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Many Kinds of Poverty: Three Dimensions of Economic Hardship, Their Combinations, and Children’s Behavior Problems

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  • Anika Schenck-Fontaine

    (Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories)

  • Lidia Panico

    (Institut National d’Études Démographiques)

Abstract

Income poverty, material deprivation, and subjective financial stress are three distinct dimensions of economic hardship. The majority of the theoretical and empirical literature on the effects of economic hardship on children has treated material deprivation and subjective financial stress as only mediators of the effects of income poverty, not considering the independent effects of each dimension or the effects of their combinations. Using nationally representative, longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study on more than 18,000 families in the United Kingdom, we propose seven distinct experiences of economic hardship, based on the possible combinations of income poverty, material deprivation, and subjective financial stress. We use mixed- and fixed-effects linear regression models to identify whether these different economic hardship combinations are differentially associated with children’s behavior problems between ages 3 and 7. We find that all economic hardship combinations, including those without income poverty, are associated with higher levels of children’s behavior problems. The combination of material deprivation and subjective financial stress and the combination of all three dimensions of economic hardship are associated with the highest levels of behavior problems. Based on these findings, we argue that income poverty is an important but insufficient measure of economic hardship for children and that theory and research on the effects of economic hardship on children should consider the multidimensional nature of economic stressors for families.

Suggested Citation

  • Anika Schenck-Fontaine & Lidia Panico, 2019. "Many Kinds of Poverty: Three Dimensions of Economic Hardship, Their Combinations, and Children’s Behavior Problems," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(6), pages 2279-2305, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:56:y:2019:i:6:d:10.1007_s13524-019-00833-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-019-00833-y
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    Cited by:

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    2. Margaret M. C. Thomas, 2022. "Longitudinal Patterns of Material Hardship Among US Families," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 341-370, August.
    3. David Madden, 2022. "The Dynamics of Multidimensional Poverty in a Cohort of Irish Children," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(5), pages 1631-1671, October.
    4. Herbert, Laura & Comeau, Jinette & Smith, Carrie & Smith-Carrier, Tracy & Saxby, Christopher & Botelho, Natashia, 2023. "Child maltreatment and adult economic outcomes: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. Klein, Markus & Sosu, Edward M. & Dare, Shadrach, 2020. "Mapping inequalities in school attendance: The relationship between dimensions of socioeconomic status and forms of school absence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    6. Wangqian Fu & Rui Xue & Hongqin Chai & Wenxiang Sun & Fangrui Jiang, 2023. "What Matters on Rural Left-Behind Children’s Problem Behavior: Family Socioeconomic Status or Perceived Discrimination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-11, January.
    7. Marja Lindberg & Mikael Nygård & Fredrica Nyqvist & Mia Hakovirta, 2021. "Financial Stress and Subjective Wellbeing among Children -Evidence from Finland," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(2), pages 799-819, April.
    8. Gold, Sarah, 2020. "Is housing hardship associated with increased adolescent delinquent behaviors?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    9. Yui Yamaoka & Aya Isumi & Satomi Doi & Manami Ochi & Takeo Fujiwara, 2021. "Differential Effects of Multiple Dimensions of Poverty on Child Behavioral Problems: Results from the A-CHILD Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-12, November.
    10. Anita Rizvi & Vivian Welch & Marcia Gibson & Patrick R. Labelle & Christina Pollard & George A. Wells & Elizabeth Kristjansson, 2022. "PROTOCOL: Effects of guaranteed basic income interventions on poverty‐related outcomes in high‐income countries: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), December.
    11. Elly Field, 2020. "Material Hardship and Contraceptive Use During the Transition to Adulthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2057-2084, December.
    12. Mari, Gabriele & Keizer, Renske, 2020. "Families of Austerity: Welfare Cuts and Family Stress in Britain," SocArXiv vdej8, Center for Open Science.
    13. David (David Patrick) Madden, 2021. "The Dynamics of Multidimensional Poverty in a Cohort of Irish Children," Working Papers 202117, School of Economics, University College Dublin.

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