Social Studies SBA

Teacher: Ms Biggs

Candidate number: 1000522790

School: Jamaica College

Center number: 100052

Territory: Jamaica

Year: 2021-2022

Table of Contents
Statement of the Problem 3

Reasons for Conducting Research 4

Method of Investigation 5

Data Collection Instrument 6

Procedures for Data Collection 7

Presentation of Data 8

Tally Sheet 14

Analysis & Interpretation of Data 20

Statement of Findings 22

Recommendations & Implementation Strategy 23

Appendix 24

Bibliography 29

Statement of the Problem

2
The issue of poverty which is of a global scale is an effector of the way of life of the residents
of the Young Street community. It has plagued the community by preventing development
and a low standard of living.

What is the Main Effect of Poverty in the community of Young Street, Spanish Town?

Reasons for Conducting Research

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Young Street is a street situated in the urbans of Spanish Town,St. Catherine which consists

mainly of businesses and a few houses. While businesses are located within this area, the area

is still affected by the issue of poverty as residents lack sufficient resources to cater to the

needs of their families. The researcher has always been intrigued by the topic “Poverty”

because due to being a witness to the unhappy life or sufferings it entails such as not being

able to afford school and providing food for the family. Beforehand the topic of “poverty”

was known by the researcher to be the state of not having enough resources to meet the basic

needs of human life. This is usually so because of low levels of employment and

underdeveloped communities. Through observation, it is clear that poverty has been a plague

in the community and by extension to a great portion of the country’s population and all its

negative effects. The researcher hopes to find out what major effect poverty has on the

community of Young Street and methods to reduce the rising level of destitution in that area.

Method of Investigation

For this study, the researcher has utilized a survey as the method of investigation/ A

questionnaire is the instrument of investigation.

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According to Business Jargon's website, a Questionnaire is a set of standardized questions,

often called items, which follow a fixed scheme in order to collect individual data about one

or more specific topics. A questionnaire allows the researcher to address a vast amount of

issues in a standardized way. This procedure of obtaining data has quite a few advantages

such as it enables easy data analysis by using structured questions. A lot of information can

be accumulated in a short period of time. The respondents are able to complete the

questionnaire at a time suitable for them and it provides the researcher with quantitative data.

The researcher used this instrument because it is time efficient and easy to analyze the data

that was gathered.

Data Collection Instrument

Dear Citizens,

This survey was created to be conducted in the community of Young Street to

find out the main effect of poverty in this area. I decided to use a questionnaire to aid in my

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research for my Social Studies SBA. I assure you that any personal information will be kept

confidential and you are asked to answer truthfully. Questions can be answered by a click on

the circle and in the spaces provided. There are no incorrect or correct answers.

Thank you for your time for sparing the time to respond.

R. Smith

Procedures for Data Collection

The questionnaire on the topic “What is the Main Effect of Poverty in the community of

Young Street, Spanish Town?” was issued to residents of the Young Street community on

Sunday November 21, 2021. The collection of all the data took 4 approximately 4 days.

A total of twenty-five questionnaires were distributed using the judgment sampling

technique. They consisted of sixteen questions; fifteen of which were closed ended and 1

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open ended question. The random sampling technique was used based on my knowledge of

the interactive community members and those I knew who would complete the survey. I

made my judgment to distribute the questionnaire to them. Of the twenty-five questionnaires

distributed only seventeen of them were retrieved on Thursday, November 25, 2021.

Presentation of Data

7
Fig 1. Show the overall highest level of education in the community

The data represented by this graph shows that 12% of the respondents highest level of
education is the primary level, 53% chose Secondary level of education, 29% respondents
have a tertiary level education and 6% for TVET.

8
Fig 2. Shows the most common family type in the community

This graph displays data saying 53% respondents chose single parent, 24% are a part of a
nuclear family, 18% chose extended family and 6% for sibling households.

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Fig 3. Shows the main causes of poverty in the community

The data in this graph shows that 18% of respondents selected lack of government support.
29% said lack of employment, another 29% chose lack of education and 24% said location of
community.

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Fig 4. Shows the main effects of poverty on the community.

This graph depicts 58.8% of residents think that the main effect poverty has on the
community is crime and violence, 17.6% think its unemployment, 17.6% say its
undereducation and a measly 5.9 think its malnutrition.

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Fig 5. Shows the impacts poverty has on the family.

