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PubMed1999

Shifting family definitions: the effect of cohabitation and other nonfamily household relationships on measures of poverty.

The current official poverty measure compares income to needs within a family. Some have suggested including cohabiting couples as part of this family. Others have suggested that the household be used as the unit of analysis for poverty measurement. I explore issues involved in expanding the unit of analysis, including the stability of cohabiting and other nonfamily household relationships and the degree of resource sharing that takes place among different types of people within households. Instability in households with nonfamily members is not a serious problem for inferring poverty from cross-sectional studies. On the other hand, income from people in nonfamily household roles contributes slightly less to helping other household members avoid financial hardship, implying that nonfamily housemates have a greater tendency to keep income to themselves.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Workshop 3 (synthesis): water, poverty alleviation and social programs.

Poverty is a complex issue, which must be understood in a holistic manner. Low and variable income is certainly a key element, but it is far from enough to portray poverty. The various characteristics of poverty and their relative strength are determined through contextually specific circumstances, in terms of history, environmental preconditions, socio-cultural traits, etc. Much of this context is made up of local and national circumstances. The consequences of globalisation must, however, increasingly to be taken into account. At a larger scale, it is also relevant to mention that climate change will have a negative, although largely unpredictable, impact for the people in some parts of the world. For those who are already living on marginal lands or who are exposed to water problems, climate change is likely to create considerable adverse effects.

Environment↗
PubMed2005

Water and the other three revolutions needed to end rural poverty.

Eight hundred million of the current 1.1 billion people who earn less than a dollar-a-day live in rural areas in developing countries. Since more than 550 million of them earn their living from agriculture, poverty eradication depends on increasing their income from farming. The millennium goals for hunger and poverty in the semi-arid tropics will not be met without four simultaneous revolutions. A revolution in water is needed to develop and mass disseminate a whole range of new affordable small plot irrigation technology. A revolution in agriculture is required to enable smallholders to produce a variety of high value marketable labor intensive cash crops. A revolution in markets is needed to open access to inputs and to profitable markets for their high value crops, incorporating effective strategies for aggregation, quality control, and decentralized added value processing. Finally, a revolution in design based on the ruthless pursuit of affordability is needed to support the other three revolutions. This paper describes the rapidly growing micro-irrigation revolution exemplified by the 250 million dollars in new net annual income now being earned by Treadle Pump farmers, and outlines the key features of the other three revolutions required to meet millennium poverty goals.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2006

Advancing maternal age and infant birth weight among urban African Americans: the effect of neighborhood poverty.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine whether neighborhood poverty modifies the relationship between maternal age and infant birth weight among urban African Americans. DESIGN: Stratified analyses were performed on the vital records of African Americans born in Chicago by means of 1992-1995 computerized birth file with appended 1990 US Census income and 1995 Chicago Department of Public Health data. Four neighborhood-level variables (low median family income, high rates of unemployment, homicide, and lead poisoning) were analyzed. SETTING: This is a population-based study. RESULTS: Twenty-one percent (n=21,811) of women resided in nonimpoverished neighborhoods (zero ecologic risk factors); 23% (n=24,914) of women lived in extremely impoverished neighborhoods (four ecologic risk factors). In nonimpoverished neighborhoods, 30-34 year old women had a moderately low birth weight (1500-2499 g) rate of 13.9% compared to 10.3% for women aged 20-24 years; risk difference (95% confidence interval [CI])=3.5 (2.2-4.6). In contrast, extremely impoverished women aged 30-34 years had a moderately low birth weight rate of 19.8% compared to 11.8% for women aged 20-24 years; risk difference (95% CI)=7.7 (6.1-9.3). This trend persisted among women who received early prenatal care and were primagravids or of low parity. Neighborhood poverty did not modify the association of advancing maternal age and the risk of very low birth weight (<1500 g). CONCLUSIONS: Neighborhood poverty accelerates the rise in moderately low birth weight but not very low birth weight; rates were associated with advancing maternal age among urban African Americans.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Early childbearing and poverty: implications for social services.

Economic problems are among the most adverse consequences associated with early childbearing. This paper looks at various social services to determine whether current services are assisting teenage mothers who liver at or below the poverty line to move toward greater productivity and self-sufficiency in adulthood. The results of a national survey of public social services to teenage mothers show that not only are current services inadequate, but are lacking in areas which are directly related to the future economic well-being of early child-bearing females. Public social services appear to be ineffectual in alleviating the conditions that lead to poverty, namely deficits connected with education, employment, home management and family planning. Black and Hispanic teenage mothers were found to be at highest risk of poverty conditions due to their greater dependence on public agencies. The implications of these service deficiencies are discussed in relation to the future economic welfare of these teenage mothers and the need for a restructuring of social services in the traditional child welfare sector.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Height distributions of U.S. children: associations with race, poverty status and parental size.

