Throughout the assignment the author will focus on three aspects that can have a massive and detrimental impact on a person’s life. These aspects are: Unemployment, Child Poverty and Stress on an individual. Other effects of these aspects will be investigated throughout this case study such as addictions and malnutrition. I will research Dahlgren and Whiteheads social model to show the relationship between an individual, their surroundings and their health and wellbeing. When the author first started research for this essay they researched statistics on absolute poverty in general. Absolute poverty is where people’s basic needs are not being met such as food, housing, and clothes. (Giddens, 2001)
Through research, the author was surprised to find that Child poverty is a major issue within the UK. “There are 3.6 million children living in poverty in the UK today. That’s 27 per cent of children, or more than one in four.” (cpag.org.uk, 2012) This influenced the author’s decision to focus on child poverty specifically as one of the main topics. One would assume that these children must be living in homes affected by unemployment, however, in the majority of these cases, at least one family member is employed, although sadly “work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK. Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of children growing up in poverty live in a household where at least one member works.”(cpag.org.uk, 2012)
This raises this question; why are children living in poverty where one or more adult is working? What is their income being spent on, or is the price of living too high in the U.K for those on the minimum wage. The current minimum wage in the UK is £6.31 per hour. (Gov.uk, 2013) So if someone worked a 40 hour week that would give them a gross pay of £252.40 before deductions. They would also be entitled to child benefit, tax credits and a heating and housing benefit.
“You get Child Benefit for each child you’re responsible for – there are 2 rates: eldest child (£20.30 a week) and additional children (£13.40 a week), you can apply for Housing Benefit whether you’re unemployed or working” (Gov.uk, 2013) Poverty can be caused in households where a parent(s) income may be used to feed an addiction such as a gambling, smoking, drugs, or alcohol. In a scenario like this, even if state benefits or the minimum wage were increased, it still wouldn’t stop poverty, but it might make people’s addictions go from bad to worse if their financial situation improved. Children are at a higher risk of child abuse when living in a home where addictions are present. This abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect.
Children who run away from home are at risk of child prostitution. Adults and children are more likely to get sexually transmitted diseases/infections whilst living in poverty (Jama, 2007) People living in impoverished conditions can feel excluded from the social norm. An American sociologist Charles Murray believes that many are happy to sponge off the government rather than strive for personal success. (Giddens, 2001) “90% of the public believe parental addiction is the biggest factor in whether a child grows up in poverty”. (Rupert Oldham-Reid, 2013).
This is worrying to think that the public have such a negative perception on people struggling in poverty. There is no evidence to prove such an opinion. This can make people in poverty feel isolated from society, this can affect their self-esteem, and it won’t help them get out of poverty. “Reducing poverty is not a matter of changing individual outlook, they claim but requires policy measures aimed at distributing income and resources more equally throughout society.” (Giddens, 2001)
The Schemata theory is evident in this case, when people think of people living in poverty. They don’t actually know them personally, yet they have an automatic cognition to think poverty equals addictions. “Schemas are cognitive structures, they take the form of cognitive beliefs that can operate automatically and lead to biasis in perception and memory.” (Griffin E, 2006) The author of this essay believes that many people living on the streets in poverty are not there because their addicts or have a mental illness, they are there because some time in their life they were confronted with a situation in which they had no coping skills.
An example of this would be if someone has a death in their family at the same time as breaking up with a loved one, not long after losing their job. The stress this would cause on the person may lead to them losing a grip on life and finding themselves in financial difficulty and distress. (Gidden’s 2001) There are many reasons why a family may be living in poverty. Where the case may arise that parents have a lack of education, or no recognised qualifications they will find it harder to get a job. If a parent(s) has/have a mental illness, they may need assistance in managing their money/paying bills. “Money is not a guarantor of mental health, nor does its absence necessarily lead to mental illness, However, it is generally conceded that poverty can be both a determinant and a consequence of poor mental health” (Langner & Michael, 1963).
From this quote, the author of this assignment believes that poverty can lead to mental health issues but also poverty can cause mental health issues. Growing up in poverty can have a huge impact on a child’s physical and mental health. “Children in the poorest households are three times more likely to have a mental illness than children in the best-off households” (Department of Health, 1999b). This shows that it not only affects their physical health but it also has a huge effect of their emotional development. Children are more likely to live in poverty when they become adults if they grew up in poverty.
This is also known as the poverty cycle. This is where poverty continues throughout generations and each generation is unable to stop the cycle and so the next generation is introduced to poverty. In studies conducted by (Mullen & Lilly, 1981) they found that unemployed people were unhealthy medically but not so much physically, however they could not establish evidence to prove that unemployment causes ill health. Many children living in poverty suffer from malnutrition. This can cause stunted growth, a weakened immune system, which finds it harder to fight off diseases and infections and poor mental performance.
Children have less energy, they are more tired, and they find it harder to socially interact as they can have poor cognition. The outcome of malnutrition can be fatal or it can lead to lifelong consequences such as not functioning intellectually due to brain damage caused by not receiving adequate nutrition. (18.homepage.villanova.edu, 1996) Living with financial difficulties can cause extreme stress for the individuals. Stress can affect a person’s physical, emotional and mental health. It is important that everyone has coping strategies in mind that they can use if they are confronted with job loss, losing their home or any other stressful situation. (Endler and Parker 1990).
It is important however that these strategies are good for a person’s health and not lead to greater problems in time. An example of a good strategy would be to talk to friends or family or a professional for support, or take up a new hobby. An example of a negative strategy would be to drink a few glasses of wine to escape your reality. In the short term this may lower stress, however in the long term it could lead to alcohol dependency. When a person’s body is stressed, their body releases a hormone.
Over time, due to constant stress this hormone will weaken the body’s immune response. If this happens the body becomes more susceptible to diseases and infections. (Apa.org, 2003) In Dahlgren and Whitehead (1991) social model of health, we can see how the different layers can affect a person’s health. The determinants are the things that make people healthy or not. They include environment, education, diet, stress. It deals with age, sex, gender and genetics, factors which you cannot change. The first layer deals with lifestyle factors such as drinking, smoking, eating habits and keeping fit. These are factors which we have control over.
The second layer is concerned with your values and beliefs and how you communicate with others. The third and fourth layer have to do with social and environmental issues such as our financial situation, how much education we get, what kind of work we are employed in. It is also concerned with how easy we can access facilities. As a person’s socio economic status improves, their health will improve. (Patricia Barkway (2009
From researching for this essay the author feels a lot more knowledgeable about poverty and the various consequences that come from living in poverty. They understand that poverty is a vicious cycle and it is one that is hard to escape. There are many different views in society surrounding people who are struggling in poverty. Dahlgren and Whitehead’s model was effective in showing the author the relationship between a person’s health and the environment, lifestyle choices, education and genetics. There are many factors which result in a person’s health condition.