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PubMed1989

Directions for reducing child poverty.

The rate of child poverty in the United States is higher now than in 1966. Children are the poorest age group and are more likely to be poor than children in other industrial economies. The level and trends in child poverty are analyzed; the major American income support policies for children, including recent reforms of Aid to Families with Dependent Children, are described; and the impact of those policies on poverty are evaluated. Alternate strategies for reducing child poverty, including an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, child support system reforms, and a medical insurance plan, are proposed. Pragmatic, administratively feasible policies exist that can substantially reduce child poverty without significant new government spending.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Effects of poverty on academic failure and delinquency in boys: a change and process model approach.

Using data from the Montreal Longitudinal-Experimental Study, we examined the impact of poverty (and its correlate, family configuration status) on academic placement and self-reported delinquency in boys at age 16. We then investigated whether the relation between family economic hardship and antisocial behaviour is direct or indirect by considering the value of parenting practices and academic failure as process variables in the model. Data included official records, and parent, teacher, and self-reports. The temporal intensity of poverty was classified into five categories: never-poor; always-poor; poor-earlier; poor-later; and transitory-poverty. Family configuration status was classified by both temporal characteristics and number of marital transitions: intact-family; short-term-single; long-term-single; short-term-remarried; long-term-remarried; and multiple-marital-transitions. Results revealed that when maternal education and early childhood behaviour were controlled, poverty had an effect on both academic failure and extreme delinquency. This effect was independent of family configuration status. Although they both significantly predicted extreme delinquency on their own, academic failure and parental supervision did not mediate the relationship between poverty and delinquency. Divorce increased the risk of theft and fighting at age 16, regardless of financial hardship. Parental supervision only helped explain the effects of divorce on boys' fighting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Disability, poverty and development.

Disability is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Eliminating world poverty is unlikely to be achieved unless the rights and needs of people with disabilities are taken into account. According to the United Nations, one person in 20 has a disability. More than three out of four of these live in a developing country. More often than not they are among the poorest of the poor. Recent World Bank estimates suggest they may account for as many as one in five of the world's poorest. Disability limits access to education and employment, and leads to economic and social exclusion. Poor people with disabilities are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty and disability, each being both a cause and a consequence of the other. A large proportion of disability is preventable. Achieving the international development targets for economic, social and human development will undoubtedly reduce the levels of disability in many poor countries. However, general improvements in living conditions will not be enough. Specific steps are still required, not only for prevention, but also to ensure that people with disabilities are able to participate fully in the development process, obtain a fair share of the benefits, and claim their rights as full and equal members of society. An integrated approach is required, linking prevention and rehabilitation with empowerment strategies and changes in attitudes. This paper assesses the significance of disability as a key development issue, and its importance in relation to poverty, human rights, and the achievement of internationally agreed development targets. It also sets out ways in which development co-operation, including DFID's own work, can help incorporate the rights and needs of people with disabilities into the mainstream of poverty reduction work and the achievement of human rights.

Altruism↗
PubMed1998

The poverty of the Czech elderly--myth or reality?

"Poverty among the Czech elderly is considered from two perspectives: objective and subjective. Various indicators of objective poverty are analysed, such as the relation of average monthly income to average old-age pension, pension inequalities, the structure of household expenditures, and the structure of consumer durables ownership, as are representative survey data measuring subjective poverty. It is concluded that from the objective point of view the Czech elderly are as a whole well above subsistence poverty. However, their subjective poverty seems quite far-reaching, affecting between 30 and 50 percent."

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Income growth and future poverty rates of the aged.

This article estimates the effects of 50 years of steady growth in incomes on poverty rates among the elderly. It assumes that the poverty threshold continues to be adjusted for inflation but not for increases in real incomes. Simulations with the March 1998 Current Population Survey indicate that if the benefit rules for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are not changed and if earnings and other sources of income in an otherwise unchanging population grow by 1 percent per year (the intermediate assumption about earnings growth used in the Social Security Trustees' Report), poverty among the elderly will decrease from 10.5 percent in 1997 to about 7.2 percent in 2020 and to 4.1 percent in 2047. These projected poverty rates are quite sensitive to both the assumption about earnings growth and the assumption that benefits are not further reduced to maintain solvency. This article quantifies the sensitivity of the results to these assumptions and discusses several other aspects that might affect future poverty rates--changes in other income components like SSI, earnings, and pensions; changes in longevity and marital patterns; and changes in the distribution of earnings.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Globalization, poverty and women's health: mapping the connections.

Poverty and other forms of inequity undermine individual and population health and retard development. Although absolute poverty has reportedly declined in recent years, research suggests that relative poverty or the gap between the rich and poor within and between countries has been exacerbated over this same period. There is growing concern about the feminization of poverty, and the impact globalization is having on this important social problem. Gender inequality persists in all regions, and women and girls continue to be over-represented among the world's poor. This suggests that women are not consistently benefitting from the economic, political and social gains globalization can offer. Instead, it appears that poor women and girls, particularly those living in developing countries, are disproportionately burdened by the costs of these swift changes to the detriment of their personal health and well-being. Immediate action is needed to correct these disparities and ensure that globalization supports both national and international commitments to poverty reduction, and the, promotion of women's health and human rights.

