Social representation of poverty

Abstract

Currently, patterns of discriminatory behavior against people who are in poverty often continue to be in force, supported by myths, false beliefs, stereotyped ideas, prejudices and stigmas towards poor people or people in situations of social exclusion. In this way, discrimination is generated and, therefore, isolation and re-victimization of these people in a vulnerable situation, which justifies the approach of this research. The aim of this work is to investigate social representations about poor people, using a nonexperimental quantitative methodology. For this purpose, an ad hoc questionnaire was designed, consisting of 27 items that combine Likert-type scale questions, multiple choice questions, closed and open questions, which was applied to a sample of n=160 participants. After analyzing and interpreting the data, and according to the results obtained, we confirm the existence of beliefs and thoughts that still show negative indices, which underline the need for intervention. So that society is able of recognizing and empathizing with both vulnerable social groups and the problems they suffer, a vast amount of awareness-raising work is still pending. In conclusion, the importance of a psychosocial and educational intervention is emphasized, which is essential to raise awareness among the population, to give greater visibility to the group, to reduce the barriers that restrict their development and to achieve their full inclusion in the society.