The stature of children, relative to that of a reference population, is often used as a measure of the nutritional status of a population. But while undernourished children are often small in stature, all small-statured children cannot be assumed to be undernourished as a wide range of hereditary, socioeconomic and health factors also influence growth processes. The distribution of heights of 3850 "healthy" U.S. children 1-11 years of age who participated in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a probability sample of the U.S. population, have been examined in relation to age- and sex-specific reference medians, and in relation to race, family income, and height of their parents. The distribution of heights of black children was shifted to the right (i.e., taller) of that of white children (Index of Dissimilarity = 7.9%). The distribution of heights of children of above poverty level income families was shifted to the right of that of children of below poverty level income families (Index of Dissimilarity = 8.4%). In both races, and with family incomes both above and below the poverty income level, the distribution of heights of children of tall parents was shifted to the right of that of children of short parents (Index of Dissimilarity = 20.25%). We concluded that parental stature, economic conditions and race must be considered in interpreting the growth of children in all societies, and before concluding that nutritional factors are the major determinants of short stature.

Black People↗
PubMed1994

Early indications of resilience and their relation to experiences in the home environments of low birthweight, premature children living in poverty.

The caregiving environment experienced by 243 premature, low birthweight (LBW) children living in poverty was examined to determine whether the quality of care such children receive affords them some measure of protection from the generally deleterious consequences of poverty and prematurity. Only 26 children were identified as functioning in the normal range for cognitive, social/adaptive, health, and growth parameters at age 3. These children, who showed early signs of resiliency, differed from nonresilient children in that they were receiving more responsive, accepting, stimulating, and organized care. They were also living in safer, less crowded homes. 6 "protective" aspects of caregiving were identified and used as part of a cumulative protection index. Children with less than 3 protective aspects of caregiving present at age 1 had only a 2% probability of being resilient, and only a 6% probability if fewer than 3 were present at age 3. Overall, premature LBW children born into conditions of poverty have a very poor prognosis of functioning within normal ranges across all the dimensions of health and development assessed. However, those raised in a setting with 3 or more protective factors were more likely to show early signs of resiliency.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

Urban poverty and the family context of delinquency: a new look at structure and process in a classic study.

This paper reanalyzes data from the Gluecks classic study of 500 delinquents and 500 nondelinquents reared in low-income neighborhoods of central Boston. Based on a general theory of informal social control, we propose a 2-step hypothesis that links structure and process: family poverty inhibits family processes of informal social control, in turn increasing the likelihood of juvenile delinquency. The results support the theory by showing that (1) erratic, threatening, and harsh discipline, (2) low supervision, and (3) weak parent-child attachment mediate the effects of poverty and other structural factors on delinquency. We also address the potential confounding role of parental and childhood disposition. Although difficult children who display early antisocial tendencies do disrupt family management, as do antisocial and unstable parents, mediating processes of informal social control still explain a large share of variance in adolescent delinquency. Overall, the results underscore the indirect effects of structural contexts like family poverty on adolescent delinquency within disadvantaged populations. We note implications for current debates on race, crime, and the "underclass" in urban America.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Families in poverty.

This article discusses facts and myths about families in poverty. As the poverty rate among women and children has risen, more frequent encounters have occurred between needy families and nurses in the community. Information is presented that will help nurses better to understand poverty in the context of health care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The influence of OASDI and SSI payments on the poverty status of families with children.

This is the second of two articles on the effects of Old-Age Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments on the poverty status of children. Based primarily on a data file from the 1990 SIPP matched with Social Security Administration (SSA) administrative records, the principal findings in the article are that: (1) the families of children who were entitled to survivors benefits, and in particular those families in which the surviving parent was remarried, were much less likely to have income below the poverty threshold than other families with children who received OASDI benefits; (2) families with a child eligible for SSI payments, and headed by a single adult, received considerably less income from earnings, and had less income overall, than other families with children that received SSI payments; and (3) the primary reason that some families who received OASDI and SSI benefits remained in poverty was the absence of any employed family member.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The age of extremes: concentrated affluence and poverty in the twenty-first century.

Urbanization, rising income inequality, and increasing class segregation have produced a geographic concentration of affluence and poverty throughout the world, creating a radical change in the geographic basis of human society. As the density of poverty rises in the environment of the world's poor, so will their exposure to crime, disease, violence, and family disruption. Meanwhile the spatial concentration of affluence will enhance the benefits and privileges of the rich. In the twenty-first century the advantages and disadvantages of one's class position will be compounded and re-inforced through ecological mechanisms made possible by the geographic concentration of affluence and poverty, creating a deeply divided and increasingly violent social world.

Crime↗
PubMed1997

Ageing and poverty in rural Kenya: community perception.