The data presented by this graph shows that 7 respondents think that the impact poverty has
on the family is that they are unable to provide the basic needs, 5 believe it breaks up the
family structure, 4 think its domestic abuse and 1 respondent chose child labour.

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Fig 6. Shows those who believe poverty leads to gang violence.

The data in this pie chart shows that a whopping 88.2% of residents think that gang violence
is a huge effect of poverty on the community and 11.8% think it does not.

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 Tally Sheet

Questions and Options Tally Percentage %

1. What is your gender?

Male |||| || 41

Female |||| |||| 59

2. Which age group do you

belong to?

18-25 |||| 23.5

|| 11.8
26-33
||| 17.6
34-41
|||| || 41.2
42- 60
| 5.9
61 and over

How long is your residency

in the community?

1-5 years | 6

|||| 24
6-10 years
|||| 24
11-15 years
|||| ||| 47
16 or more

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What is your highest level of

education?

Primary level || 12

|||| |||| 53
Secondary level
|||| 29
Tertiary level
| 6
TVET

What is your employment

status?

Employed |||| |||| 59

|||| || 41
Unemployed

What is your marital status?

Single |||| |||| || 70.6

Married ||| 17.6

| 5.9
Divorced
| 5.9
Widowed

What family type is your

household?

Single Parent ||||| |||| 52.9

|||| 23.5
Nuclear

15
Extended family ||| 17.6

Sibling household | 5.9

How many dependents do

you have?

None |||| || 41

|||| 29
1-3
||| 18
4-6
|| 12
7 and more

What do you think is the

cause of poverty in the

community?
|||| 29
Lack of employment
|||| 24
Location of community
|||| 29
Lack of education
||| 18
Lack of government support

What is the main effect of

poverty in the community?

Undereducation ||| 17.6

16
Unemployment ||| 17.6

Malnutrition | 5.9

Crimes and violence |||| |||| 58.8

What is the main effect of

poverty on the individual?

Stress
|||| |||| 53

Untreated health issues |||| 29

Prostitution

||| 18
Hunger

How has poverty impacted

the family?

Child labour
| 6

|||| 24
Domestic abuse

|||| || 41
unable to provide the basic

needs

17
Breaking up in the family |||| 29

structure

Do you think poverty leads

to gang violence?

yes |||| |||| |||| 88

|| 12
no

Do you agree that poverty

has contributed to an

increase in the ‘begging’

mentality within the

community?
|||| |||| 58.8
Strongly Agree
|| 11.8
Agree
||| 17.6

Disagree || 11.8

Strongly Disagree

What do you think can be

done to reverse the effects of

poverty on the community?

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Provision of better-paying |||| 23.5

jobs

Encourage entrepreneurship
|| 11.8

Government should provide

Provide more skills training |||| ||| 47.1

What role can citizens play

in mitigating the drastic

effects of poverty?

(Open Ended)

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 Analysis & Interpretation of Data

In doing my survey of the Young Street community there were findings which showed that

the majority of respondents (53%) answered the question, ”What is your highest level of

education?” by choosing the secondary level option in contrast to the 6% that said none. This

means the education level of the community is really low and this is a detriment. According

to the Global Citizen website “Families living in poverty often have to choose between

sending their child to school or providing other basic needs”; so it is not surprising that most

persons in the community haven’t attained a higher level of education than high school.

According to the data presented by fig 2, which asked persons “What family type is your

household? It was observed that a majority of the persons living in the community are a part

of a single parent family; a whopping 53% while sibling households account for 6% making

it very rare. Households with only one employed parent are usually in a lower income bracket

than those with two wage earners. Families who live in poverty or just above poverty level

have fewer resources available to promote a healthy environment,” as stated in an article by

HelloMotherhood website. Single parent families are more likely to fall in poverty because

they don't have a stable income.

Lack of education and lack of employment both accounted for 29% of persons who think

they are the main cause of poverty in the community while lack of government support is the

minority of answers. As stated previously, with such low levels of education it can and will

become a detriment. A lack of quality education leads to a hardship in finding well paid jobs

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therefore hindering some families from having a stable income to provide for their needs and

wants which contributes to them falling into poverty and in those bounds.

Malnutrition as an effect of poverty was the answer selected by 6% percent of the

respondents. This is a small percentage when compared to crime and violence which received

59% of answers. It can be observed that crimes are rampant in the community. Possibly

because the community is made up of a lot of single-parent households the parent may not be

able to provide for their child/children. Forcing them to commit acts of violence such as

robbing and purse snatching, to satisfy their hunger for basic needs and wants.

