Intra-household Inequality, poverty and well-being

This chapter begins with a brief overview of the literature that demonstrates correlations between relative deprivation and psychological distress, and between financial strain and psychological distress, and those few studies which look at these issues within ‘the black box’ of the household. It reviews results of a specially designed individual level study that examined differences between spouses in material deprivation across a broad range of indicators, the management of scarce resources and psychological strain. The chapter explores the question of whether such differences have a significant and negative psychological impact on member of the family burdened with this relative deprivation and disproportionate financial responsibility. Social inequality, financial strain and within-household distribution provide the framework for the chapter, which looks at the impact of inequality in material outcomes on individual well-being and coping in heterosexual married couples. In relation to the fatalism measure, multivariate analysis showed the importance of household income, age, education and social status for both husbands and wives.