PSE Measures Review Paper: Children's Deprivation Items

The Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK Project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The Project is a collaboration between the University of Bristol, University of Glasgow, Heriot Watt University, Open University, Queen's University Belfast, University of York, the National Centre for Social Research and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. The project commenced in April 2010 and will run for three-and-a-half years. The primary purpose is to advance the 'state of the art' of the theory and practice of poverty and social exclusion measurement. In order to improve current measurement methodologies, the research will develop and repeat the 1999 Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey. This research will produce information of immediate and direct interest to policy makers, academics and the general public. It will provide a rigorous and detailed independent assessment on progress towards the UK Government's target of eradicating child poverty. This research has three main objectives: * To improve the measurement of poverty, deprivation, social exclusion and standard of living. * To assess changes in poverty and social exclusion in the UK. * To conduct policy-relevant analyses of poverty and social exclusion. This paper aims to provide a critical review of the children's items used in PSE99 and provide suggestions for improvements in PSE11. A rationale for the inclusion of child-related deprivation items will be presented, followed by an analysis of the items used in PSE99. Questions used in other established surveys will then be considered, particularly where comparable items are used. Next, a description of the process of developing a new set of items for inclusion in the Understanding Children's Wellbeing 2010 survey is presented. Two lists of deprivation items (short and long) are presented for consideration, along with analysis of items according to the age of children and recommendations about which age groups items are relevant for. The paper is written for an internal audience, or at least people who are assumed to be familiar with the socially perceived necessities methods.