Identifying Disadvantaged Children:

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Identifying Disadvantaged Children Comparing
Alternative Approaches Melissa Wong and Peter
Saunders Social Policy Research Centre University
of New South Wales Presented to the 2nd
International Conference of the International
Society for Child Indicators University of
Western Sydney, 4-5 November 2009
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Dimensions of Social Disadvantage

• Poverty people are living in poverty if their
  incomes are so inadequate as to preclude them
  from having an acceptable standard of living
  (Irish Combat Poverty Agency)
• Deprivation people are deprived when they face
  an enforced lack of socially perceived
  necessities (Mack and Lansley, Poor Britain)
• Social exclusion An individual is socially
  excluded if he or she does not have the
  opportunity to participate in key activities in
  the society in which he or she lives (Burchardt,
  Le Grand and Piachaud, Understanding Social
  Exclusion)
• Consistent poverty income below 60 of the
  median and also experiencing enforced deprivation
  (Irish Combat Poverty Agency)

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The UNICEF Child Well-being Framework

• Dimensions of well-being
• Material well-being (poverty, deprivation, work)
• Health and safety (mortality and morbidity)
• Educational well-being (literacy, numeracy and
  enrolments)
• Family and peer relationships (sole parent and
  step families)
• Behaviours and risks (smoking, violence and
  physical activity)
• Subjective well-being (perceptions of belonging
  and loneliness)

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The ARACY Report Card of Wellbeing for
Australian Children and Youth

• Dimensions of well-being
• Material well-being (poverty, deprivation and
  joblessness)
• Health and safety (health, immunisation,
  accidents/injury)
• Educational well-being (school achievement and
  work transition)
• Relationships (social capital, family
  relationships, belonging)
• Behaviours and risks (obesity, smoking, alcohol,
  drug use, crime)
• Subjective well-being (self-reported health,
  personal wellbeing)
• Participation (community participation, political
  interest)
• Environment (climate change, resource use and
  biodiversity)

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Comparing the Three Approaches

• (Income) poverty focuses on what people do not
  have (in terms of income)
• Deprivation focuses on what people cannot afford
  (in terms of acquiring the essentials of life)
• Social exclusion focuses on what people do not do
  (among customary or common activities)
• ? Deprivation and exclusion focus more
  directly on the
• absence of items regarded as
  essential (necessities)

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Identifying Deprivation and Exclusion
Is it essential for everyone?
Do you have it?
SOCIAL EXCLUSION
Yes
No
Yes
No
Is it because you cannot afford it?
THE ESSENTIALS OF LIFE
Yes
No
DEPRIVATION
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Community Understanding of Poverty and Social
Exclusion Survey (CUPSE) 2006 (n2,704)
Benchmark 61 essential items 47 considered to be
essential by 50 of sample
26 Deprivation items
27 Social exclusion items

• Child-related items
• Hobby/leisure activities for children
• Children able to participate in school activities
• Annual dental check-up for children
• New school books/clothes
• Separate bed per child
• Separate bedroom per child gt10 years

Economic Exclusion -restricted access to
economic resources and low economic capacity
Service exclusion -lack of adequate access to
key services
Disengagement -lack of community
participation
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Essential items (without child-related items)
9
Essential items (with 6 child-related items)
Hobby for children
Bed per child
Annual dental check-up for children
School activities
Bedroom per child gt10 years
New school books/clothes
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Comparing Disadvantage by Family Types

• 3 family types couples without children, couples
  with dependent children and sole parent with
  dependent children
• Age of dependent child lt18 years and age of
  parent restricted to 50 years
• 3 indicators of disadvantage poverty,
  deprivation and social exclusion
• Subjective wellbeing indicators

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Income Poverty Rates by Family Type

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Deprivation of 25 essential items by Family
Type

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Deprivation of 6 child-related items by Family
Type

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Social Exclusion by Family Type

Disengagement
Service exclusion
Economic exclusion
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Consistent Poverty (60 median disposable income
dep 2)

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Subjective Wellbeing by Family Type

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Conclusions

• Examine nature of disadvantaged couple and sole
  parent families in Australia using poverty,
  deprivation and social exclusion indicators as
  well as subjective well-being indicators
• Sole parent families are most disadvantaged in
  terms of all the indicators as well as subjective
  well-being
• Couples with dependent children are worse off
  than couples with no children
• Indicators are based on information provided by
  parents and not children themselves
• There is a need for more research on children's
  experiences and attitudes SPRCs Making a
  Difference Project
• Dr Melissa Wong Social Policy Research Centre
  melissa.wong_at_unsw.edu.au
• Professor Peter Saunders Social Policy Research
  Centre p.saunders_at_unsw.edu.au