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PubMed2002

Maternal anxiety and depression, poverty and marital relationship factors during early childhood as predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the degree to which symptoms of anxiety and depression at age 14 years are associated with early childhood experience of maternal anxiety and depression, poverty, and mother's marital relationship distress and break-up. METHODS: In a longitudinal study, 4434 families were followed-up from infancy to adolescence. RESULTS: Maternal anxiety and depression during early childhood were found to have small, but significant, influences upon the development of high anxiety-depression symptoms at age 14, after controlling for the effects of poverty and marital relationship factors. This effect was greater with repeated exposure to high maternal anxiety and depression. Poverty, distressed marital relationship and marital break-up during the child's first five years also produced small, but significant, increases in risk of high anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescence. Stable, single-parent status was not found to be a risk factor. There was no evidence of marked gender differences in risk factors, other than poverty, which had a stronger impact for girls than boys. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results suggest that maternal anxiety and depression, poverty, parent relationship conflict and marital break-up during early childhood are associated with small, but significant, increased risk of anxiety-depression symptoms in adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Poverty and the extent of child obesity in Canada, Norway and the United States.

The goal of this paper is to compare the extent of child obesity in Canada, Norway and the United States. As child poverty is an important correlate of child obesity, we wish to examine the potential role of international differences in child poverty in explaining international differences in the extent of child obesity. We use three representative microdata surveys containing parental reports of child height and weight collected in the mid-1990s in Canada, Norway and the US. We calculate both the prevalence and proportional severity of child obesity for 6-11-year-old children in each country, and represent the 'extent' of obesity diagrammatically. Differences in patterns of child poverty are similarly depicted. Obesity extent is also compared for poor and non-poor children in Canada and the US. Finally, child obesity in the three countries is compared using only non-poor children where we find that the extent of child obesity is much lower in Norway than in Canada or the US. The pattern apparent for obesity is remarkably similar to that found for child poverty. In Canada and especially in the US, we find a much greater extent of obesity for poor than non-poor children. However, when we compare only non-poor children in the three countries, although the magnitude of difference is smaller, it remains clear that Norwegian children are much less likely to be obese. Policy and research directed towards reducing the extent of child obesity in both Canada and the US should pay particular attention to issues of child poverty.

Body Height↗
PubMed1998

Poverty, unemployment, and common mental disorders: population based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether poverty and unemployment increase the likelihood of or delay recovery from common mental disorders, and whether these associations could be explained by subjective financial strain. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: England, Wales, and Scotland. SUBJECTS: 7726 adults aged 16-75 living in private households. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Common mental disorders were assessed using the general health questionnaire, a self assessed measure of psychiatric morbidity. RESULTS: Poverty and unemployment (odds ratio 1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.18 to 2.94) were associated with the maintenance but not onset of episodes of common mental disorders. Associations between poverty and employment and maintenance of common mental disorders, however, were much smaller than those of cross sectional studies. Financial strain at baseline was independently associated with both onset (1.57, 1.19 to 2.07) and maintenance (1.86, 1.36 to 2.53) even after adjusting for objective indices of standard of living. CONCLUSIONS: Poverty and unemployment increased the duration of episodes of common mental disorders but not the likelihood of their onset. Financial strain was a better predictor of future psychiatric morbidity than either of these more objective risk factors though the nature of this risk factor and its relation with poverty and unemployment remain unclear.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Social classes and poverty].

Social classes and poverty are two key social determinants fundamental to understand how disease and health inequalities are produced. During the 90's in Spain there has been a notable oscillation in the inequality and poverty levels, with an increase in the middle of the decade when new forms of social exclusion, high levels of unemployment and great difficulties in accessing the labour market, especially for those workers with less resources, emerged. Today society is still characterized by a clear social stratification and the existence of social classes with a predominance of high levels of unemployment and precarious jobs, and where poverty is an endemic social problem much worse than the EU average. To diminish health inequalities and to improve the quality of life will depend very much on the reduction of the poverty levels and the improvement of equal opportunities and quality of employment. To increase understanding of how social class and poverty affect public health, there is a need to improve the quality of both information and research, and furthermore planners and political decision makers must take into account those determinants when undertaking disease prevention and health promotion.

