A social work exploration of the ways poverty or material deprivation contributes to loss of hope
The objective of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore how participants’ feelings of hope were impacted by their lived experience of material deprivation or poverty. An ecological perspective framed by the social determinants of health and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shaped my understanding of the elements of a healthy, hopeful life. Literature describing the prevalence and impact of suicide, and seven suicide theories guided my understanding of the importance of hope in human lives. A purposeful criterion sampling method was used to recruit five current or former residents of Saskatchewan, Canada, who have lived experience of poverty or material deprivation, for one semi-structured, audio recorded interview. The research question for this study was: how does poverty or material deprivation contribute to the loss of hope? Thematic analysis of verbatim interview transcriptions generated the following themes: 1) Impacts of poverty, 2) Contributors to on-going poverty, 3) Impacts on expectations, 4) Connections and support, 5) Parenting, and 6) Sources of hopelessness. Study findings suggest that poverty or material deprivation has had an on-going influence on the hopefulness of the participants even after they have risen out of poverty or material deprivation. Implications to social work practice, theory and policy were discussed at the end. Key Words: hope, hermeneutic, poverty, material deprivation, suicide
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Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina