Posted on October 25, 2025 by anthonyhopkins33

HOW TO MEMORIZE LINES INSTANTLY (SERIOUSLY)

Posted on October 25, 2025 by anthonyhopkins33

How to MEMORIZE Large Amounts of Information Quickly – Perfect Memory Ha…

Posted on October 25, 2025 by anthonyhopkins33

How to use headings (APA, 7th ed.)

Posted on October 25, 2025 by anthonyhopkins33

APA Style Writings

Pattee and Paterno: View Hours

APA Quick Citation Guide

This guide contains examples of common citation formats in APA (American Psychological Association) Style 7th edition

Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author’s last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers, use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1). More information on direct quotation of sources without pagination is given on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page.

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers’ ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech. Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

References

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(4), 245-259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004). Training strategies for improving listeners’ comprehension of foreign-accented speech (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. Keep in mind that the author may be an organization rather than a person. For sources with no author, use the title in place of an author.

For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). For more information on citations for sources with no date or other missing information see the page on missing reference information on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page.

Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Heavy social media use can be linked to depression and other mental disorders in teens (Asmelash, 2019).

Reference entry

Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens’ mental health by disrupting positive activities, study says. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html

Web page with organizational author:

In-text citation

More than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression (World Health Organization, 2018).

Reference entry

World Health Organization. (2018, March 22). Depression. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

Web page with no date:

In-text citation

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

Reference entry

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaster. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author’s name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author’s name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author:
First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015)
Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)

One study found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note: For direct quotations of more than 40 words, display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text. For more information on citing works by multiple authors see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines page on in-text citation.

Note: When using multiple authors’ names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors’ names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three or more authors: (Tremblay et al., 2010)

Last Updated: Aug 26, 2025 2:58 PM
URL: https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide
Print Page

Subjects: Citation help

Services

Research

About

Ask a Librarian

Posted on October 25, 2025 by anthonyhopkins33

heading-template-student-paper.pdf

https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/heading-template-student-paper.pdf

Posted on October 25, 2025 by anthonyhopkins33

Take a look! 📌

Take a look! 📌 https://pin.it/23jzoWsoi

Posted on October 25, 2025 by anthonyhopkins33

Writing a Research Paper has Changed since 1995

Search tools

AI Overview

+24

Writing a research paper in APA format requires following specific guidelines for structure, formatting, and citations, most recently outlined in the 7th edition

. You can break down the process into five main steps, beginning with the research phase and ending with a final revision.

1. Research and planning

Choose a topic and research question. Select a topic that is both manageable and engaging. Formulate a focused research question that your paper will answer.
Develop a thesis statement. Your thesis should be a clear, concise statement that presents the main argument of your paper.
Conduct in-depth research. Gather credible sources, such as scholarly articles and books, to build a comprehensive literature review.
Create a detailed outline. Structure your paper using an outline that follows the standard APA format: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and References.

