AB153. Kakaluluan (poverty): a mixed-method approach to understanding poverty perceptions and awareness among Kapampangan families

Background: Poverty in the Philippines remains a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, particularly among families enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the country’s flagship conditional cash transfer initiative. Among Kapampangan households in Angeles City, poverty is experienced not only as material deprivation but also as a social and symbolic condition shaped by cultural narratives and lived realities. Understanding how beneficiaries perceive and conceptualize poverty is essential in designing responsive and empowering poverty alleviation strategies.

Methods: This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. The quantitative phase involved 117 4Ps beneficiaries who completed two validated instruments: the Poverty Perception Scale (PPS) and the Poverty Awareness Scale (PAS). Quantitative findings informed the qualitative phase, which consisted of unstructured, in-depth interviews guided by a grand tour question. Concept coding and thematic analysis were used to analyze qualitative data and identify recurring patterns in participants’ lived experiences. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, and originality was verified using Turnitin plagiarism detection software.

Results: Quantitative findings indicated moderately positive perceptions of living conditions among participants. However, respondents predominantly attributed poverty to individual-level factors such as lack of effort or weak work ethic, with limited acknowledgment of structural determinants including policy gaps, unequal access to services, and labor market constraints. Qualitative findings revealed persistent experiences of food insecurity, difficulty accessing healthcare, dependence on informal debt, and emotional fatigue. This contrast highlights a dissonance between perceived self-sufficiency and the ongoing realities of systemic deprivation.

Conclusions: Despite enduring structural hardships, Kapampangan 4Ps beneficiaries tend to internalize personal responsibility narratives of poverty. Addressing this gap requires strengthening Family Development Sessions through poverty literacy modules, community-based education, transparency initiatives, and anti-stigma interventions. Enhancing critical awareness may support sustainable empowerment and more holistic poverty reduction outcomes.

Keywords: Conditional cash transfer; poverty perception; Philippines; Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries (4Ps beneficiaries); mixed-method research