Social Poverty
Poverty is the lack of economic resources that has adverse social consequences; this lack of income and productive resources risks that individuals and households will sustain their livelihoods. Social poverty includes hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other essential services, and also social discrimination (Berliner, 2013). Individuals who grow up in low-income families will most likely earn less income and have fewer opportunities to complete and finish school and consequently remain poor as adults. People who finished college but come from a low socio-economic status SES background will have lower earnings and occupational status than college graduates from high SES backgrounds. According to Berliner, the lack of acquired finances for even the middle class may limit the ability of their children to secure middle-class status (Berliner, 2013). Many parents use their money to facilitate and gain acceptance into high-quality neighborhoods and schools and to help their children get a start in life by paying for college and later become homeowners. My occupational goal is to become a social worker. I am interested in the problems of social poverty, and therefore I want to research how poverty limits people’s chances in life and how to improve this situation.
Social poverty is a prime contributor to many social problems, including increased rates of mental illness, physical health, drug use, imprisonment rates, school drop-out rates, teenage pregnancy rates, child malnutrition, and also decreased rates of social mobility. Owens opines that considerations of how people achieve social mobility, academic achievement, educational attainment, employment, economic independence, and homeownership are signs of social affluence (Owens, 2015). Race and societal class together affect opportunities where people live, whom they are associated with, how racial and class-related stigma impacts them, and victimization of circumstance. These circumstances hinder the poor and under-privileged youth and their families from functioning well in society compared to well-off families. Thus, the poor get inadequate representation, and they directly affect the economy and social lives of the community. Learning is very hard for low-income families with children because they experience constant hardship at home and attend inadequate school. According to Hardaway, overhauling the nations’ institutions and classes to increase the involvement of the poor in civic life is needed to address the issues of income disparity and poverty, which can impact other social problems resulting from poverty (Hardaway, 2009). Education, a hard service to come by for needy families, is considered the most successful in raising poverty levels and ultimately eradicating it.
People, social groups, and institutions are in direct competition for limited resources and control of the social system. According to Babbie (2015), the conflict paradigm argues that domination and power shape the social order. People with wealth and power tend to suppress those people who are powerless and weak. Conflict theory assumes that individuals who have the same interests, live in a particular community in conflict with one another to attain and enjoy their rights. They are in a constant battle against each other and create coalitions that help them gain control and access resources. Competing groups, usually divided by class, political affiliation, and economic status, a contest for authority. This theory translates to a real society where divisions of class leave poor people to fight to provide for their family and to get basic needs.
Poverty is one of the most pressing socio-economic problems around the world, especially in third-world countries, where there is a higher percentage of the population who is financially insecure and socially-challenged. Individuals who come from low-income families are more likely to remain poor even after they finished their education. The possible reasons that they stay poor might be the lack of support from the government, fewer work opportunities, under-privilege, historical inequalities, oppression, and structural barriers to access education. Most poor people don’t have access to scholarships, thus prevent others from continuing their schooling. According to Vandercasteele, the worst-case scenario is that they will lose their confidence to take risks in their life in the future (Vandecasteele, 2015). The restrains caused by poverty may lead them to despair and only aggravates their debt, and they may result in unlawful acts.
Social poverty will not only affect the social status and lower classes, but it will also affect their mental health, performance in school, and vision for the future. When an individual is weak, they seek sustenance from other people, their communities, and governmental programs. A poor person might, seeing little chance of getting ahead by legal means, consider criminal activity like stealing, selling drugs, or operating a business on the black market. The community has a vital role in one’s life; however, other people tend to dominate others due to lack of supplies such as essential commodities, food, water, and sanitary supplies like feminine hygiene products. The conflicts of social poverty are in offices, schools, or even in their own homes where people will try to dominate and control threats to their job, social privileges, and overall way of life. Nevertheless, in times of crisis, helping each other is essential in the lowest social classes where poverty is real and rampant. One can see that social poverty is an obstacle for poor people to rise in the social ranks, but it cannot hinder the most determined individual from growing from its social status.
Qualitative research is the analysis of evaluating non-numerical social research data.
In their research, Roy et al. (2019), employ a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods are evident in the group discussions held to allow the youth to reflect on issues important to them while longitudinal data of reports from a sample of predominantly African American and Latino adolescents living in the Chicago area (Roy et al., 2019). The study uses a large sample of 461 youth, evidencing its quantitative methods of research.
Quantitative research methods analyze data recorded in numerical form.
Quantification is the process of converting gathered scientific data in any form of numerical codes. (Babbie 2015.). Peiyun Shei and Livermore’s research uses quantitative methods. The study uses longitudinal and statistical data from a survey of income and programs participation in the period 1996 to 1999 (Peiyun She and Livermore, 2009). In her research, Owens (2015) uses national longitudinal data to evaluate the success of assisted housing in reducing poverty concentration. Hardaway’s research uses quantitative data collection methods, including interviews and questionnaires that cover the study parameters and variables. Stampini et al.’s (2016) analysis equally uses quantitative methods, using a sample size of 216 household surveys. The numerical data is analyzed in a series of calculations to approximate percentages representative of a large population.