Poverty is widespread among rural African elderly and associated with poor health and unsatisfactory access to health care. The purpose of this study was to determine community perception of the poorest in a community in rural Kenya, more specifically to identify factors considered by community members as associated with poverty in their midst. There is need to protect the aged members of the society from payment for health care and to include them in decision-making process. This study was undertaken in seven sites in Kisumu and Homa Bay districts in western Kenya where the Bamako Initiative was first launched, in 1987, calling on UNICEF and WHO to help accelerate the implementation of primary health care at district level, giving priority to women and children. Two household interview baseline surveys comprising 210 and 87 households, respectively, corroborated by the more qualitative approaches of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and focus group discussions were conducted. This article analyses the importance of ageing as perceived by the communities as a factor associated with poverty.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

The relationship of individual and family factors to the psychological well-being of junior high school students living in urban poverty.

This study examined the contribution of individual and family factors to psychological adjustment in a sample of junior high school students living in urban poverty. Identity development and perceived parental treatment were hypothesized to serve as mediating, or protective, factors between economic hardship and levels of self-esteem, depression, and loneliness. Consistent with the hypotheses, identity development did serve as a mediator between poverty and psychological adjustment. While perceived parental treatment was not related to economic hardship, it was clearly associated with well-being in this sample. Findings are discussed in terms of the differing contributions of family and individual development, as well as the importance of mediators in assessing the effects of poverty on young adolescents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Vaccination coverage by race/ethnicity and poverty level among children aged 19-35 months--United States, 1997.

The goals of the Childhood Immunization Initiative (CII) for 1996 were to have > or =90% of children receive three or more doses of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccine/diphtheria and tetanus toxoids (DTP/DT), poliovirus vaccine, and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib) and one dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, and for > or =70% of children to receive three or more doses of hepatitis B vaccine. The National Immunization Survey (NIS) was undertaken as part of the CII to monitor vaccination coverage levels for each state and for 28 urban areas. This report presents coverage estimates by race/ethnicity and poverty level for 1997 and compares coverage estimates for 1995 and 1997; the findings indicate improvements in vaccination coverage levels among children living below poverty level although these levels were lower than levels among children living at or above poverty level.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1987

Women and poverty: a demographic overview.

In the current debate about causes and cures for poverty, much attention is given to women. Women are more likely than men to be poor, and once impoverished, to remain poor for longer periods of time than do men. In addition, a much greater responsibility for raising the next generation of adults belongs to poor women than to poor men. No individual policy response will alleviate poverty among women. Rather, a multi-faceted policy response that recognizes the wide diversity of their situations is necessary. This paper describes the diversity among poor women and suggests a series of appropriate policies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Material-specific episodic memory associates of the psychomotor poverty syndrome in schizophrenia.

INTRODUCTION: Episodic memory deficits consistently correlate with the presence of negative symptoms in schizophrenia, suggesting overlap between the underlying neural systems. Functional neuroimaging and lesion studies suggest that prefrontal hypoactivity may underlie both. The purpose of the present study was to further characterise this association in terms of functional lateralisation. A more pronounced association between psychomotor poverty and verbal memory deficits would suggest more left prefrontal overlap than right, and vice-versa for a more pronounced association with nonverbal memory deficits. METHODS: A total of 68 inpatients (48 males, 20 females) diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated in this study. We evaluated the correlation between verbal and nonverbal memory performance (assessed using the RAVLT and BVMT, respectively) and psychomotor poverty (assessed using the SSPI). RESULTS: A trend towards a more pronounced association for nonverbal compared to verbal material was not upheld by conservative statistical testing. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral prefrontal overlap between psychomotor poverty and episodic memory is the most conservative interpretation of these data.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Poverty, Socioeconomic Change, Institutional Anomie, and Homicide.

Objective. This study examined institutional anomie theory in the context of transitional Russia. Methods. We employed an index of negative socioeconomic change and measures of family, education, and polity to test the hypothesis that institutional strength conditions the effects of poverty and socioeconomic change on homicide rates. Results. As expected, the results of models estimated using negative binomial regression show direct positive effects of poverty and socioeconomic change and direct negative effects of family strength and polity on regional homicide rates. There was no support, however, for the hypothesis that stronger social institutions reduce the effects of poverty and socioeconomic change on violence. Conclusions. We interpret these results in the Russia-specific setting, concluding that Russia is a rich laboratory for examining the effects of social change on crime and that empirical research in other nations is important when assessing the generalizability of theories developed to explain crime and violence in the United States.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Poverty and Health: Debt Relief Could Help Achieve Human Rights Objectives.

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly emphasizes health as a human right. Poverty and social exclusion are the most important drivers of ill-health. The causes of increasing poverty are complex but one significant factor is international debt. This affects mainly sub-Saharan Africa but, with the global economic crisis in South East Asia, may spread. Structural adjustment policies which cut social spending compound the health effects of debt and poverty. Privatization of health care and user charges particularly affect women, children, the disabled, and other marginalized communities. To improve health, governments and international institutions have a duty to examine the determinants of health, including human rights and economic policy.

Journal Article↗