Coping Strategies in Families PDF

SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES (SOCI 371) DR. GBENGA ADEJARE  “In every province, Canadians are feeling less hopeful about the future compare with how they felt in 2016, although the extent of the decline varied by province. British Colombia experience the largest decline in the proportion o...

SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES (SOCI 371) DR. GBENGA ADEJARE  “In every province, Canadians are feeling less hopeful about the future compare with how they felt in 2016, although the extent of the decline varied by province. British Colombia experience the largest decline in the proportion of people reporting a hopeful outlook on the future between 2016 and 2021/2022 (from 76% to 62%)”. - Statistics Canada 2  Poll on How Canadian are Coping 3  Introduction The world in which humans live is generally prone to crises of different kinds: Disasters: natural and man-made Economic downturns Social upheavals Political issues etc These crises have direct or indirect effect on families. However, not all families are impacted the same way because of differentials in the social, economic and political statuses. 4 Introduction cont’d Social inequality and poverty have long characterized Canadian social life The last several decades have been turbulent for many Canadians, coinciding with some notable ups and downs in the North American economy – the recessions of the 1980s, early 1990s, and 2008, plus the COVID-19 pandemic Focus here is on the economic circumstances facing low-income families, from the early 1980s through to 2018, before the outbreak of COVID-19  Poverty as a Fallout of Global Crises To start with, what is poverty? The state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs (www.Britannica.com) Poverty can be categorized into two: Absolute poverty: This when individuals are unable to meet their physiological needs Relative poverty: as the word relative suggests, it has to do with comparison of one’s self or group or nation to another. In relative terms, what constitute poverty differ from one place/people to another. However, the idea that one is unable to participate fully in the society or comity that one belongs to reinforces the notion of poverty. 6 Poverty as a Fallout of Global Crises cont’d Although average family income has increased in real terms for several decades (i.e., after adjusting for inflation), a proportion of families continues to experience major financial setbacks Showing the relevance of family and demographic changes to recent poverty trends Family poverty tends to be linked to key events—not all of which can necessarily be predicted or controlled Many low-income families struggle to survive and, in some cases, successfully escape poverty Has the Problem of Poverty Worsened in Recent Decades? Problem of past research relying upon a multitude of different working definitions of poverty to answer the question Statistics Canada’s low income cut-offs (LICO) after tax as a measure While it is possible to use these LICOs to chart changes over the last several decades, problems remain in decisively demonstrating progress (or a lack thereof) in reducing poverty. Has the Problem of Poverty Worsened in Recent Decades? cont’d If the average standard of living in Canada were to improve noticeably, one would expect that our working definition of poverty to also change. As Statistics Canada has only used this “official” poverty line for the last couple of years, it does not allow for an analysis of historical trends. There remains considerable debate as to the extent to which Canada has made real progress in terms of reducing poverty, or “relative economic hardship”. Has the Problem of Poverty Worsened in Recent Decades? cont’d The economic upturn of the late 1980s translated into income gains and reduced poverty These gains were once again washed out during a second recession in the early 1990s Conservative government policies that cutback on social assistance programs impacted low-income families Shifts Over Time Using Statistics Canada’s LICO The low-income rates and median incomes are further broken down by family type Considering all economic families, income poverty rose during the recession of the 1980s (from 8.7 per cent in 1980 to 10.2 per cent in 1985), whereas median income fell (dropping from $77,700 to $73,500, expressed in constant 2018 dollars) In the early 1990s, as with the earlier recession, persistently high rates of unemployment and a decline in real earnings characterized the North American economy Shifts Over Time Using Statistics Canada’s LICO cont’d As the last century came to a close, Canada’s economic situation improved with declining unemployment and poverty rates By 2000, the unemployment rate fell below 7 per cent for the first time since 1976 Labour force participation rate increased significantly By 2008 roughly two thirds of all Canadians aged 15 and older were involved in the labour force, working either on a full-time or part-time basis, or actively searching out employment Shifts Over Time Using Statistics Canada’s LICO cont’d Canadians made up the ground they lost during the two previous recessions By 2005, median family income had risen to $80,900 relative to only $71,700 ten years earlier. The most recent economic downturn that began in 2008 did not fully offset these gains, with median income again up to $86,200 by 2010 Shifts Over Time Using Statistics Canada’s LICO cont’d With respect to household earnings, the norm these days consists of two wage earners per family rather than one Overall, the first decade and a half of the twenty-first century has been characterized by higher median family incomes and apparent progress in terms of reducing low income Low Income, Family Type, and Number of Earners Some groups are more vulnerable to the risk of experiencing economic hardship than others. Some of the vulnerable groups include: People with disability Divorced women Migrant families LGBTQ+ families Old people Racialized people Female-headed, lone-parent families Low Income, Family Type, and Number of Earners cont’d Recent trends in family structure have important implications for the economic