Impacts of Poverty on Quality of Life in Families of Children with Disabilities

This review of the literature examines the impact of poverty on the quality of life in families of children with disabilities. Twenty-eight percent of children with disabilities, ages 3 to 21, are living in families whose total income is less than the income threshold set by the U.S. Census Bureau. This review found a variety of impacts of poverty on the five dimensions of family, including health (e.g., hunger, limited health care access); productivity (e.g., delayed cognitive development, limited leisure opportunities); physical environment (e.g., overcrowded and unclean homes, unsafe neighborhoods); emotional well-being (e.g., increased stress, low self-esteem); and family interaction (e.g., inconsistent parenting, marital conflict over money). Implications of the findings for policy, research, and practices are suggested.