2. General formatting and structureUse a consistent format throughout your paper. Margins and spacing: Use 1-inch margins on all sides and double-space the entire paper, including the title page and references.Font: Choose a readable font, such as 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Calibri.Page numbers: Insert a page number in the top right corner of the header on every page, starting with the title page.Page breaks: Start the title page, abstract, and references on their own separate pages. Do not add page breaks between the main sections of the paper, such as the introduction, method, results, and discussion.Student title page: For student papers, center the paper’s title (in bold), your name, your department and university, the course number and name, your instructor’s name, and the assignment’s due date in the top half of the page. 3. Writing the paper’s sectionsWrite the body of the paper following your outline. Abstract: On a new page, write a concise summary of your paper (typically 150–250 words). Do not indent the first line. Include keywords for discoverability.Introduction: Restate the paper’s title at the top of the next page in bold, centered text. Present background information and your thesis statement.Methods: Describe the research participants, materials, and procedures in detail.Results: Report your findings objectively, without interpretation.Discussion: Interpret your results, discuss their implications, and consider limitations and future research.Headings: Use APA’s five-level heading system to organize your content clearly.Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case Heading.Level 2: Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading.Level 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading.Level 4: Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, ending with a period.Level 5: Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading, ending with a period. 4. Citing sources in the text and referencesYou must cite all sources you use to avoid plagiarism. In-text citations: Include the author’s last name and year of publication in the text. For direct quotes, add a page or paragraph number.(Parenthetical): The results were significant (Jones, 2020).(Narrative): Jones (2020) found that the results were significant.Reference list: On a new page titled “References” (in bold and centered), list every source cited in your paper.Alphabetical order: Order your sources alphabetically by the author’s last name.Hanging indent: Use a hanging indent for each entry, meaning the first line is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.Basic format: Entries should follow the standard format: Author, Date, Title, and Source. 5. Final review and editingProofread for errors. Read through your entire paper to catch any spelling, grammar, or punctuation mistakes.Check for APA compliance. Verify that all formatting, headings, and citations adhere to APA 7th edition guidelines.Review your content. Ensure your arguments are logical, well-supported by evidence, and directly address your thesis. Writing in APA Style 7th Edition Example Paper | Antioch UniversityThe Structure of a Paper in APA Style. The APA style guidelines are designed for primary research papers that usually contain. the following sections: (a) intro…Antioch UniversityHow to Write an APA Research Paper – Hamilton CollegeView in PDF format. An APA-style paper includes the following sections: title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Your pa…Hamilton CollegeResearch Process: A Step-By-Step Guide: 5d. APA FormattingResearch Process: A Step-By-Step Guide: 5d. APA Formatting * Get Started. * Step 1: Develop a Topic. 1a. Select a Topic. 1b. Develop Research Questions. 1c. Ide…Lehigh UniversitySteps To Write A Great Research PaperLet’s dive deeper into the 7 steps in writing a research paper. * Step 1: Choose a Topic. … * Step 2: Conduct Preliminary Research. … * Step 3: Develop a Th…Cambridge Centre for International ResearchAPA Research Paper Outline [Examples + Template]Introduction: This section highlights crucial background information. Main body: Explain the primary points that support your ideas. Conclusion: – Summarize you…PapersOwlAPA Formatting – APA Style 7th edition – Library GuidesGeneral Guidelines * Make 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides. * The first word in every paragraph should be indented one half inch. * APA recommends u…LibGuidesFormat a Student Paper in APA 7th Edition Using Microsoft WordThe process involves setting 1-inch margins on all sides, ensuring the entire document is double-spaced, and removing extra space after paragraphs. A page numbe…YouTubeYour APA paper