018;Pozuelo et al, 2020) and cultural activities and improved confidence and status in peer networks, which hence impact on mental health. Cash transfers are also associated with a reduction in forced child labour (Bastagli et al, 2019), particularly with reduced intensity of labour and/or number of hours worked, which may previously have provided an economic cushion for households.…”

“…In Malawi, young people reported being ashamed to go out in old, tattered clothing and the increased expenditure enabled by cash transfers allowed them to buy clothing and thereby improve self-esteem (Baird et al, 2013 ). Reduced shame and increased self-esteem may also lead to increased participation in social (MacPhail et al, 2018 ; Bastagli et al, 2019 ; Pozuelo et al, 2020 ) and cultural activities and improved confidence and status in peer networks, which hence impact on mental health. Cash transfers are also associated with a reduction in forced child labour (Bastagli et al, 2019 ), particularly with reduced intensity of labour and/or number of hours worked, which may previously have provided an economic cushion for households.…”

Adolescent Health Series: Adolescent neurocognitive development in Western and Sub‐Saharan African contexts

“…Qualitative work suggests that young women living in rural South Africa (13-20 years) are aware of the risks associated with these relationships but may overlook these risks in the pursuit of consumer goods perceived as essential to their sense of self-worth and social status [179,180]. Given that within this cohort low self-esteem was associated with increased engagement in transactional sex [181], interventions are needed which take into account the psychosocial needs of adolescents during this developmental period [182].…”