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Families and inequalities
- Authors:
- KIERNAN Kathleen, PHIMISTER Angus
- Publisher:
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
- Publication year:
- 2022
- Pagination:
- 79
- Place of publication:
- London
This chapter explores the relationship between inequalities and families with children, examining whether there are discernible socio-economic gradients in the recent changes in partnership and parenthood behaviours. We also assess the extent to which these family developments and the attributes of the families in which children are born and reared contribute to disparities in their lives and their future life chances, with a particular focus on income, mental well-being, parenting and parental relationships. We draw on an extensive literature from a range of disciplines and provide new analyses where appropriate. Inequalities in children's lives begin at home. Parental socio-economic resources, parental mental well-being, parental relationships and quality of parenting create disparities between families, which have repercussions for children's development and their subsequent life chances. Key findings include: there are marked educational disparities to the changes in partnership and parenthood behaviour that have occurred over recent decades; a notable hallmark of British families is their greater fragility and complexity as compared with families in other western European countries; parental separation lowers the wellbeing of families and diminishes the resources available to children, with legacies that reverberate into adulthood; a rarely highlighted feature of family formation in the UK is the extent to which children are born to parents who are not living together at the time of the birth; family economic circumstances and parental mental wellbeing separately and collectively diminish the cognitive and emotional development of children in the early years; the quality of parenting substantially improves the odds of children living in disadvantaged circumstances performing better at school; a multitude of studies have shown that the most influential factor relating to family formation and dissolution and children's development is the educational attainment of their parents. Undoubtedly, improving education is fundamental, as it is a key backstory of parental legacies. But improving the lives of families also requires more current and direct policy interventions such as a reduction in child poverty, improvement to mental health services, and provision of parenting and relationship education and support. (Edited publisher abstract)
Our lives: challenging attitudes to poverty in 2015
- Authors:
- ZIPFEL Tricia, et al
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 36
Drawing on the personal stories of people living on very low incomes, this report highlights the reality of poverty in 2015 and the impact it has on many families. It aims to update the report 'Our towns', published in 1943, which documented the problems of urban poverty in the in 1940s. The personal stories featured in the current report cover the day-to-day struggles of individuals, aspirations for their children and themselves, and highlights their capacity for resilience. Individuals stories cover going hungry and using food banks; difficulties negotiating the benefits system; complex lives; the impact of the care system and domestic abuse; homeless; mental health; disability; and insecurity and employment. At the end of each cluster of stories the report includes summary information about the issues the stories raised for the individuals and the researchers. The report then compares the situation today with poverty experienced in 1940s. Differences identified include the growth of in-work poverty and generally higher living standards in 2015. Despite these obvious differences the report identifies many parallels between the 1943 report and today, with people in poverty are often coping with complex lives. Both reports acknowledge the significant impact of poverty on mental health and wellbeing. The final section sets out a call for action to tackle poverty and social deprivation. (Original abstract)
Out of trouble: families with complex problems: a guide for funders
- Author:
- van POORTVLIET Matthew
- Publisher:
- New Philanthropy Capital
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 17p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Children from troubled families are eight times more likely to be suspended or excluded from school than other children, and ten times more likely to be in trouble with the police. The government defines troubled families as those where parents are out of work, children are not in school, and family members are involved in anti-social behaviour and crime. These families often face a range of other problems as well, such as mental and physical ill-health, domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, isolation, and relationship breakdowns. Such problems are often long-standing and inter-generational. This is a guide for funders who want to improve the lives of troubled families and their communities, and reduce the huge costs associated with them. It identifies effective approaches that are helping to prevent and address problems facing troubled families. Section 1 describes who troubled families are, the scale of the problem and the costs involved. Section 2 looks at how government services and charities are supporting families in trouble. Section 3 identifies effective projects and priorities for independent funding. Section 4 considers the role of independent funding in supporting families in trouble.
Breakthrough Northern Ireland
- Authors:
- POOLE Gavin, et al
- Publisher:
- Centre for Social Justice
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 48p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The Centre for Social Justice prepared this report following consultation with voluntary and community organisations about poverty and social problems in Northern Ireland. The report discusses economic dependency and worklessness (including barriers to labour market engagement and the unemployment system), fragility (including conflict, mental health and addiction), and the next generation (including family breakdown, family dysfunction and children in care). Each chapter includes policy recommendations for alleviating poverty and reversing social breakdown in the context of the economic, social and political climate of Northern Ireland.
