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Abstract
Long-term low-income households face economic hardship, together with a lack of opportunities, which restrict their social participation. There is a widely held belief among professionals that these households poorly manage their finances. This exploratory study aims to gain a deeper understanding of these households' difficulties and strategies of family financial management in Portugal, taking into account the perspectives of both members of the households and professionals. Comparing viewpoints is relevant in order to identify how they might be informing interactions and interventions. A qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews was used; the sample comprised 10 household members and 10 professionals. The main findings suggest that professionals believe these households demonstrate insufficient management strategies, while household members report struggling to manage insufficient resources. These distinctive views seem to facilitate interaction patterns characterized by mutual distrust, which should be taken into consideration when designing interventions, particularly concerning financial management.
Os agregados familiares com pobreza de longa duração enfrentam dificuldades económicas, associadas a escassez de oportunidades, que limitam a sua participação social. Os profissionais tendem a considerar que estes agregados gerem mal os recursos financeiros. O objectivo deste estudo exploratório é compreender melhor as dificuldades e estratégias de gestão financeira nesses agregados em Portugal, considerando a perspectiva de famílias e profissionais. Comparar essas perspectivas é relevante para analisar a influência nas interacções e intervenções. Adoptou-se uma metodologia qualitativa baseada em entrevistas semiestruturadas; a amostra compreende 10 membros de agregados familiares e 10 profissionais. Os principais resultados sugerem que os profissionais consideram que estes agregados familiares demonstram ter insuficientes estratégias de gestão, enquanto os membros das familiares referem esforçar-se para gerir recursos insuficientes. Estas perspectivas distintas parecem facilitar padrões de interacção caracterizados por desconfiança mútua, o que deve ser considerado no desenho de intervenções principalmente as dirigidas à gestão financeira.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Sofia Rodrigues is a Psychologist and Family Therapist. She is a Ph.D. student in Psychology at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Her research is focused in collaborative approaches to community intervention with vulnerable families; in particular she has developed photovoice interventions with several groups of vulnerable populations. She has worked in the supervision of interventions with multiple problem families.
Liliana Sousa is a Psychologist and Family Therapist. Currently, she is Auxiliary Professor at the Department of Health Sciences, University of Aveiro, Portugal, and Director of the Doctoral Programme in Gerontology and Geriatrics. She has an Aggregation in Health Sciences, and a Ph.D. in Educational Sciences. She was Pro-Rector responsible for social development at this university. She has worked and researched for several years on the field of community intervention with vulnerable families.
Madalena Alarcão is a Psychologist and Family Therapist. Currently, she is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal, and vice-rector at the same university. She is a Consultant for the National Commission for Protection of Minors at Risk, and a Social Judge at the Court of Family and Minors in Coimbra. Her research has focused systemic models for community intervention with vulnerable families.