As shown in fig 5, 41% of respondents say that poverty impacts their family by not being

able to provide basic necessities. Surprisingly, only 6% responded with child labour. With not

being able to get jobs it can be understood why many people choose that option. Without an

income it is difficult to be stable thus these families find themselves living in poverty.

A measly 12% of respondents answered “no” to the question “Do you think poverty leads to

gang violence?”; in contrast to a massive 88% who said yes. It indicates that there are a lot of

broken homes possibly because the community is made up of a lot of single parent

households (mostly single mothers). With a lot of fathers being absent or dysfunctional kids

might not feel as loved as they should and see their moms struggling so they turn to gangs to

feel a sense of belonging and commit crimes. According to the SpringerLink website “Most

scholars as well as lay persons believe that those who live in poverty more frequently engage

in acts of violence as a consequence of conditions that they are subjected to.”

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 Statement of Findings

During my investigation, I compiled a collection of data pertaining to the effects of poverty

on the communty of Young Street.

➢ Crime and Violence is the main effect of Poverty on the community. (58.8%)

➢ A main effect on the community is the inaccessibility of jobs which means residents

find it difficult to satisfy the wants and needs of their families.

➢ 53% of residents live in single prent homes, it is clear there a disruption of the family

dynamic.

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 Recommendations & Implementation Strategy

With the completion and analysis of this extensive research a few practical solutions that can

be carried out to reverse the effects of poverty are:

● Firstly, he government should make education more accessible by providing

scholarships or providing free education.

It was observed that most residents did not attain a higher level of education than the

secondary level so therefore the government can implement a university scholarship

program to give residents a chance at furthering their education so that they are able

to meet the qualifications of a good-paying job.

➢ This could be implemented by figuring out the students you want to help.

➢ Set a requirement they are supposed to meet

➢ Identify the fields the scholarships will fund.

➢ Make arrangements with the different universities they are able to attend.

➢ Find the Fundings for the scholarships.

➢ Advertise the scholarship programs to make them known to residents.

● The government should invest in developing the poor infrastructure of the community.

➢ Fix the atrocious roads in the community.

➢ Demolish and rebuild old abandoned buildings to rent or lease out for business

purposes to attract investors and boost employment in the community.

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 Appendix

1. What is your gender?

Male

Female

2. Which age group do you belong to?

18-25

26-33

34-41

42- 60

61 and over

How long is your residency in the community?

1-5 years

6-10 years

11-15 years

16 or more

What is your highest level of education?

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 Primary level

Secondary level

Tertiary level

TVET

What is your employment status?

Employed

Unemployed

What is your marital status?

Single

Married

Divorced

Widowed

What family type is your household?

Single Parent

Nuclear

Extended family

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 Sibling household

How many dependents do you have?

None

1-3

4-6

7 and more

What do you think is the cause of poverty in the

community?

Lack of employment

Location of community

Lack of education

Lack of government support

What is the main effect of poverty in the community?

Undereducation

Unemployment

Malnutrition

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 Crimes and violence

What is the main effect of poverty on the individual?

Stress

Untreated health issues

Prostitution

Hunger

How has poverty impacted the family?

Child labour

Domestic abuse

unable to provide the basic needs

Breaking up in the family structure

Do you think poverty leads to gang violence?

yes

no

Do you agree that poverty has contributed to an increase in the ‘begging’ mentality within the

community?

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 Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

What do you think can be done to reverse the effects of poverty on the community?

Provision of better-paying jobs

Encourage entrepreneurship

Government should provide financial assistance

Provide more skills training

What role can citizens play in mitigating the drastic effects of poverty?

___________________________________-

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 Bibliography

(n.d.). Global Citizen - Join the Movement Changing the World. Retrieved April 4, 2022,

from http://www.globalcitizen.org

(n.d.). Hello Motherhood. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from http://www.hellomotherhood.com

Bulmer, M. (2004). SAGE Benchmarks in Social Research Methods (illustrated, reprint ed.).

SAGE Publications.

Oxford Languages and Google - English | Oxford Languages. (n.d.). Oxford Languages.

Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en

Lavraka, P. J. (2008). SAGE Researchmethods. Retrieved April 04, 2022, from

https://methods.sagepub.com/

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