should include five major sections – Canada CollegeYour APA paper should include five major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Paper, Paper Format and References And Citations. See the timeline handout for…Cañada CollegeAPA Research Paper Outline: A Formatting Guide for StudentsWhat is the Proper Order for an APA Style Research Paper Outline? An APA research paper outline follows this sequence: Title Page. Abstract. Introduction. Liter…write paperAPA Formatting and Citation (7th Ed.) | Generator, Template, ExamplesSet page margins to 1 inch on all sides. Double-space all text, including headings. Indent the first line of every paragraph 0.5 inches. Use an accessible font …ScribbrHow to Write an APA Methods Section | With Examples – ScribbrIn your APA methods section, you should report detailed information on the participants, materials, and procedures used. Describe all relevant participant or su…ScribbrFormat Your Paper – APA Style (7th ed.)Include the title, your name, the class name, and the college’s name. Title should be 12 words or less and summarize the paper’s main idea. No periods or abbrev…University of Wisconsin-WhitewaterAPA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing InfoPublished on November 4, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk. Revised on September 5, 2024. This article reflects the APA 7th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 6th ed…ScribbrIn-text Citations – How to Cite in APA Style (7th Edition)Parenthetical vs. Narrative citations * In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative: Parenthetical: the author name and publication date …The Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyAPA Citation Guide (7th Edition): Reference List and Sample PapersA Reference list provides a reliable way for readers to locate the works authors cite. Here are a few rules for a Reference list: The Reference list appears aft…guides.library.unr.eduReference List Basics – APA 7th EditionBegin your reference list on a new page. The word References should be centered and bold at the top of the page. Double-space your reference list. For each auth…The University of AlabamaElements of reference list entries – APA StyleReference list entries include the four elements of the author, date, title, and source. This page describes each element in detail: the author element, includi…APA StyleYour APA paper should include five major sections – Canada College* GUIDELINES FOR WRITING YOUR RESEARCH PAPER. Your APA paper should include five major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Paper, Paper Format and Referenc…Cañada CollegePublishing a Research Paper | Stratford Peer Reviewed Journals & booksResearch publishing entails five stages. In this blog, I will explain the five stages of publishing a research paper that anyone can follow to achieve the miles…Stratford JournalsA Guide to Academic Writing in APA FormatNeed to write an academic paper using APA format? APA stand for the American Psychological Association and it is a standard writing style in most scientific pap…University of Northwestern, St. PaulMastering APA Format with AI Essay Writers: A Comprehensive GuideMaintain consistent formatting throughout your paper, adhering to APA guidelines meticulously from start to finish.Yomu AIAPA Tutorial Unit 3: Choreographing Your APA PaperAfter completing the title page, we need to insert a page break and set up the headers for the pages after page 1.University of Maryland Global CampusHow to write a research paper5. Outline and write the body.AdobeHow To Write A Research Paper FastWrite the body The outline you created earlier will now be used to write your body paragraphs. Ensure that you are writing focused on your thesis statements and…The Public Health MillennialResearch Paper Format | APA, MLA, & Chicago Templates – ScribbrFrequently asked questions about research paper formatting. How do I format a paper in APA Style? To format a paper in APA Style, follow these guidelines: Use a…ScribbrHow to Write a Research Paper: A Step-By-Step GuideLast but not least, you want to go through your research paper to correct all the mistakes by proofreading. We recommend going over it twice: once for structura…GrammarlyResearch Paper FormatProofreading a Research Paper Spelling mistakes or problems with grammar. Make sure the format is constant throughout the paper. That there is consistent format…http://www.excellent-proofreading-and-writing.com Plagiarism in College Papers and the Use of Proper CitationFailing to recheck what you’ve written is a common problem. Ideally, you should re-read your paper at least once, looking for errors in spelling, punctuation an…apuedge.com

