When Poverty Is Shameful: The Role of Poverty-Related Shame in the Relationship Between Household Economic Situation and Psychological Adjustment

Poverty-related shame refers to a negative evaluation of one's core self, triggered by a poor household economic situation. This study developed a questionnaire (Poverty-related Shame Scale) to quantify poverty-related shame and explored the role of it in the relationship between household economic situation and psychology adjustment among Chinese college students. The results indicated that household economic situation affected social adjustment directly and indirectly, and emotional adjustment only indirectly, through a chain linking of poverty-related shame and self-esteem. This study provides a quantitative foundation for further research on poverty-related shame, the chain-mediating model may have implications for interventions targeting impoverished adolescents.