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Reconstructing Poverty-Related Shame Among Urban Seniors in China: an Exploration of Their Narrated Experiences and a Reflection on Anti-Poverty Interventions.
- Source :
- Applied Research in Quality of Life; Feb2022, Vol. 17 Issue 1, p229-249, 21p
- Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Poverty is an objective state, as well as a set of subjective experiences. This study explored how low-income seniors in urban China make meaning under the pressures of poverty-related shame. Based on two rounds of in-depth interviews with participants in Beijing, spanning 9 years, the researchers concluded that low-income seniors feel deprivation, experiences of being belittled and inferior and a sense of self-deprecation due to material scarcity. Under such pressures, the seniors actively reconstruct poverty-related experiences, demonstrating that older people living in poverty have a powerful meaning-making system, which serves as evidence of their resilience. However, reconstructing experiences of poverty should not be taken for granted, but be regarded as an appeal for dignity-oriented social policies. This rich meaning-making system could be a foundation upon which anti-poverty advocates adopt and advance various strengths-based interventions. These findings also point to implications for quality of life research with older people living in poverty and anti-poverty measures for this population in other developing contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 18712584
- Volume :
- 17
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Applied Research in Quality of Life
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 154580825
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-020-09895-2