Poverty is an ethical issue in itself, and some methods do raise some ethical questions.
Ethical considerations in poverty studies include; informed consent, confidentiality, time consciousness, the benefit of the research to the study samples. Children and adults living in abject poverty may not want to reveal their identities, and researchers need to provide a guarantee of confidentially. I noticed that Roy et al.’s (2019) research involves a sample of minors, and they do not mention consent forms obtained from parents and guarantees of confidentiality. People living in poverty are always on the move to find ways to provide for their families, researchers, therefore, need to be aware of the time they take to administer research instruments. Concerns of the benefits of the conducted research will always arise; the researcher, therefore, should prepare targeted research that benefits the subjects directly or indirectly.
With my aspirations to become a social worker, various methods used in this research are helpful for me to gain an insurmountable wealth of knowledge in my education and profession later on. Assessing poverty levels requires factual data to avoid speculation and inaccurate conclusions. The quantitative method is a popular technique of study, and I intend to use it in my research. Data gathering and analysis of this data are what we do at school here, and to be proficient in these areas, I have to utilize all and every available method to perform well in my respective field of endeavor, in this case, sociology. I will also make ethical considerations required to ensure the integrity and privacy of the selected sample.
Researchers are concerned with several facades of poverty and concur or disagree about some of them. Discussions of race and ethnic parameters are especially popular. According to Hardaway and McLoyd, wealth is a source of inequality, and African Americans experience poverty in a very different way (Hardaway and McLoyd, 2009). Many studies do not acknowledge affluent African Americans and associate African Americans with deprivation. Lawson and Elwood agree with this analogy as they accept the existing differences in poverty across class and gender lines (Lawson and Elwood, 2014). They acknowledge the uniqueness of the poverty experience of women and minorities. Class difference dictates social interaction and also determine the understanding of poverty.
Characteristics of families and people living in poverty seem to be a consensual agreement between several researchers. Berliner (2013) associates poverty with social problems, mental illness, school- dropout rates, teenage births, and high imprisonment rates. Similarly, Roy et al.’s research reveal that teenagers express greater exposure to violence and crime in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty (Roy et al., 2019). Roy additionally coincides with findings of racial and ethnic variances in the experience of poverty. The youth, particularly from minority ethnic groups, express community violence, and discrimination in society. Timmons and Grady (2020) have the same opinion when it comes to the characteristics of deprived families. These families have life experiences of violence, and their children are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities.
The state of poverty presents almost similarly in several studies and literature reviews. In addition to the critical life events that are high predictors of poverty, Vandercasteele (2015), identifies the role of social class in poverty transitions. The middle class is at the risk of falling back into poverty, even in their struggle to transition. According to Stampini et al., chronic poverty remains widespread, and more so within the middle class (Stampini et al., 2016). Social class divisions draw clear lines between the poor and the rich. This divide is evident in neighborhood development and partition. As Owen (2015) opines, there is a standing inequality between neighborhoods in the United States. Programs to deconcentrate poverty are funded by private organizations and often target low-poverty communities. According to Musterd et al., resent poverty studies have shown the spatial elements of poverty in the segregation of neighborhoods and social exclusion of destitute families (Musterd et al., 2016). Biggar and Hood (2018), even term social inequality, homelessness, and poverty as America’s wicked problems. Scholars also recognize the existence of penury within schools and the detrimental effects that come with it. Smyth et al. (2018), explains that children from low-income families were consistent in underachievement in school. Pressures of their home environment do not allow for smooth sailing through school. Books (2014), matches with Smyth’s analogy and presents the cases of poverty in American schools. The education system downplays the weight of poverty, homelessness and poverty, and their effects on performance.
Peiyun She and Livermore (2009) present a different opinion and introduce a new variable in the study of poverty. They explore the relationship between disability and poverty. The findings of their research show that people living with disabilities experience higher rates of poverty. These rates are a result of society’s constant belief that people with disabilities cannot work without assistance. Bullock et al. also present a new view through the psychological looking glass (Bullock, 2011). They advocate for the understanding of poverty in the psychology association, which is necessary for the proper development of plans to elevate people from poverty and eradicate poverty.
