Attitudes to poverty: Findings from the British Social Attitudes survey

This research examines the public’s views about poverty: its meaning, prevalence and causes. It describes the British Social Attitudes survey questions, and presents the most recent findings, from 2003.

Cluster analysis reveals two key population groups:

• Those with a liberal approach to poverty
• Those with a sceptical view of poverty

This is based on their beliefs about poverty’s meaning, its prevalence and cause. Regression analysis is then used to explore and better understand the socio-demographic profiles of these two groups.