Psycho-social dimensions of poverty: When poverty becomes shameful

This article outlines the significance of shame as a non-material and social dimension of poverty and its potentially devastating impact on people facing economic hardship. Shifting the previously held focus on the individual to the collective in poverty and shame research, it argues for a more comprehensive understanding of the ways in which shame is generated and sustained on a social level within the current historical context and offers theoretical underpinnings with regard to the social construction of poverty-related shame. The article goes on to present implications for social policy by demonstrating the role of cultural and policy institutions in determining the level of shame attached to poverty and how it can be counterproductive to efforts to alleviate poverty and enhance social inclusion.