Dive deeper in AI Mode

AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more

Purdue OWLhttps://owl.purdue.eduGeneral Format – Purdue OWL

Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References. Title Page. Note: APA 7 provides slightly different …APA Sample Paper APA Stylistics: Basics General Writing FAQs Additional Resources Can be found here

Economic Inequality

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY: UNDERSTANDING AND CHANGING THE SOCIAL WORLD

Economic Inequality and Poverty in the United States

Learning Objectives

Understand trends in U.S. inequality.
Explain the social distribution of U.S. poverty.
Distinguish the structural and individual explanations of poverty.
List the major effects of poverty.

In his classic book The Other America, Michael Harrington (1962) brought the reality of poverty home to many Americans. In chapter after chapter, he discussed the troubled lives of the poor in rural Appalachia, in our urban centers, and in other areas of the country, and he indicted the country for not helping the poor. His book helped kindle interest in the White House and Congress in aiding the poor and deeply affected its thousands of readers. Almost five decades later, we know much more about poverty than we used to. Despite initial gains in fighting poverty in the 1960s (Schwartz, 1984), poverty is still with us and has worsened since the early 2000s, especially since the onset of the serious economic recession that began in 2008. What do we know about the extent of poverty, the reasons for it, and its consequences?

Economic Inequality

The United States has a very large degree of economic inequality. A common way to examine inequality is to rank the nation’s families by income from lowest to highest and then to divide this distribution into fifths. Thus, we have the poorest fifth of the nation’s families (or the 20% of families with the lowest family incomes), a second fifth with somewhat higher incomes, and so on until we reach the richest fifth of families, or the 20% with the highest incomes. We then can see what percentage each fifth has of the nation’s entire income. Figure 8.6 “Share of National Income Going to Income Fifths, 2016” shows such a calculation for the United States. The poorest fifth enjoys only 3.8% of the nation’s income, while the richest fifth enjoys 53.2%. Another way of saying this is that the richest 20% of the population have as much income as the remaining 80% of the population.

Figure 8.6 Share of National Income Going to Income Fifths, 2016 Source: Data from Congressional Budget Office.

This degree of inequality is the largest in the industrialized world. Figure 8.7 “Income Inequality Around the World” compares the inequality among several industrialized nations by dividing the median income of households in the 90th percentile (meaning they have more income than 90% of all households) by the median income of households in the 10th percentile (meaning they have more income than only 10% of all households); the higher the resulting ratio, the greater a nation’s inequality. The ratio for the United States, 4.86, far exceeds that for any other nation.

Figure 8.7 Income Inequality Around the World Ratio of median income of richest 10% in each nation to that of poorest 10%. Source: Data from Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press [An imprint of Cornell University Press].

Economic inequality in the United States has increased during the last two decades. The loss of manufacturing jobs and changes in taxation and income distribution policies since the early 1980s have favored the rich and hurt the economic standing of the middle class and the poor (Barlett & Steele, 2002; Wilson, 2009). After adjusting for inflation, the post-tax income of the nation’s wealthiest families grew by a much greater amount than that for the poorest families from 1979 to 2005. It grew by only 6% for the poorest fifth but by 80% for the wealthiest fifth, and it also grew by a whopping 228% for families in the top 1% of the nation’s families (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009). As the saying goes, the rich get richer. To recall our earlier discussion, to be upwardly mobile, it helps to be well-off to begin with.

Poverty

When U.S. officials became concerned about poverty during the 1960s, they quickly realized they needed to find out how much poverty we had. To do so, a measure of official poverty, or a poverty line, was needed. This line was first calculated in 1963 by Mollie Orshansky who proposed determining the poverty line by multiplying the cost of a very minimal diet by three, as a 1955 government study had determined that the typical American family spent one-third of its income on food. Thus a family whose income is lower than three times the cost of a very minimal diet is considered officially poor.

The measure of official poverty began in 1963 and stipulates that a family whose income is lower than three times the cost of a minimal diet is considered officially poor. This measure has not changed since 1963 even though family expenses have risen greatly in many areas. Bill Herndon – Katrina Leftovers 1 – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

This way of calculating the poverty line has not changed since 1963, even though many other things, such as energy, child care, and health care, now occupy a greater percentage of the typical family’s budget than was true in 1963. As a national measure, the poverty line also fails to take into account regional differences in the cost of living. For all of these reasons, many experts think the official measurement of poverty is highly suspect. As a recent report observed, “Most poverty analysts strongly believe that the official poverty statistics are inadequate to the task of determining who is poor in America” (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009, p. 298).

The poverty line is adjusted annually for inflation and takes into account the number of people in a family: the larger the family size, the higher the poverty line. In 2018, the poverty line for a nonfarming family of four (two adults, two children) was $25,100. A four-person family earning even one more dollar than $25,100 in 2018 was not officially poor, even though its “extra” income hardly lifted it out of dire economic straits. Policy experts have calculated a no-frills budget that enables a family to meet its basic needs in food, clothing, shelter, and so forth; this budget is about twice the poverty line. Families with incomes between the poverty line and twice the poverty line are barely making ends meet, but they are not considered officially poor. When we talk here about the poverty level, keep in mind that we are talking only about official poverty and that there are many families and individuals living in near-poverty who have trouble meeting their basic needs, especially when they face unusually high medical or motor vehicle expenses or the like. For this reason, some analyses use “twice-poverty” data (i.e., family incomes below twice the poverty line) to provide a more accurate understanding of how many Americans face serious financial difficulties.

