Psychology and poverty. Influence of locus of control, self-efficacy and learned helplessness

Abstract

The psychological study of poverty has developed to a large extent during the last 10 years. Research has been carried out and books and scientific papers have been published in several areas of psychology. Recent findings have indicated that there is a relationship between living in poverty and the development or presence of certain psychological characteristics, some of them individual (personality traits, tendency to mental disorders, differences in intelligence, and specific skills), also differences in language development, concepts acquisition, motivation, and other variables. Among the most important for social mobility are locus of control, self-efficacy, absence of depression, and to have positive networks support. In this paper we present a review of the contributions of psychology for the understanding of poverty, and describe a descriptive study of self-efficacy, locus of control and learned helplessness, based on the hypothesis that there is a great level of helplessness in people from low socioeconomic levels. Participants were 30 people of 1 and 2 socioeconomic levels according to Sisben (a classification system used in Colombia), from Bogotá (Bosa, San Cristobal and Suba), and neighboring towns, Anolaima and La Mesa (Cundinamarca). Two scales were applied to the participants: General Self-Efficacy Scale (of Baessler and Schwarzer) and Locus of Control (Rotter); a semi-structured interview was applied to each participant in his/her home, after having established contact with community leaders and established rapport with the families. Results were in agreement with findingsfrom other contexts concerning locus of control and self-efficacy. A great level of learned helplessness wasfound in the vocalizations of the participants. Other categoriessuch asfamily dynamics, time perception and future planning are discussed based on previousscientific findings and the strategies and policies for poverty erradication at the world level. Other relevant factors were religious beliefs and the perception of politics and democracy. Findings are discussed in relation to policies for poverty eradication at the world level, and psychology´s contribution for the understanding and modification of attitudes, behaviors and cognitions associated with poverty.