Material hardship in the United States: Evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation
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- 1 September 2001
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Social Work Research
- Vol. 25 (3) , 143-151
- https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/25.3.143
Abstract
Measures of material hardship, which identify households that do not consume minimal levels of very basic goods and services such as food, housing, and medical care, provide important information about well-being. The research discussed in this article used nationally representative data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to document the prevalence of material hardship in the U.S. population and in several subgroups in 1995. More than 10 percent of Americans experienced at least one hardship in 1995, and the most common hardships were medical need and food insufficiency. Poor individuals, children, African Americans, Hispanics, and those in single-parent households were particularly vulnerable to hardship. In addition, there is evidence that working households are more vulnerable to hardship—especially medical need—than measures of income-poverty suggest.Keywords
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