A child-derived material deprivation index

This thesis details the development of a child-derived index of child material deprivation. Whilst child poverty has come to the fore in academic and policy circles in recent decades, definitions and measures have tended to draw on adult-derived understandings of poverty. The aims of this thesis are to test whether children’s own perceptions of poverty can be used to form a scientifically robust and practically useful measurement tool, and to demonstrate the use of such a tool.

The research draws on Mack and Lansley’s (1985) consensual approach to poverty measurement. Focus groups and surveys with children were used to produce a child-derived index of material deprivation. Analysis indicates that this index, whilst open to development and improvement, is a useful tool in measuring child poverty and in understanding the relationship between child poverty and children’s subjective well-being. It can also be used to compare children’s and adults’ conceptions and reports of poverty. Findings indicate that commonly used indicators of poverty such as income, receipt of free school meals and adults in paid work appear to make much more sense to adult conceptions of poverty than they do to children’s conceptions. These findings reinforce the view that children’s conceptions of their needs can be used to further our understandings of child poverty and its impacts.

The work is split into four parts: a literature and data review, providing the rationale and justification for the work; a methodological section detailing the development of the child-derived index of material deprivation; a substantive section providing examples of uses of the index and exploring what it can contribute to understandings of child poverty; and a conclusion detailing limitations, drawing together findings, and making recommendations for research and policy.