The Extent and Social Distribution of Poverty

With this caveat in mind, how many Americans are poor, and who are they? The U.S. Census Bureau gives us some answers. In 2009, 14.3% of the U.S. population, or almost 44 million Americans, lived in (official) poverty (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2010). This percentage represented a decline from the early 1990s but was higher than the rate in the late 1960s (see Figure 8.8 “U.S. Poverty, 1959–2017”). If we were winning the war on poverty in the 1960s, since then poverty has fought us to a standstill.

Figure 8.8 U.S. Poverty, 1959–2017 Source: Data from U.S. Census Bureau. (2017). Historical poverty tables: People. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/historical/people.html.

Another way of understanding the extent of poverty is to consider episodic poverty, defined by the Census Bureau as being poor for at least 2 consecutive months in some time period. From 2004 to 2007, the last years for which data are available, almost one-third of the U.S. public, equal to about 95 million people, were poor for at least 2 consecutive months, although only 2.2% were poor for all 3 years (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2010). As these figures indicate, people go into and out of poverty, but even those who go out of it do not usually move very far from it.

Learning From Other Societies

Poverty and Poverty Policy in Other Western Democracies

To compare international poverty rates, scholars commonly use a measure of the percentage of households in a nation that receive less than half of the nation’s median household income after taxes and cash transfers from the government. In 2000, the latest date for which data are available, 17% of U.S. households lived in poverty as defined by this measure (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009). By comparison, selected other Western democracies had the following rates (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009, p. 384):Canada11.4%Denmark9.2%France8.0%Germany8.3%Norway6.4%Spain14.3%Sweden6.5%United Kingdom12.4%

The average poverty rate of Western democracies excluding the United States is 9.8%. The U.S. rate is thus 1.73 times greater than this average.

Why is there so much more poverty in the United States than in its Western counterparts? Several differences between the United States and the other nations stand out. First, other Western nations have higher minimum wages and stronger unions than the United States has, and these lead to incomes that help push people above poverty. Second, the other nations spend a much greater proportion of their gross domestic product on social expenditures (income support and social services such as child care subsidies and housing allowances) than does the United States. As a recent analysis concluded,

Other peer countries are much more likely than the United States to step in where markets have failed to live their most disadvantaged citizens out of poverty. This suggests that the relatively low expenditures on social welfare are at least partially implicated in the high poverty rates in the United States. (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009, p. 387) In short, the United States has so much more poverty than other democracies in part because it spends so much less than they do on helping the poor. The United States certainly has the wealth to follow their example, but it has chosen not to do so, and a high poverty rate is the unfortunate result.

Who are the poor? Contrary to popular images, the most typical poor person in the United States is white: approximately 44% of poor people are white (non-Latino), 29% are Latino, 23% are black, and 4% are Asian (see Figure 8.9 “Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Poor, 2009 (Percentage of Poor Persons in Each Group)”). At the same time, race and ethnicity affect the chances of being poor: while only 9.4% of non-Latino whites are poor, 25.8% of African Americans, 12.5% of Asians, and 25.3% of Latinos (who may be of any race) are poor (see Figure 8.10 “Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty, 2009 (Percentage of Each Group That Is Poor)”). Thus African Americans and Latinos are almost three times as likely as non-Latino whites to be poor. (Because there are so many non-Latino whites in the United States, the plurality of poor people are non-Latino white, even if the percentage of whites who are poor is relatively low.) Chapter 10 “Race and Ethnicity” further discusses the link between poverty and race and ethnicity.

Figure 8.9 Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Poor, 2009 (Percentage of Poor Persons in Each Group) Source: Data from DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2010). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009 (Current Population Report P60-238). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

Figure 8.10 Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty, 2009 (Percentage of Each Group That Is Poor) Source: Data from U.S Census Bureau Current Population Survey. (2008). POV01: Age and sex of all people, family members and unrelated individuals iterated by income-to-poverty ratio and race. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/macro/032008/pov/new01_100.htm.

