Poverty and perceived stress: Evidence from two unconditional cash transfer programs in Zambia

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Development Economics
• Social Policy

Background:

• Poverty acts as a significant chronic stressor, negatively impacting physical and mental health outcomes.
• Understanding the effects of poverty alleviation programs on stress is crucial for improving well-being in vulnerable populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of two unconditional cash transfer programs on perceived stress and poverty indicators in Zambian households.
• To investigate the relationship between economic security, food security, and perceived stress in low-income settings.

Main Methods:

• Utilized secondary data from two cluster randomized controlled trials in Zambia.
• Assessed perceived stress using the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) among female caregivers.
• Measured poverty through per capita expenditure, food security, and asset ownership, employing fixed effects and OLS regressions.

Main Results:

• Unconditional cash transfers improved economic security, including per capita consumption expenditure, food security, and asset ownership.
• Perceived stress levels were not significantly reduced by the cash transfer programs.
• Food insecurity and household deaths were associated with higher perceived stress levels.

Conclusions:

• While cash transfers improved economic indicators, they did not alleviate perceived stress in this Zambian context.
• Food security emerged as a significant stressor, though program-induced improvements were insufficient to impact stress levels.
• Further research is needed to validate the perceived stress measure's applicability in this population and explore other stress determinants.