Developed Countries↗
PubMed2006

Poverty and the economic effects of TB in rural China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the economic effects of illness on individual tuberculosis (TB) cases in rural China and to use a case-control study to show a strong TB-poverty link. SETTING: In 2002-2004 we studied 160 new smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases and 320 age- and sex-matched controls living in neighbouring houses in four rural counties of Henan Province. DESIGN: Cases and controls were interviewed 1-3 months after patients were diagnosed. We used matched multivariate logistic regression to compare cases with controls for poverty status using household income, household assets and relative wealth within the village. We conducted follow-up interviews of patients 10-12 months later to assess economic effects by collecting data on treatment costs, income losses, coping strategies and treatment completion. RESULTS: Poverty is strongly associated with TB incidence even after controlling for smoking and other risk factors. Excluding income losses, direct out-of-pocket treatment costs (medical and non-medical) accounted for 55.5% of average annual household income, and most TB cases fell into heavy debt. The DOTS cure rate was 91%. When DOTS was incomplete or not done, mortality was high. CONCLUSIONS: Poverty is both a cause and a devastating outcome of TB. Ongoing poverty reduction schemes in China must also include reducing TB.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Family poverty: what can health visitors do?

Poverty levels have risen substantially since 1979, particularly among families with dependent children. Between 1979 and 1987 the number of families with children in poverty (with incomes below 50 per cent of average income) increased from 2.8 million to 5.5 million. Families with dependent children are now the largest single group in poverty. Many health visitors see poor families and witness the health effects of poverty on a daily basis. Clare Blackburn attempts to identify what action health visitors can take to make a positive impact on family poverty and draws out some of the key elements of responsive service provision.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1977

[Causes and outward forms of poverty in old age (author's transl)].

In the Federal Rupublic nearly 20% of the elderly people live on the edge of below the property-line, which is well-marked by public assistance. In spite of legal claims 75% of the needy elderly do not explore all possible avenues. The ascertainment of this high percentage which had been never estimated exactly-about which, hitherto, impressionistic or opportunistic declarations have been made rather than reliable assertions-is a result of a representative empirical research. The authors have conducted structured interviews, analysis of official files and explorative interviews with old people and with those who are, in a broad sense, competent regarding their need. The analysis of the old peoples' social biographies significantly showed the invariance regarding the class the necessitous belong to; generally workers or people of the farming section either become or remain poor. Deficient vocational education is the beginning of a lifelong outstanding external determination. Their non-problematical replaceability at work surrenders them to the enterpreneur's calculation. When growing older they often endure professional depreciation and financial reduction. After they have retired, need encreases. Individual failure is not the cause for poverty, however the belonging to the working-classes; all those belonging to these classes are potentially poor, due to their replaceability and exchangeability at work. At the lower end of the class-hierarchy potential poverty changes into actual poverty. Causative regarding formation of these classes is the fact, that the material possibilities of the social production cannot be used by the actual producers. The causes for poverty which reproduces itself always within the same classes can't be removed by legal means which can only relief poverty.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1986

Poverty and Homicide in Detroit, 1926-1978.

The effect of poverty on crime is a controversial issue, mostly because past research has produced only weak evidence of a relationship between economic hardship and crime rates. A review of the literature suggests, however, that time-series data have not been fully exploited in studies of the poverty-crime relationship. This paper helps fill that gap by presenting a regression equation that links poverty and the homicide rate in Detroit from 1926 to 1978. The equation uses a measure based on the infant mortality rate in order to avoid problems associated with monetary indicators of poverty, and it allows for lagged effects across time. The results strongly support the idea that increases in the level of poverty lead to increases in homicide rates.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed1994

The influence of Social Security benefits and SSI payments on the poverty status of children.

This is the first of two articles that will examine the effect that the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI--Social Security) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs have in maintaining the income of poor and near poor families with children at a level that is at least equal to the poverty threshold. The articles also will evaluate the extent to which these programs augment the income of those families that receive benefits but who still remain below the poverty line, and look at the interaction between the OASDI and SSI programs and other income transfer programs, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and the Food Stamp program. The primary data source for this article is the second wave of the 1990 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The principal findings are as follows: (1) During May 1990, OASDI and SSI benefit payments sustained the income of 1.1 million children above the poverty level; (2) these programs alleviated the effects of poverty for an additional 1.3 million children in families whose income remained below the poverty level; and (3) a significant proportion of those families that received OASDI and SSI benefits received additional assistance from other means-tested programs. This article looks only at survey data. The second article will consider survey data matched with SSA administrative records.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Poverty experiences of young children and the quality of their home environments.

This paper assesses the relative contribution of maternal, household, child, and poverty characteristics to the quality of the home environment. The sample consists of 1,887 children birth to 4 years old from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Ordinary least-squares regression is used to explore conceptually distinct aspects of children's poverty experiences. Poverty variables are found to have a statistically significant effect on the quality of the home environment, after controlling for the effects of other variables in the models. Statistically significant interactions among poverty variables are identified. A major finding is that improvements in family income have the strongest effects on the quality of the home environment for children who were born poor or lived much of their lives in poverty. The conclusion emphasizes implications for future research.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1989

Poverty of speech in schizophrenia and depression during in-patient and post-hospital periods.