vitality of families Among families with young children, there has been a major shift in the labour force participation of their parents The majority of new mothers return to paid employment after a short respite to care for their newborns Roughly three in ten female lone parents with a child under 16 are not employed, which almost guarantees economic hardship Low Income, Family Type, and Number of Earners cont’d The reality is that families that rely on social assistance to make ends meet usually experience severe economic hardship In the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, some families have witnessed more hardship As of Fall 2020, women have been more likely to lose employment, as have immigrants, Black Canadians and other racialized communities Beyond issues of “race” and ethnicity, part of the gender-based disadvantage reflects the incidence of low-income families headed by men and women  Poverty among Families in Later Life Older Canadians are diverse in terms of life history, family characteristics, and economic statuses Most older Canadians rely on government transfers as they move into later life which places them at risk of poverty Most of those aged 65 and older currently live in small households with their spouse or live alone Poverty among Families in Later Life cont’d Women are more likely to live alone, and face poverty in later life The expansion of the welfare state in Canada has impact on poverty in later life, e.g. Old Age Security (OAS) Canada Pension Plan (CPP) & Quebec Pension Plan Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) The expansion of many of the income support programs during the 1970s and 1980s helped to reduce poverty among the elderly Poverty among Families in Later Life cont’d While most families in later life can avoid poverty by pooling government transfers (even without savings or private pension plans), such an option does not exist for the elderly who live alone For both men and women, the elderly who live alone are more likely to slip into poverty on the death of their spouse Low Income, Family Change, and Child Poverty Government social program not very generous towards families at earlier stages The welfare reform programs of the 1990s failed to improve the well-being and school readiness of children living in poverty Children more than three times as likely to be income poor relative to the elderly Low Income, Family Change, and Child Poverty cont’d Life events and changing family characteristics impact child poverty Child(ren) of single mothers most likely to live in poverty Divorces, separations, and remarriages have as great an impact on children entering or leaving poverty as does the changing labour market situation of their parents Low Income, Single Mothers and Unattached Persons Those at greatest risk to “persistent poverty” over time continue to be single mothers with their children as well as adults who live outside of a family setting Among Canadians living alone, 30.0 per cent of non-elderly men in 2018 were classified as low income, whereas 30.9 per cent of non- elderly women were classified in this manner A review of the literature on social assistance use shows that unattached adults, children and young mothers in particular continue to be over represented among those on welfare Low Income, Single Mothers and Unattached Persons cont’d Introduction of a new “Market Basket Measure” which was developed through a detailed analysis of household consumption patterns This involved a measurement of the costs associated with four categories of goods and services: food, clothing and footwear Shelter transportation, and other goods and services Low Income, Single Mothers and Unattached Persons, cont’d This new “poverty line” was set to vary significantly depending upon where you live as well as household size and ages of household members The manner in which these new poverty lines captured regional differences was seen as an improvement in the documentation of economic hardship Overall, Statistics Canada reports 9.5 per cent of all Canadians are poor based on this new official poverty line as opposed to only 7.8 per cent using the aforementioned LICOs Economic Well-being among Indigenous and Racialized Communities Indigenous peoples far more likely to be living in low-income situations compared with other Canadians Racialized peoples were also more likely to be living in poverty or below the low-income cutoffs than white majority Recent immigrants and newcomers are more at risk of poverty than other groups Shortcomings of Income-based Measures of Poverty Income-based indicators of economic well-being have many well- known limitations These measures tend to systematically under-report or exclude various types of in-kind public assistance and other resources Most income-based measures of income poverty also exclude information on wealth Shortcomings of Income-based Measures of Poverty Cont'd Wealth and income vary by life cycle stages--younger vs. middle-aged workers Median wealth varies significantly by education, immigration status, and number of years residing in Canada Lone-parent families report significantly lower median assets than dual-parent families How Do Low-income Families Cope with Poverty? As welfare supports tightened up during the 1990s, a variety of community support services developed and in-kind contributions grew Charitable organizations and agencies help to support low-income families Low-income families typically rely on a broad range of economic survival strategies: household production, self-provisioning, cutting back on expenses including skipping meals What Are the Consequences of Poverty? Health consequences Academic problems Psychosocial morbidity Agitations Mental health issues Emotional and behavioural problems among children Conclusion Despite Canada’s considerable wealth, many families with low income remain in poverty The persistently high incidence of low income among recent immigrants is a source of concern High level of income poverty among female lone-parent families should not be overlooked Poverty leads to many negative consequences for families and children Better to prevent poverty than to deal with the consequences