Sabrina Mikes

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hernandez, Sarah

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the causes and solutions to poverty among, low-income, white, single mothers from their perspective. I conducted five in-depth interviews with mothers about their experiences, struggles, needs and perspectives regarding poverty and ultimately the solutions they envision to alleviate it. Building from previous research about the causes of poverty, I use the framework of an individual, cultural, and structural lens to examine these causes and solutions. Through analysis on the five, qualitative interviews with the mothers, I found that bad partners and divorce, the responsibilities and roles of single motherhood, low quality jobs, and inaccessible resources were major causes to poverty among the women. Solutions ranged from individual development to community support and structural change. These four themes as well as their solutions pull upon aspects from each of the individual, cultural, and structural lens. With this I conclude that poverty among the women in the study is best explained with an inter-relational understanding of individual, cultural, and structural factors rather than a disjointed one. Solutions then must address each of these aspects in order to be effective. This framework of understanding poverty ultimately acknowledges both structure and agency co-exist in a way that allows for both social responsibility and transformational change. I ultimately argue that ideological and economic transformation are necessary for alleviation of poverty among these women.

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