<p>This effect was identified in a report by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development (Jensen et al., 2006). It specifically indicated that individuals experiencing eight or more "life shocks" (negative life events) experienced significantly more negative socioeconomic outcomes. </p>

<p>This effect is referenced on Wikipedia's Cycle of Poverty page (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty</a>), which links to a news story on the report (Berry, 2006) and the report itself. </p>

<p>A summary of the report's findings were later published in an academic journal (Jensen et al., 2007).</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Berry, R. (2006, July 12). "Life shocks" tip people into hardship.
<em>The New Zealand Herald.</em> Retrieved from: <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&amp;objectid=10390891" rel="nofollow">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&amp;objectid=10390891</a></p></li>
<li><p>Jensen, J., Krishnan, V., Hodgson, R., Sathiyandra, S., Templeton,<br>
R., Jones, D., ... &amp; Beynon, P. (2006). New Zealand Living Standards 
2004 Ngā Āhuatanga Noho o Aotearoa. Wellington: Ministry of Social      Development. Retrieved from:<br>
<a href="http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/document/pdf/living-standards-2004.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/document/pdf/living-standards-2004.pdf</a></p></li>
<li><p>Jensen, J., Sathiyandra, S., &amp; Matangi-Want, M. (2007). The 2004 New 
Zealand Living Standards Survey: What does it signal about the importance of multiple disadvantage?. <em>Social Policy Journal of New  Zealand, 30</em>, 110-144.</p></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-05T12:49:12.990Z
Thank you! I spent quite a bit of time looking for it, but I couldn't remember where I saw it and Google searches where turning up different things.
Anul
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-18T18:12:54.177Z
2015-04-18T18:12:54.177Z
user30295
<p>I recall a study that concluded the <strong>risk of falling into poverty / homelessness</strong> increases dramatically after experiencing 5 (or 7?) <strong>traumatic life events</strong>, such as</p>

<ul>
<li>Death of a loved one</li>
<li>Abandonment by spouse</li>
<li>Bankruptcy</li>
<li>Being fired</li>
<li>Foreclosure</li>
</ul>

<p>etc (a <strong>threshold effect</strong>). That's about as clear a memory as I can form, and search engines don't help. Anybody know about this study? It might have been from New Zealand.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-17T07:11:00.623Z
Thanks for editing the title... But it's a **threshold** effect. There are several studies on "efects of life events on poverty etc" but this documented a significant rise above a threshold. That's why I compared it to "3 strikes and you're out"
Anul
<social-psychology><reference-request><sociology>
What study examined the effect of number of traumatic life events on falling into poverty?
Anul
# What study examined the effect of number of traumatic life events on falling into poverty?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-16)

I recall a study that concluded the **risk of falling into poverty / homelessness** increases dramatically after experiencing 5 (or 7?) **traumatic life events**, such as

* Death of a loved one
* Abandonment by spouse
* Bankruptcy
* Being fired
* Foreclosure

etc (a **threshold effect**). That's about as clear a memory as I can form, and search engines don't help. Anybody know about this study? It might have been from New Zealand.

**Tags:** social-psychology, reference-request, sociology

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for editing the title... But it's a **threshold** effect. There are several studies on "efects of life events on poverty etc" but this documented a significant rise above a threshold. That's why I compared it to "3 strikes and you're out"  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-04-18. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

This effect was identified in a report by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development (Jensen et al., 2006). It specifically indicated that individuals experiencing eight or more "life shocks" (negative life events) experienced significantly more negative socioeconomic outcomes.

This effect is referenced on Wikipedia's Cycle of Poverty page (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty>), which links to a news story on the report (Berry, 2006) and the report itself.

A summary of the report's findings were later published in an academic journal (Jensen et al., 2007).

* Berry, R. (2006, July 12). "Life shocks" tip people into hardship.
  *The New Zealand Herald.* Retrieved from: <http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10390891>
* Jensen, J., Krishnan, V., Hodgson, R., Sathiyandra, S., Templeton,  
  R., Jones, D., ... & Beynon, P. (2006). New Zealand Living Standards
  2004 Ngā Āhuatanga Noho o Aotearoa. Wellington: Ministry of Social Development. Retrieved from:  
  <http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/document/pdf/living-standards-2004.pdf>
* Jensen, J., Sathiyandra, S., & Matangi-Want, M. (2007). The 2004 New
  Zealand Living Standards Survey: What does it signal about the importance of multiple disadvantage?. *Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 30*, 110-144.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you! I spent quite a bit of time looking for it, but I couldn't remember where I saw it and Google searches where turning up different things.  

---