Knowing the poverty situation in the country and its surrounding parameters is not enough. Scholars recommend appropriate remedies, policies, and programs that target reduction or eradication of poverty. Expansion of research into studies of effects of wealth on opportunities for advancement and life chances along racial and class lines will give insight into a balance of wealth and reduce division between races and social classes. Biggar and Hood (2018) propose social innovation and action to solve economic and social inequalities. The government and personal initiatives to reform schools and increase rates of participation in structured extracurricular activities will ensure that children access social learning as well as formal education (Berliner, 2013). Making considerations in government policies and the law will improve the school experiences of children from low-income families. Training provides them with a chance to advance in a safe and less threatening way of life. Roy et al. (2019) also advise that society should listen to the youth and involve them in affecting change through sociopolitical participation. According to Owens, the focus of poverty interventions should be on high-poverty areas for them to elicit desired results of poverty reduction and integration of neighborhoods (Owens, 2015). Education and involvement of other professionals such as psychologists will help in relieving the effects of poverty on children, needy families, and people with disabilities who may experience more than just economic constraints of poverty (Bullock et al., 2011). One cannot ignore the effects of poverty on mental and physical health. Without addressing such issues, lack of cooperation, and unwillingness by the people to implement these interventions, hinder the progress of any responses.
I would recommend that additional measures that separate groups that are at risk accompany those provided by scholars. Young people, children, people with disabilities, and other minority groups often require unique considerations in many sectors of society. As noted earlier, their experience of living with poverty is not the same as that of people living considerably healthy lives. They require specialized interventions that consider their unique characteristics and experience. I would also recommend targeted and need-based assessments that differentiate urban and rural poverty levels that will help to curate policies and programs that reduce social class division and raise poverty levels.
Community-based programs that encourage interaction between social classes reduce the rigid barrier between groups and foster sharing and uplifting of families in destitute. I would also recommend rehabilitation programs to help young people and adults who have fallen victim to crime and violence regain social and moral values. Such rehabilitation programs will be accompanied by economic interventions that will help them make an honest living. Poverty and social class separation required cooperation from communities and the government to ensure success and effectiveness. As a social worker, reaching out to needy families in rural areas and changing their lives would be my focus as they are the least identified and receive the least interventions. Such endeavors would significantly impact my educational and, subsequently, occupational goals in the field of social work.
Scholars conduct countless research projects on the relationship between poverty and class. Findings have pointed to high levels of privation that lead to a strict and impenetrable barrier between the rich and the poor. Affluent neighborhoods are characterized by peace, covetable resources, and bright futures for their children, while the poor deal with crime, drug use, subsequent poverty for offspring, and disease. There are, however, ways to improve poverty levels in the country and increase interaction between affluent and poor regions. Implementing community-based policies, improving housing in poor neighborhoods, among others, are strategies that aim at improving the lives of low-income families. There is a need for more plans, however, to increase successful results.
References
Babbie, Earl. 2015. Observing Ourselves: Essays in Social Research. 2nd ed. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press
Berliner, D. (2013). Inequality, Poverty, and the Socialization of America’s Youth for the Responsibilities of Citizenship. Theory Into Practice, 52(3), 203–209.
Biggar, A., & Hood, A. (2018). Our Guest Editor. Solving America’s “wicked problems” through social innovation and action. Generations, 42(2), 4–5.
Books, S. (2004). Poverty and schooling in the US: Contexts and consequences. Routledge.
Bullock, H. E., Lott, B., & Truong, S. V. (2011). SPSSI and Poverty: Reflections at Seventy-Five. Journal of Social Issues, 67(1), 150–164.
Hardaway, C., & McLoyd, V. (2009). Escaping Poverty and Securing Middle-Class Status: How Race and Socioeconomic Status Shape Mobility Prospects for African Americans During the Transition to Adulthood. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 38(2), 242–256.
Lawson, V., & Elwood, S. (2014). Encountering Poverty: Space, Class, and Poverty Politics. Antipode, 46(1), 209–228
McCaslin-Timmons, J., & Grady, M. (2020). Lifelong Effects of Poverty.
Musterd, S., Murie, A., & Kesteloot, C. (2016). Neighborhoods OF POVERTY. Palgrave Macmillan.
Owens, A. (2015). Housing Policy and Urban Inequality: Did the Transformation of Assisted Housing Reduce Poverty Concentration? Social Forces, 94(1), 325–348.
Peiyun She, & Livermore, G. A. (2009). Long-Term Poverty and Disability Among Working-Age Adults. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 19(4), 244–256.
Roy, A. L., Raver, C. C., Masucci, M. D., & DeJoseph, M. (2019). “If they focus on giving us a chance in life, we can actually do something in this world”: Poverty, inequality, and youths’ critical consciousness. Developmental Psychology, 55(3), 550–561.
Smyth, J., Wrigley, T., & McInerney, P. (2018). Living on the edge: Rethinking poverty, class and schooling. Peter Lang.
Stampini, M., Robles, M., Sáenz, M., Ibarrarán, P., & Medellín, N. (2016). Poverty, vulnerability, and the middle class in Latin America. Latin American Economic Review, 25(1), 4.
Vandecasteele, L. (2015). Social Class, Life Events and Poverty Risks in Comparative European Perspective. International Review of Social Research, 5(1), 61–74.