This book presents a multidimensional, psychosocial and critical understanding of poverty by bringing together studies carried out with groups in different contexts and situations of deprivation in Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Spain. The book is divided in two parts. The first part presents studies that unveil the psychosocial implications of poverty by revealing the processes of domination based on the stigmatization and criminalization of poor people, which contribute to maintain realities of social inequality. The second part presents studies focused on strategies to fight poverty and forms of resistance developed by individuals who are in situations of marginalization.
The studies presented in this contributed volume depart from the theoretical framework developed by Critical Social Psychology, Community Psychology and Liberation Psychology, in an effort to understand poverty beyond its monetary dimension, bringing social, cultural, structural and subjective factors into the analysis. Psychological science in general has not produced specific knowledge about poverty as a result of the relations of domination produced by social inequalities fostered by the capitalist system. This book seeks to fill this gap by presenting a psychosocial perspective with psychological and sociological bases aligned in a dialectical way in order to understand and confront poverty.
Psychosocial Implications of Poverty – Diversities and Resistances will be of interest to social psychologists, sociologists and economists interested in multidimensional studies of poverty, as well as to policy makers and activists directly working with the development of policies and strategies to fight poverty.
Table of Content
Part I. Critical and psychosocial perspectives on poverty.- Chapter 1. Research in Psychology in the contexts of poverty: For what and for whom?.- Chapter 2. Social Representations of Poverty.- Chapter 3. Social inequality and psychology: perspective for the debate on poverty.-Chapter 4. Stigmatization of Poverty: Bases of Prejudice and Violence against the Poor.- Chapter 5. Experiences of Humiliation and Shame: a psychosocial analysis in Brazilian contexts of poverty.- Chapter 6. Poverty, stigma and drug use: reflections on a perverse relationship.- Chapter 7. The perception of social conditions and its impact on the inclusion processes of people in extreme poverty and social exclusion.- Part II. Strategies of Resistance and fight against poverty.- Chapter 8. Practices of resistance to the stigmatization of poverty: possible pathways.- Chapter 9. Social Support as a way of tackling poverty.- Chapter 10. The poverty stoplight and its psychosocial and multidimensional approach.- Chapter 11. Poverty, gender relations and women’s autonomy in the Brazilian rural environment.- Chapter 12. Personal well-being and hope in population living under poverty conditions in Merida, Mexico.- Chapter 13. Indigenous Epistemologies and Visions on Poverty: Aesthetics and Spirituality as Resistance.- Chapter 14. Poverty and Youth: psychosocial implications, ways of life and coping with daily adversities.- Chapter 15. Strategies to tackle poverty: an analysis based on studies carried out with people in psychic suffering and prostitutes.- Chapter 16. Pathways to overcoming poverty: reflections on the path of inclusion of the poor student in higher education.
About the author
Verônica Morais Ximenes is a full professor at the Department of Psychology, Federal University of Ceará, Brazil. She holds a Ph D in Psychology from University of Barcelona, Spain, and has developed post-doctoral studies at the Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She is the coordinator of the Nucleus of Community Psychology (NUCOM in Portuguese) at the Federal University of Ceará, which develops teaching, research and extension activities in Community Psychology. She is also a former coordinator of the working group on Community Health of the Brazilian National Association of Research and Graduate Studies in Psychology (ANPEPP) and was the president of the 5th International Conference on Community Psychology. She conducts research on the psychosocial implications of poverty in partnership with the Autonomous University of Yucatán, Mexico, and is a member of the Latin American Network for Training in Community Psychology. She directsher academic activities in the following themes: community psychology, psychosocial implications of poverty, public policies, contexts of social vulnerability and others. Dr. Ximenes holds a productivity grant level 2 from the Brazilian National Council for Researcher and Technological Development (CNPq).
James Ferreira Moura Jr. is adjunct professor at the Institute of Humanities, University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusophony, Brazil, and professor at the Graduate Program in Psychology, Federal University of Ceará, Brazil. He holds a Ph D in Psychology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and coordinates the Network of Studies and Confrontations of Poverty, Discrimination and Resistance (rea PODERE in Portuguese), which develops activities of critical teaching, research and collaborative extension programs. He is a collaborating researcher at the Nucleus of Community Psychology (NUCOM) at the Federal University of Ceará and conductsresearch mainly on the following themes: Community Psychology, Public Policy, Poverty, Shame/Humiliation, Evaluation and Decolonial Studies about racism, classism and intersectionalities.
Elívia Carmuça Cidade is a professor in the undergraduate courses in Psychology at Ari de Sá College, Brazil, and Christus University Center, Brazil. She holds a Ph D in Psychology from Federal University of Ceará, Brazil, with a doctoral internship at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mexico (CAPES/PDSE Scholarship). She holds a Master in Psychology from the Federal University of Ceará and is a Specialist in Public Health Management. She is a member of the Community Psychology Nucleus of the Federal University of Ceará (NUCOM/UFC), where she develops research on the psychosocial implications of life in poverty, focusing on the themes of confrontation, fatalism, resilience and ways of life. She is also a Member of the Network of Transcultural Studies of Poverty, formed by researchers from Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.
Barbara Nepomuceno is academic coordinator and professor in the undergraduate course in Psychology at the Ari de Sá College, Brazil, and a member of the Community Psychology Center of the Federal University of Ceará. She holds a Ph D in Psychology from Federal University of Ceará, Brazil, with a doctoral internship at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mexico (CAPES/PDSE Scholarship). She holds an Official Master in Psychosocial Interventions from the University of Barcelona, Spain, and a BA in Psychology from the Federal University of Ceará. She has professional experience in the following areas: social psychology, community psychology, health psychology, psychosocial care and mental health. She develops researches (quantitative and qualitative) in the fields of social psychology, community psychology, psychology and poverty, mental health, psychology and public policies.