Turning to age, almost 21% of children under age 18 are poor (amounting to more than 15 million children), including 35.7% of African American children and 33.1% of Latino children (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2010). The poverty rate for U.S. children is the highest in the Western world and 1.5 to 9 times greater than the corresponding rates in Canada and Western Europe (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009). At the other end of the age distribution, 8.9% of people aged 65 or older are poor (amounting to about 3.4 million seniors). Turning around these U.S. figures, about 36% of all poor people in the United States are children, and about 8% of the poor are 65 or older. Thus some 44% of Americans living in poverty are children or the elderly.

The poverty rate for U.S. children is the highest in the Western world. Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 3.0.

The type of family structure also makes a difference: whereas only 8.5% of children living with married parents live in poverty, 43% of those living with only their mother live in poverty (2007 data). This latter figure is about 32% for Asian children and for non-Latino white children and rises to slightly more than 50% for African American children and Latino children (Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbawa, & Collins, 2009). As these latter numbers indicate, families headed by a single woman are much more likely to be poor. Poverty thus has a female face.

Explaining Poverty

Explanations of poverty focus on problems either within the poor themselves or in the society in which they live (Iceland, 2006). The first type of explanation follows logically from the functional theory of stratification and may be considered an “individual” explanation. The second type of explanation follows from conflict theory and is a structural explanation that focuses on problems in American society that produce poverty. As the “Sociology Making a Difference” box discusses, the explanation of poverty people favor affects how sympathetic they are to the poor.

According to the individual explanation, the poor have personal problems and deficiencies that are responsible for their poverty. In the past, the poor were thought to be biologically inferior, a view that has not entirely faded, but today the much more common belief is that they lack the ambition and motivation to work hard and to achieve. According to the World Values Survey, 60% of Americans believe that people are poor “because they are lazy and lack will power.” This percentage reflects the tendency of Americans to favor individual explanations of poverty (Davidson, 2009).

A more sophisticated version of this type of explanation is called the culture of poverty theory (Banfield, 1974; O. Lewis, 1966). According to this theory, the poor generally have beliefs and values that differ from those of the nonpoor and that doom them to continued poverty. For example, they are said to be impulsive and to live for the present rather than the future. Critics say this view exaggerates the degree to which the poor and nonpoor do in fact hold different values and ignores discrimination and other problems in American society (Iceland, 2006).

According to the second, structural explanation, U.S. poverty stems from problems in American society that lead to lack of equal opportunity. These problems include (a) racial, ethnic, gender, and age discrimination; (b) lack of good schooling and adequate health care; and (c) structural changes in the American economic system, such as the departure of manufacturing companies from American cities in the 1980s and 1990s (Iceland, 2003). These problems help create a vicious cycle of poverty in which children of the poor are often fated to end up in poverty or near-poverty themselves as adults.

Sociology Making a Difference

Attributions for Poverty and Public Education Campaigns

The text discusses two general explanations for poverty. The first attributes poverty to lack of willpower and other problems among the poor themselves, while the second attributes poverty to structural obstacles and lack of opportunity in the larger society. As the text notes, Americans tend to favor the first explanation more than the second explanation. They also tend to disagree that the government should do more to help the poor. Could these two sets of views be linked? If so, what would such a link imply for poverty policy?

Sociological research finds that the explanation we favor for poverty—the attribution for poverty we hold—affects whether we want the government to take an active role in helping the poor (Bradley & Cole, 2002). People who attribute poverty to problems in the larger society are much more likely than those who attribute it to deficiencies among the poor to believe that the government should take such a role. The attribution for poverty we hold presumably affects the amount of sympathy we have for the poor, and our sympathy, or lack of sympathy, in turn affects our views about the government’s role in helping the poor. As sociologist Theresa C. Davidson (2009) observes, “Beliefs about the causes of poverty shape attitudes toward the poor.”