Poverty: more than money
- Author:
- DIGGINS Marie
- Journal article citation:
- Young Minds Magazine, 96, September 2008, pp.30-31.
- Publisher:
- YoungMinds
Families living in adversity face multiple stresses that can be passed onto their children and impact on their mental health. The author discusses the effects of poverty and how the Department of Health's 'Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families' can help to provide a structure to understand how these stressors affect the child's welfare.
Persistent child poverty in Northern Ireland
- Authors:
- MONTEITH Marina, LLOYD Katrina, MCKEE Patricia
- Publisher:
- Save the Children
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 10p.
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
Traditionally, researchers have given a more ‘static’ snapshot of poverty by looking at it at a particular place and time. However, the introduction of the Northern Ireland Household Panel (NIHPS) survey in 2001 has allowed analysts to study the duration of child poverty. In the NI Household Panel Survey, the same people are followed up each year. This enables researchers to study how their circumstances change over the four year period for which data is available (2001-2004). Using this information, we are able to study whether child poverty is short-term or persistent - that is, being poor for at least three of the four years. 21% of children were living in persistent poverty, compared to 9% in Great Britain. Those most affected by persistent poverty were children living in families dependent mainly on benefits as their main source of income, children living with a lone parent and children living in families with a disabled or elderly adult or a disabled child. Furthermore, the analysis showed that parents of children living in poverty had poorer mental health and that mental health and well-being was worst for mothers of children living in persistent poverty.
Think family: improving the life chances of families at risk
- Author:
- GREAT BRITAIN. Cabinet Office. Social Exclusion Task Force
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Cabinet Office. Social Exclusion Task Force
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 29p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The vast majority of families are a source of strength and protection. However, they can also face challenges. Parental and wider family problems such as poverty, parental worklessness, lack of qualifications, parental mental health, substance abuse, poor housing, and contact with the criminal justice system can cast a shadow that spans whole life-times and passes down the generations. These family experiences can limit aspiration, reinforce cycles of poverty, and provide poor models of behaviour that can impact on a child's development and well–being, with significant costs for public services and the wider community. They damage the ability of children to build up resilience to problems or to benefit from the opportunities they are given. At the moment adults' services don't sufficiently take account of the implications for the family when, say, an adult is taken into prison or has mental health problems.
Think family: a literature review of whole family approaches
- Authors:
- MORRIS Kate, et al
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Cabinet Office. Social Exclusion Task Force
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 115p., bibliog.
The Social Exclusion Task Force commissioned the University of Birmingham to undertake a literature review looking at different conceptual models of a whole families approach being taken forward both nationally and internationally.
Family disorganisation and mental health in a South African mining community
- Authors:
- CHENGA C., CRONJE F.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Maatskaplike Werk, 43(2), June 2007, pp.139-161.
Most of the communities around South African mines are synonymous with poor family structures by virtue of the nature of the mining environment. This article discusses the impact of family disorganisation on mental health. The article is based on qualitative research undertaken in mining communities around a platinum mine in the North-West Province in South Africa. Data collection methods included mainly focus groups and interviews. Some of the main factors identified that contribute to family disorganisation were: migrant labour, poverty and unemployment, HIV/AIDS and infrastructure (eg services, recreation facilities and housing). The authors argue that reducing the social risk factors there will be a probability of improvement in family disorganisation and mental health.
Deinstitutionalising the mentally ill in rural areas: a case study of the official caregiver
- Authors:
- KRITZINGER A., MAGAQA V.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Maatskaplike Werk, 36(3), August 2000, pp.296-309.
Based on information obtained through employing a qualitative methodology, the aim of the paper is to demonstrate and highlight the plight of caregivers of the mentally ill within poor rural areas in South Africa. It does this through an exploration of the role and responsibilities of caregivers living on the Fort Beaufort district in the Eastern Cape Province. It also examines possible ways to empower these caregivers and the role that communities should and can play in such empowerment efforts.