Sociology 441: Stratification

Types of inequality: hardships

Hardship measures are a type of standard of living index, but targeted at some minimally acceptable well-being. Lack of one or more basic necessities would be considered living in hardship. Lists vary; they usually include:

• food (versus going without a meal because of lack of money).
• shelter (versus being evicted or having gas/electricity turned off because of a missed payment).
• medical care (versus not getting an illness/injury treated because of lack of money.

• Susan Mayer and Christopher Jencks's study of family hardship in a 1983-85 Chicago survey; and
• Kathleen Short and Martina Shea's national comparison of poor and non-poor families on various hardship indicators.