This body of research strongly suggests that public support for government aid for the poor is weak because so much of the public attributes poverty to failings among the poor themselves. If so, the public might very well begin to endorse greater government aid if its attribution for poverty became more structural instead of individual. Public education campaigns that call attention to the lack of opportunity and other structural problems that account for poverty thus might further poverty policy by beginning to change public perceptions of the poor.

Most sociologists favor the structural explanation. As our earlier Monopoly example illustrates, poverty greatly blocks opportunities for success. Later chapters document racial and ethnic discrimination, lack of adequate schooling and health care, and other problems that make it difficult to rise out of poverty. On the other hand, some ethnographic research supports the individual explanation by showing that the poor do have certain values and follow certain practices that augment their plight (Small, Harding, & Lamont, 2010). For example, the poor have higher rates of cigarette smoking (34% of people with annual incomes between $6,000 and $11,999 smoke, compared to only 13% of those with incomes $90,000 or greater (Goszkowski, 2008), which helps lead them to have more serious health problems. Adopting an integrated perspective, some researchers say these values and practices are in many ways the result of poverty itself (Small, Harding, & Lamont, 2010). These scholars concede a culture of poverty does exist, but they also say it exists because it helps the poor cope daily with the structural effects of being poor. If these effects lead to a culture of poverty, they add, then poverty becomes self-perpetuating. If poverty is both cultural and structural in origin, these scholars say, a comprehensive national effort must be launched to improve the lives of the people in the “other America.”

The Effects of Poverty

However poverty is explained, it has important and enduring effects, which later chapters will continue to discuss. For now, we can list some of the major consequences of poverty (and near-poverty) in the United States. As we do so, recall the sociological perspective’s emphasis on how our social backgrounds influence our attitudes, behaviors, and life chances. This influence on life chances is quite evident when we look at some of the effects of poverty (Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbawa, & Collins, 2009; Iceland, 2006; D. Lindsey, 2009):

Poor children are more likely to have inadequate nutrition and to experience health, behavioral, and cognitive problems. Kelly Short – Poverty: “Damaged Child,” Oklahoma City, OK, USA, 1936. (Colorized). – CC BY-SA 2.0.

The poor are at greater risk for family problems, including divorce and domestic violence. The stress of being poor is thought to be a major reason for these problems.
The poor are also at greater risk for health problems, including infant mortality, earlier mortality during adulthood, mental illness, and inadequate medical care. Many poor people lack health insurance. Poor children are more likely to have inadequate nutrition and to suffer health, behavioral, and cognitive problems. These problems in turn impair their ability to do well in school and land stable employment as adults, helping to ensure that poverty will persist across generations.
Poor children typically go to rundown schools with inadequate facilities where they receive inadequate schooling. They are much less likely than nonpoor children to graduate from high school or to go to college. Their lack of education in turn restricts them and their own children to poverty, once again helping to ensure a vicious cycle of continuing poverty across generations.
The poor are, not surprisingly, more likely to be homeless than the nonpoor but also more likely to live in dilapidated housing and unable to buy their own homes. Many poor families spend more than half their income on rent. The lack of adequate housing for the poor remains a major national problem.

Key Takeaways

Inequality refers to the gap between the rich and the poor. The United States has a high degree of inequality.
Although the official poverty line measure has been criticized for several reasons, in 2017 about 12.3% of the U.S. population, or more than 40 million people, were living in official poverty.
About 18% of U.S. children live in official poverty; this rate is the highest in the Western world.
Explanations of poverty focus on problems either within the poor themselves or in the society in which they live. These two types of explanations reflect the functionalist and conflict views, respectively.
Poverty has several important and enduring consequences, including many kinds of health problems.

