Research finds twice poverty rate

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Northern Ireland has double the rate of persistent child poverty than the rest of the UK, a charity has said.

A Save the Children report found that for more than a quarter of children, poverty is a short-term issue - but for 21%, it is a long-term experience.

Researcher Marina Monteith said living in poverty for years was likely to be much more serious than experiencing poverty on a more temporary basis.

She said there were "high levels of stress" in such households.

"Persistent poverty impacts adversely on the experience of childhood and life chances are reduced - in terms of educational opportunities as well as health and well-being," she said.

"In addition, children living in persistent poverty are living in households where parents are clearly experiencing high levels of stress and struggling to cope."

The research - Persistent Child Poverty in Northern Ireland - was carried out by Save the Children in partnership with Ark, the Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive.

The introduction of the Northern Ireland Household Panel (NIHPS) survey in 2001 has allowed analysts to study the duration of child poverty.

Research Director at Ark Katrina Lloyd said the same people are followed up each year.

"This enables researchers to study how their circumstances change over the four year period for which data is available (2001-2004).

"Using this information, we are able to study whether child poverty is short-term or persistent - that is, being poor for at least three of the four years.

She said those most affected by persistent poverty were children living in families dependent mainly on benefits, children living with a lone parent and children living in families with a disabled or elderly adult or a disabled child.

"Furthermore, the analysis showed that parents of children living in poverty had poorer mental health and that mental health and well-being was worst for mothers of children living in persistent poverty," she said.