Co-Occurring Structural Risks in Adolescence: The Independent Effects of Caregiver Hardship and CPS Involvement on Young Adult Material Well-Being

Abstract

Research typically examines Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement as a consequence of poverty rather than testing whether institutional contact represents an independent pathway to material hardship. Using prospective data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 2,868), this study examined whether caregiver material hardship and CPS involvement during adolescence are independently associated with material well-being during emerging adulthood. We measured caregiver hardship across food, housing, medical, and utility domains and young adult material deprivation 7 years later. Multivariate regression models revealed that both caregiver hardship (β = 0.124, p < .001) and CPS involvement (β = 0.310, p = .025) are independently associated with young adult material hardship, confirmed through structural equation modeling. Results advance Life Course Theory by demonstrating that institutional contact during adolescence operates as a distinct structural inflection point compounding vulnerability independent of familial poverty. Child welfare policies must account for how surveillance itself generates lasting material hardship during the transition to adulthood.