Poverty and shame

Society 25 Aug 10 A major international study is to examine whether shame is a key part of the experience of being poor. It will look at whether being poor necessarily results in low self esteem or feelings of shame and whether welfare policies are counterproductive when claimants are stigmatised. Led by Professor Robert Walker from Oxford University, a team of researchers will attempt to answer these questions in a half-a million-pound study, funded by the ESRC and DFID. The research, spanning eight countries, aims to improve our understanding of the impact of poverty to establish whether anti-poverty measures could be applied more effectively. A team of a dozen researchers will conduct-depth interviews with children and their parents about how being poor affects the way they feel about themselves and the way they are regarded by their own community. They will interview families in UK, Norway, China, India, Pakistan, Uganda, South Korea and Germany. As well as comparing experiences across countries, the study will include differences between rural areas, cities and towns.