Employment↗
PubMed1993

Poverty and the course of schizophrenia: implications for research and policy.

Interest in the relationship between social class and schizophrenia has diminished in recent years. However, these issues can usefully be reconsidered in light of increased recognition that schizophrenia has a protean course, that deinstitutionalization and community support of persons with schizophrenia are linked to welfare programs, and that conceptualizations and measurements of social class and its impact on the daily life of persons with schizophrenia have been rudimentary. The author examines the role that social class, especially poverty, plays in the course and outcome of schizophrenia. He reviews literature on the contributions of social structure and policy to the economic status of persons with schizophrenia, identifies variables associated with poverty that are found disproportionately among persons with schizophrenia, and examines the psychological significance of those variables. The overview is used to develop three approaches to research: examining the role of the chronic stress of poverty in the vulnerability model of schizophrenia, using poverty as a point of departure for investigation by considering persons with schizophrenia as primarily indigent rather than primarily mentally ill, and delineating how poverty and elements of schizophrenia influence each other.

Causality↗
PubMed2005

Being involved and making a difference: empowerment and well-being among women living in poverty.

BACKGROUND: The relationships between poverty, empowerment, and health are of theoretical and practical interest to nurses, yet few researchers have examined volunteerism in poor communities from a holistic health perspective. PURPOSE: This study explores the experiences of women engaged in community volunteer work in the context of economic poverty. METHOD: Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with 8 women, ages 21 to 77 years, who qualified for federal assistance or self-identified as low-income and were currently involved in volunteer community work. FINDINGS: Participants' stories of being involved and making a difference illustrated women making connections, developing relationships, gaining knowledge and skills, increasing self-esteem and confidence, reaching out to help others, and strengthening communities. CONCLUSION: At both the individual and community level, well-being was enhanced through women's community volunteerism in the context of economic poverty. IMPLICATIONS: At the individual and community levels, well-being was enhanced through women's community volunteerism in the context of economic poverty. From a holistic nursing perspective, the findings provide support for community volunteerism as a health-promoting strategy among women living in economic poverty.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Poverty as a practice issue for learning disability nurses.

People who have a learning disability are vulnerable to poverty. Given that poverty has a negative impact on mental and physical health, this should be an area of concern for learning disability nurses. Historically, however, this is an area of practice which has not received much attention. It is important that learning disability nurses are aware of the impact which poverty can have on the lives of their clients and that they incorporate this understanding into their practice. Interventions which can be implemented at the level of individual clients, groups and society to tackle poverty and its effects are proposed. It is concluded that, at present, little is known about the extent to which such a perspective underpins practice or about the extent to which poverty is addressed in pre- and post- registration educational courses. The need for further research and development is noted.

Health Status↗
PubMed2000

The mechanisms mediating the effects of poverty on children's intellectual development.

Although adverse consequences of poverty for children are documented widely, little is understood about the mechanisms through which the effects of poverty disadvantage young children. In this analysis we investigate multiple mechanisms through which poverty affects a child's intellectual development. Using data from the NLSY and structural equation models, we have constructed five latent factors (cognitive stimulation, parenting style, physical environment, child's ill health at birth, and ill health in childhood) and have allowed these factors, along with child care, to mediate the effects of poverty and other exogenous variables. We produce two main findings. First, the influence of family poverty on children's intellectual development is mediated completely by the intervening mechanisms measured by our latent factors. Second, our analysis points to cognitive stimulation in the home, and (to a lesser extent) to parenting style, physical environment of the home, and poor child health at birth, as mediating factors that are affected by lack of income and that influence children's intellectual development.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Poverty and macroeconomic performance across space, race, and family structure.

