Authors:
Miranda J. Lubbers | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain
Hugo Valenzuela-García | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain
Paula Escribano | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain
Isabel Ferrándiz | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain
Marta Lobato | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain
Eduard Sala | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain
Mercedes Vázquez | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain
Researchers have often assumed that households in poverty rely on formal and informal systems of support to make ends meet. However, during the economic crisis, formal support programs of the Spanish government have been considerably reduced, and the 11% decrease in the median income in Spain between 2009 and 2015 (source: INE) might suggest that informal support networks have also suffered a depletion. In addition, various studies have suggested that households in poverty have smaller networks, and that networks are rather homogeneous in socio-economic terms. Also, it has been suggested that support from informal networks is often temporal and less available for more chronic conditions.
With this in mind, we aim to understand the relative role of informal support networks in the practices and strategies of subsistence of households in poverty. What are the networks like, in terms of size and homogeneity? Do norms of reciprocity govern the support structures, and if so, what effects does this have? Is the support from friends and family of a structural nature or rather a resource during emergencies?
In order to answer these questions, we use mixed-methods data from our research project “Strategies of Survival in Poor Households: The Role of Formal and Informal Support Networks in Times of Economic Crisis” (Recercaixa, 2015ACUP 00145). The project contains in-depth interviews with individuals of approximately 50 households that are located under the poverty threshold. We collected detailed information about their financial resources and household composition. Furthermore, social support networks are delineated using multiple name generators of received, perceived and provided support. We also use two name generators to delineate the sociability network, in order to serve as a reference for the support network. Furthermore, for each alter, we asked respondents whether they perceived the financial situation of alters to be much better, better, about equal, worse or much worse than their own situation. Semi-structured interviews provided further information about the precise workings of the support network, including conflicts and tensions, broken relationships, and the relative importance of informal support.
Preliminary results show that support networks vary in size and functionality, but in general they tend to be small and fragile, especially of people who have been in a situation of poverty more chronically. Indeed, norms of generalized reciprocity govern the support networks, and at times not being able to comply with those norms leads to conflict, self-exclusion or broken ties.