Poverty of speech, a prominent feature of the negative symptom construct in schizophrenia, was assessed longitudinally in 12 schizophrenic and 13 depressed subjects at hospital admission and about seven months after discharge in order to evaluate hypotheses concerning course and diagnostic specificity. Multiple measures of the poverty of speech construct were employed, including both clinical and quantitative indices. During the in-patient period, poverty of speech was more pronounced among depressed than schizophrenic subjects. Examination of this specific negative symptom across in-patient and follow-up evaluations indicated that poverty of speech increased among schizophrenic subjects, but remained relatively stable or declined among depressed subjects. These results suggest that the processes underlying poverty of speech may differ in schizophrenia and depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Population and poverty in Africa.

"This paper sets out the position in Sub-Saharan Africa...regarding poverty and population. Africa has as much danger of starvation and depopulation [due to AIDS] as of over population. The paper sets out a model of poverty based on the twin concepts of capabilities and entitlements. This is [a] micro level approach and points to the importance of health and education as well as physical assets in analysing poverty. Issues of gender are always kept central. Income, access to public goods, physical assets and human capital are the four determinants of the status of any individual visavis poverty."

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2003

Social capital, poverty, and income inequality as predictors of gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia and AIDS case rates in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Social capital has been related to a number of important public health variables such as child welfare, mortality, and health status. However, the relation of social capital to infectious diseases has received relatively little attention. The relation of social capital to health measures is often posited to be related to the key societal variables of poverty and income inequality. Therefore, any exploration of the correlation between social capital and infectious diseases should also include examination of the association with poverty and income inequality. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the state level association between social capital, poverty, income inequality, and four infectious diseases that have important public health implications given their long term sequelae: gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, and AIDS. METHOD: A state level, correlational analysis (including bivariate linear correlational analysis, and multivariate linear stepwise regression analysis) was carried out. 1999 state level rates of gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, and AIDS were the main outcome measures. RESULTS: In bivariate analyses, poverty was significantly correlated with chlamydia; income inequality was significantly correlated with chlamydia and AIDS case rates; and social capital was significantly correlated with all outcome measures. In stepwise multiple regression analyses, social capital was always the strongest predictor variable. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that social capital is highly predictive of at least some infectious diseases. The results indicate the need for further research into this relation, and suggest the potential need for structural interventions designed to increase social capital in communities.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2005

Racial disparities in context: a multilevel analysis of neighborhood variations in poverty and excess mortality among black populations in Massachusetts.

OBJECTIVES: We analyzed neighborhood heterogeneity in associations among mortality, race/ethnicity, and area poverty. METHODS: We performed a multilevel statistical analysis of Massachusetts all-cause mortality data for the period 1989 through 1991 (n=142836 deaths), modeled as 79813 cells (deaths and denominators cross-tabulated by age, gender, and race/ethnicity) at level 1 nested within 5532 block groups at level 2 within 1307 census tracts (CTs) at level 3. We also characterized CTs by percentage of the population living below poverty level. RESULTS: Neighborhood variation in mortality across CTs and block groups was not accounted for by these areas' age, gender, and racial/ethnic composition. Neighborhood variation in mortality was much greater for the Black population than for the White population, largely because of CT-level variation in poverty rates. CONCLUSIONS: Neighborhood heterogeneity in the relationship between mortality and race/ethnicity in Massachusetts is statistically significant and is closely related to CT-level variation in poverty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Phantom of the area: poverty-area residence and mortality in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to conduct a national multivariate analysis on poverty-area residence and mortality in the United States. METHODS: Proportional hazards analyses were performed of the effect of poverty-area residence on the risk of mortality among adult examinees in the 1971 through 1974 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who were followed through 1987. RESULTS: Poverty-area residence was associated with significantly elevated risk of all-cause mortality (rate ratio = 1.78, 95% confidence interval = 1.33, 2.38) and some cause-specific mortality among those aged 25 through 54 years, but not among those aged 55 through 74 years, at baseline after adjustment for several individual and household characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Residence in poverty areas contributes to socioeconomic gradients in mortality among nonelderly adults in the United States.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term cognitive and academic effects of early childhood education on children in poverty.

It is generally accepted that early childhood education improves the cognitive performance of children in poverty in the short-term, but whether cognitive effects persist in the long-term is hotly debated. This paper presents the results of a critical review of 38 studies of the long-term effects of early childhood programs on children in poverty. Outcomes examined include IQ, achievement, and academic success as measured by grade repetition, special education placement, and high school graduation. Early childhood education is found to produce persistent effects on achievement and academic success, but not on IQ (with some exceptions). Head Start and public school programs produce the same types of effects as better funded model programs, but at least some of the effects are smaller. Cost-benefit analysis based on one randomized trial finds that the economic return from providing early education to children in poverty far exceeds the costs. Head Start, public school preschool education, and education in high-quality child care programs all offer avenues for government investment to improve the long-term cognitive development and academic success of children in poverty.

Adolescent↗