We examined the effects of macroeconomic performance and social policy on the extent and depth of poverty in America using state-level panel data from the 1981-2000 waves of the Current Population Survey. We found that a strong macroeconomy at both the state and national levels reduced both the number of families who were living in poverty and the severity of poverty. The magnitude and source of these antipoverty effects, however, were not uniform across family structures and racial groups or necessarily over time. While gains in the eradication of poverty, in general, were tempered by rising wage inequality, simulations indicated that female-headed families and families that were headed by black persons experienced substantial reductions in poverty in the 1990s largely because of the growth in median wages. An auxiliary time-series analysis suggests that the expansions in the federal Earned Income Tax Credit of the 1990s accounted for upward of 50% of the reduction in after-tax income deprivation.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Poverty, demographic growth, and birth control: a critique of Peter Singer s ethical perspective on the relationship between rich and poor].

This article analyzes the relationship between population growth and ethical principles relating to poverty. The paper is a critical approach to the thesis presented by Peter Singer in his book Practical Ethics. The first part briefly examines the principal topics of his thesis. The author then analyzes the basis of Singer's theory with respect to the following questions: 1. Is overpopulation the main reason for poverty? Is it possible to establish an association between the poverty phenomenon and population growth? 2. Is Singer s demographic perspective valid? 3. Can problems of resource distribution be ignored when talking about poverty from an ethical perspective? 4. Is it true that birth control policy was successfully implemented in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil? 5. Does Singer s position on population growth have a negative influence on the "collective imagination"? The paper concludes by suggesting some useful arguments for understanding an ethical perspective towards poverty.

Brazil↗
PubMed1996

The effects of poverty, race, and family structure on US children's health: data from the NHIS, 1978 through 1980 and 1989 through 1991.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the independent and relative effects of family structure, race, and poverty on the health of US children and youth under 20 years of age at two time periods, 1978 through 1980 and 1989 through 1991. METHODS: Data were from the National Health Interview Surveys. Multivariate logit regression methods were used to analyze the effects of family structure, poverty, and race on children's health. RESULTS: Children in families headed by single mothers, Black children, and those living below 150% of the poverty index were much more likely to be in poor or fair health than children in two-parent families, White children, or those in more affluent families. Poverty had the strongest effect on child health in both time periods. CONCLUSIONS: The association between children's health and living below 150% of the poverty index is not explained by race or family structure. The disparity in child health by family income has serious consequences for both the child and society.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Poverty, race/ethnicity, and psychiatric disorder: a study of rural children.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effect of poverty on the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in rural Black and White children. METHODS: A representative sample of 541 Black children and 379 White children aged 9 to 17 was drawn from 4 predominantly rural counties. Structured interviews with parents and children collected information on psychiatric disorders, absolute and relative poverty, and risk factors for psychiatric disorder. RESULTS: Three-month prevalence of psychiatric disorder was similar to that found in other community samples (20%). Federal criteria for poverty were met by 18% of the White and 52% of the Black families. Black and White children were exposed to equal numbers of risk factors overall, but the association between poverty and psychopathology was stronger for White children (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1, 4.2) than for Black children (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 0.9, 2.6). Family history of mental illness, poor parenting, and residential instability mediated this association in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this rural sample, poverty was only weakly associated with child psychiatric disorders. Risk factors for both racial/ethnic groups were family mental illness, multiple moves, lack of parental warmth, lax supervision, and harsh punishment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Poverty, family process, and the mental health of immigrant children in Canada.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the differential effects of poverty on the mental health of foreign-born children, Canadian-born children of immigrant parents, and children of non-immigrant parents. METHODS: Secondary analysis of data from a national Canadian study of children between 4 and 11 years of age was conducted. RESULTS: Compared with their receiving-society counterparts, foreign-born children were more than twice as likely to live in poor families, but they had lower levels of emotional and behavioral problems. The effect of poverty on children's mental health among long-term immigrant and receiving-society families was indirect and primarily mediated by single-parent status, ineffective parenting, parental depression, and family dysfunction. In comparison, the mental health effect of poverty among foreign-born children could not be explained by the disadvantages that poor families often suffer. CONCLUSIONS: Poverty may represent a transient and inevitable part of the resettlement process for new immigrant families. For long-stay immigrant and receiving-society families, however, poverty probably is not part of an unfolding process; instead, it is the nadir of a cycle of disadvantage.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed2003