Self Check

about:blank

Reducing U.S. Poverty: What Sociology Suggests

It is easy to understand why the families in Wichita, Kansas, discussed in the news story that began this chapter might be poor in the middle of a deep economic recession. Yet a sociological understanding of poverty emphasizes its structural basis in bad times and good times alike. Poverty is rooted in social and economic problems of the larger society rather than in the lack of willpower, laziness, or other moral failings of poor individuals themselves. Individuals born into poverty suffer from a lack of opportunity from their first months up through adulthood, and poverty becomes a self-perpetuating, vicious cycle. To the extent a culture of poverty might exist, it is best seen as a logical and perhaps even inevitable outcome of, and adaptation to, the problem of being poor and not the primary force driving poverty itself.

This sort of understanding suggests that efforts to reduce poverty must address first and foremost the structural basis for poverty while not ignoring certain beliefs and practices of the poor that also make a difference. An extensive literature on poverty policy outlines many types of policies and strategies that follow this dual approach (Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbawa, & Collins, 2009; Iceland, 2006; D. Lindsey, 2009; Cancian & Danziger, 2009; Turner & Rawlings, 2005). If these were fully adopted, funded, and implemented, they would offer great promise for reducing poverty. As two poverty experts recently wrote, “We are optimistic that poverty can be reduced significantly in the long term if the public and policymakers can muster the political will to pursue a range of promising antipoverty policies” (Cancian & Danziger, 2009, p. 32). Although a full discussion of these policies is beyond the scope of this chapter, the following measures are commonly cited as holding strong potential for reducing poverty:

Adopt a national “full employment” policy for the poor, involving federally funded job training and public works programs.
Increase federal aid for the working poor, including earned income credits and child care subsidies for those with children.
Establish well-funded early childhood intervention programs, including home visitations by trained professionals, for poor families.
Improve the schools that poor children attend and the schooling they receive and expand early childhood education programs for poor children.
Provide better nutrition and health services for poor families with young children.
Strengthen efforts to reduce teenage pregnancies.

References

Banfield, E. C. (1974). The unheavenly city revisited. Boston, MA: Little, Brown; Lewis, O. (1966). The culture of poverty. Scientific American, 113, 19–25.

Barlett, D. L., & Steele, J. B. (2002). The great American tax dodge: How spiraling fraud and avoidance are killing fairness, destroying the income tax, and costing you. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Bradley, C., & Cole, D. J. (2002). Causal attributions and the significance of self-efficacy in predicting solutions to poverty. Sociological Focus, 35, 381–396.

Cancian, M., & Danziger, S. (2009). Changing poverty and changing antipoverty policies. Ann Arbor: National Poverty Center, University of Michigan.

Davidson, T. C. (2009). Attributions for poverty among college students: The impact of service-learning and religiosity. College Student Journal, 43, 136–144.

DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2010). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009 (Current Population Report P60-238). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

Goszkowski, R. (2008). Among Americans, smoking decreases as income increases. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/105550/among-americans-smoking-decreases-income-increases.aspx.

Harrington, M. (1962). The other America: Poverty in the United States. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Iceland, J. (2003). Dynamics of economic well-being, 1996–1999 (Current Population Report P70–91). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

Iceland, J. (2006). Poverty in America: A handbook. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Lindsey, D. (2009). Child poverty and inequality: Securing a better future for America’s children. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press [An imprint of Cornell University Press].

Moore, K. A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbawa, K., & Collins, A. (2009). Children in poverty: Trends, consequences, and policy options. Washington, DC: Child Trends. Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2009_04_07_RB_ChildreninPoverty.pdf.

Schwartz, J. E. (1984, June 18). The war we won: How the great society defeated poverty. The New Republic, 18–19.

Small, M. L., Harding, D. J., & Lamont, M. (2010, May). Reconsidering culture and poverty. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 629, 6–27.

Turner, M. A., & Rawlings, L. A. (2005). Overcoming concentrated poverty and isolation: Ten lessons for policy and practice. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Wilson, W. J. (2009). The economic plight of inner-city black males. In E. Anderson (Ed.), Against the wall: Poor, young, black, and male (pp. 55–70). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Previous: Social Class in the United States

Next: The Nature and Extent of Global Stratification BACK TO TOP