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Cited by 131Income, Poverty, and InequalityFood Security and Health in Diverse PopulationsHealth disparities and outcomes

The Structure of Material Hardship in U.S. Households: An Examination of the Coherence behind Common Measures of Well-Being

Heflin, Colleen, Sandberg, John, Rafail, Patrick·2009·Social Problems
DOI 10.1525/sp.2009.56.4.746
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Abstract

Motivated by the growing interest in and the usage of measures of material hardship, together with the lack of a comprehensive theoretical understanding of the how indicators of material hardship relate to one another, we develop and test five conceptual models of the structural coherence of material hardship. While many previous analyses have relied on a unidimensional model of hardship, we argue that this is not conceptually and empirically sufficient. Instead, we compare the standard unidimensional account of hardship to a model that contrasts hardship related to physical necessities and hardship in less critical areas, two models contrasting hardships due to short-term constraints and those with longer time horizons, and finally, a model that posits each nominal type of hardship is best represented by its own latent construct. Using nationally representative data from the 2001 and 2004 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) (U.S. Census Bureau 2001, 2004), we estimate confirmatory factor analyses, which suggest that a model of hardship that separates different dimensions—health, food, bill paying, and housing hardship—fits this data better than any of the other conceptual models tested. This finding suggests strongly that the four aspects of material hardship modeled here, though obviously associated, are best understood as arising from processes and structures that are not identical. We discuss implications of our findings for both the research community and policy makers in the conclusion.

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  • Basic expense hardship and food insecurity are both reflective of short-term economic shocks.

    “The authors propose that basic expense hardship and food insecurity are both reflective of short-term economic shocks.”

    From Poverty, Material Hardship, and Children’s Outcomes: A Nuanced Understanding of Material Hardship in Childhood (2022) · cites this paper as [11]

  • Housing hardship is the result of long-term economic constraints on decisions.

    “In contrast, housing hardship is the result of long-term economic constraints on decisions, and medical hardship is a combination of short-term economic shocks unrelated to short-term financial resources and longer-term structural and economic constraints.”

    From Poverty, Material Hardship, and Children’s Outcomes: A Nuanced Understanding of Material Hardship in Childhood (2022) · cites this paper as [11]

  • Although the four domains are correlated measures of economic vulnerability, they also reflect different causal processes and different economic experiences.

    “Although these four domains are correlated measures of economic vulnerability, they also reflect different causal processes and different economic experiences [11].”

    From Poverty, Material Hardship, and Children’s Outcomes: A Nuanced Understanding of Material Hardship in Childhood (2022) · cites this paper as [11]

  • Medical hardship is a combination of short-term economic shocks unrelated to short-term financial resources and longer-term structural and economic constraints.

    “In contrast, housing hardship is the result of long-term economic constraints on decisions, and medical hardship is a combination of short-term economic shocks unrelated to short-term financial resources and longer-term structural and economic constraints.”

    From Poverty, Material Hardship, and Children’s Outcomes: A Nuanced Understanding of Material Hardship in Childhood (2022) · cites this paper as [11]

  • Using confirmatory factor analysis, Heflin and colleagues demonstrate that basic expense hardship, food insecurity, housing hardship, and medical hardship are related, but distinct experiences of economic vulnerability emerge through different processes on different time horizons.

    “Using confirmatory factor analysis, Heflin and colleagues [11] demonstrate that basic expense hardship, food insecurity, housing hardship, and medical hardship are related, but distinct experiences of economic vulnerability emerge through different processes on different time horizons.”

    From Poverty, Material Hardship, and Children’s Outcomes: A Nuanced Understanding of Material Hardship in Childhood (2022) · cites this paper as [11]

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Authors
Heflin, C., Sandberg, J., & Rafail, P.
Affiliations
University of Missouri (US)
Corresponding author
Heflin, Colleen
ORCID
Venue
Social Problems
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2009-11
Volume
56
Issue
4
Pages
746-764
ISSN
  • 0037-7791 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-8533
DOI
10.1525/sp.2009.56.4.746
OpenAlex
W2129056097
Cited by
131
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 8
FWCI
15.16
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Social Problems (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Income, Poverty, and Inequality
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Keywords
material hardship, household welfare, food hardship, housing hardship, latent constructs, Survey of Income and Program Participation, poverty measurement

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