Consequences of Poverty

Causes and consequences of poverty in sociology

Poverty has several consequences, which can differ in scope for residents of developed and developing countries. The outcome of poverty can be more severe for certain social groups within a society.

Sociologists are interested in this, and how poverty affects different aspects of life, such as the family, health, education, housing, and crime.

Social consequences of poverty

Let's look at how poverty impacts society.

Family and poverty

• The poor have more stressful lives due to financial burdens and worries, and this stress can bleed into their personal lives, meaning they are more likely to experience family troubles.

• Domestic violence is more common in poor households.

• Divorce is common among the poor. Single-parent families usually suffer from even greater degrees of poverty than before.

• Poor people have fewer means to resolve family issues.

Social and cultural lives and poverty

• Poorer families and individuals may have less active social lives and may see their family and friends less due to a lack of disposable income.

• They may be less able to participate in leisure and cultural activities, such as going to the cinema or to a museum, due to price barriers.

Fig. 1 - Single parent families are more likely to live in poverty than two-parent families.

Crime and victimisation and poverty

• Poor people are more likely to engage in criminal activities such as robbery, homicide, and burglary.

• However, they are also more likely to be the victims of street crime.

Economic consequences of poverty

There are economic and other associated consequences of poverty as well.

Lack of social mobility and poverty

• Due to having less access to high-quality education, well-connected contacts, and good job opportunities, individuals from poor families are likely to also get low-income jobs.

• Those living in poverty are also unlikely to be able to get promoted or move up the career/social ladder.

Housing and homelessness and poverty

• The deprived are more likely to be homeless or live in bad conditions, which can affect their health.

• Poor families often spend most of their income on housing.

Segregation and poverty

• Poor families often live in unsafe, underfunded neighbourhoods, with fewer job opportunities, good educational institutions, and leisure facilities.

• Poorer and richer individuals may rarely come into contact with each other due to the segregated nature of neighbourhoods by income and social status.

Consequences of poverty on health

• The poor often suffer from health problems due to subpar living conditions, or as a result of lower quality food.

• Infant mortality is higher among the deprived. Adults die younger as well.

• Mental health issues are common among the poor.

• They may not be able to afford or access good medical care.

Consequences of child poverty

Children are among the worst affected by poverty.

Education and child poverty

• Children living in poverty usually cannot access the best academic institutions, so tend to do worse in school than their wealthier peers.

• Poor children miss school more often due to health issues.

• Poor young people are less likely to go to university, which restricts their opportunities for well-paid employment and social mobility in their adult years.

Development and child poverty

• Children who grow up in poverty may end up being physically, mentally and socially underdeveloped.

• A lack of nutritious, high-quality food can impede a child's growth and cause health issues, as mentioned above.

• Being unable to afford a good education or participate in activities such as school trips and days out with friends may also intellectually and socially deprive children.

Why does poverty still exist in contemporary society?

Different sociological perspectives have different explanations for the existence and continuance of poverty.

Let's look at the three primary perspectives that attempt to explain the continuation of poverty.

A culture of poverty

The term ‘culture of poverty’ was coined by Oscar Lewis (1959), who conducted a research study on the poor populations of Mexico and Puerto Rico. Lewis observed that they developed certain values, skills, and knowledge that helped them cope with poverty.

In his opinion, poverty was the consequence of a process of socialization that happened across generations. Lewis argued that children who grew up in deprivation internalised a culture and value system from their parents and grandparents that socialised them to also live in poverty. According to his observations, the continuing existence of poverty and the lack of solutions for unemployment and low wages were the fault of the poor themselves.

Functionalists and the New Right have supported this perspective on why poverty continues to exist in contemporary society. New Right sociologist David Marsland (1989) claimed that organisations like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation confuse poverty with inequality, and make the former look like a much bigger problem than it actually is. He also argued that benefits will only lead to more dependency on them by the poor, who should instead take their lives into their own hands.

The cycle of deprivation

The theory of the 'cycle of deprivation’ is more of a structuralist perspective on the continued prevalence of poverty. It highlights the different stages of a person’s life, where the system disadvantages them and pushes them into a new state of deprivation. This then causes further exclusion and so on, making poverty a vicious cycle from which there is no exit.

This perspective still takes individual life choices into consideration; but instead of blaming the person, however, it points out the flawed aspects of society that make it more likely for poor people to continuously be forced into situations that lead to poverty.

Social democrats and feminists tend to see the relevance of this theory in explaining the continuance of poverty. Peter Townsend (1979), who adapted the relative definition of poverty, argued that one of the most serious consequences of poverty is the inability of lower-income people to participate in cultural and social activities.

Poverty is a necessary and inevitable part of capitalism

Globalisation and capitalism have changed the labour market considerably in the past few decades. In recent times, working conditions for many have worsened, there is more unemployment and underemployment, wages are low, and part-time work is more common.

Fig. 2 - Globalisation has changed the labour market.

Low-paid and undervalued work is an integral part of today’s globalised capitalist labour market. This means that hard work and determination do not guarantee a way out of poverty or even provide a path to a decent standard of living for the most deprived.

Marxist and Weberian sociologists have argued in favour of this approach. Marxist sociologist Ralph Miliband supported this argument, and his son Ed Miliband, of the New Labour government in the UK, claimed that predistribution is as important as redistribution in reducing poverty and its consequences in Britain.