Relative or absolute standards for child poverty: a state-level analysis of infant and child mortality.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to compare the associations of state-referenced and federal poverty measures with states' infant and child mortality rates. METHODS: Compressed mortality and Current Population Survey data were used to examine relationships between mortality and (1) state-referenced poverty (percentage of children below half the state median income) and (2) percentage of children below the federal poverty line. RESULTS: State-referenced poverty was not associated with mortality among infants or children, whereas poverty as defined by national standards was strongly related to mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Infant and child mortality is more closely tied to families' capacity for meeting basic needs than to relative position within a state's economic hierarchy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The class analysis of poverty: a response to Tony Novak.

In responding to Tony Novak's criticisms of his earlier article "The Class Analysis of Poverty," the author makes four principle points. First, contrary to Novak's views, a class analysis to poverty should define poverty in terms of both income-poverty and asset-poverty. Second, while Novak is correct that the term "underclass" often has a pejorative meaning, it remains an important concept for identifying segments of the population that are deeply oppressed economically, but not exploited. Third, the concepts of class analysis must be elaborated at a variety of levels of abstraction, not simply the highest level of the pure "mode of production," as is implied by Novak's arguments. Finally, class analysis must acknowledge and conceptualize the specific forms of complexity of contemporary class structures, which is impossible if it restricts its class concepts to a simple polarized notion.

Employment↗
PubMed1993

Changes in poverty, income inequality, and the standard of living in the United States during the Reagan years.

The record of economic well-being in the 1980s belied Reagan's claim that Americans would be better off if they scaled back the welfare state and cut tax rates. Though the standard of living rose, its growth was no faster than during 1950-1980. Income inequality increased. The rate of poverty at the end of Reagan's term was the same as in 1980. Cutbacks in income transfers during the Reagan years helped increase both poverty and inequality. Changes in tax policy helped increase inequality but reduced poverty. These policy shifts are not the only reasons for the lack of progress against poverty and the rise in inequality. Broad social and economic factors have been widening income differences and making it harder for families to stay out of poverty. Policy choices during the Reagan Administration reinforced those factors.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1997

Poverty and fatal accidental drug overdoses of cocaine and opiates in New York City: an ecological study.

This ecological study examines the association of the poverty status of urban communities in New York City with their mortality rates of accidental drug overdoses. Mean annual age-adjusted rates of drug overdoses involving cocaine, opiates, or both (n = 1,684) were calculated for each of 59 residential community districts in New York City for 1990-1992. A linear regression analysis was performed to test the association of the mortality rate with the poverty status of the district as measured by the proportion of the district living below the 1989 U.S. poverty line. Poverty status accounted for 69% of the variance in the drug overdose mortality rates of communities (p < .001). This study suggests that mortality rates of overdoses involving cocaine and optiates are significantly associated with the poverty status of communities in New York City.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Baccalaureate nursing students' attitudes toward poverty: implications for nursing curricula.

Given the link between poverty and health, nurses, in their work in hospitals and in the community, often come into contact with people who are poor. To be effective care providers, nurses must have an adequate understanding of poverty and a positive attitude toward people who are poor. This study examined attitudes toward poverty among baccalaureate nursing students (N = 740) at three Canadian universities. Students' attitudes were neutral to slightly positive. Personal experiences appeared to have an important influence on the development of favorable attitudes. The findings point to several considerations for nursing curricula. Students should not only be provided with classroom opportunities for critical exploration of poverty and its negative effects on individuals and society, but also have clinical learning experiences that bring them face-to-face with people who are poor, their health concerns, and the realities of their circumstances. Thoughtful critique of poverty-related issues and interpersonal contact may be effective strategies to foster attitude change.

Adult↗