Perceptions of poverty and associated factors among first- and second-year nursing students: a cross-sectional study.
- 1Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hakkari University, Hakkari, Türkiye.
- 2Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Türkiye.
- 3Faculty of Health Sciences, Hakkari University, Hakkari, Türkiye.
Abstract
Background
Poverty is a key social determinant of health. This study examined perceptions of poverty among first- and second-year nursing students and the characteristics associated with them.Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a single university in southeastern Türkiye between June and July 2025. All 675 first- and second-year students were invited to complete an anonymous online questionnaire; 523 questionnaires were returned, 519 (76.9%) came from students in an eligible year, and 512 (75.9%) met all eligibility criteria and were analysed. Measures were a personal information form, including a single-response item on the perceived cause of poverty, and the Perception of Poverty Scale for University Students (PPS). Analyses were exploratory: descriptive statistics, t-tests and one-way ANOVA with effect sizes and post-hoc tests, and hierarchical multiple linear regression with heteroscedasticity-consistent (HC3) standard errors.Results
Poverty was most often attributed to "injustice" (43.0%) and "lack of opportunity" (27.5%). Students selecting "injustice" had higher PPS scores than those selecting "lack of opportunity" (p = 0.001, g = 0.41) or "sometimes people are to blame" (p = 0.023, g = 0.46). Scores differed by mother's education (F (5, 506) = 3.27, p = 0.006, η²p = 0.031) but not by father's education, family income, year of study or employment status. In the final regression model (R² = 0.075), mother's education (B = -1.15, 95% CI - 1.77 to -0.53) and attribution to injustice (B = 2.88, 95% CI 1.62 to 4.15) were associated with PPS scores; the female-male difference was small and imprecisely estimated (B = 1.29, 95% CI - 0.11 to 2.69), and household income adequacy, year of study and father's education showed no evidence of association.Conclusion
In this single-university sample, maternal education and attribution of poverty to injustice were associated with PPS scores, whereas no evidence of an association with self-reported household income adequacy was observed. The analyses were exploratory and the model accounted for a small proportion of the variance; the cross-sectional design does not support causal inference or conclusions about the effectiveness of educational approaches. Poverty-related beliefs merit evaluation in educational research using measures of knowledge, stigma and practice.
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BibTeX
@article{bor2026perceptions,
title = {{Perceptions of poverty and associated factors among first- and second-year nursing students: a cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Neşe Ataman Bor and Soner Berşe and Revşen Özer},
journal = {Frontiers in public health},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1941236},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42846229},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Perceptions of poverty and associated factors among first- and second-year nursing students: a cross-sectional study.
AU - Neşe Ataman Bor
AU - Soner Berşe
AU - Revşen Özer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - Frontiers in public health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1941236
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42846229
AB - Background Poverty is a key social determinant of health. This study examined perceptions of poverty among first- and second-year nursing students and the characteristics associated with them.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a single university in southeastern Türkiye between June and July 2025. All 675 first- and second-year students were invited to complete an anonymous online questionnaire; 523 questionnaires were returned, 519 (76.9%) came from students in an eligible year, and 512 (75.9%) met all eligibility criteria and were analysed. Measures were a personal information form, including a single-response item on the perceived cause of poverty, and the Perception of Poverty Scale for University Students (PPS). Analyses were exploratory: descriptive statistics, t-tests and one-way ANOVA with effect sizes and post-hoc tests, and hierarchical multiple linear regression with heteroscedasticity-consistent (HC3) standard errors.Results Poverty was most often attributed to "injustice" (43.0%) and "lack of opportunity" (27.5%). Students selecting "injustice" had higher PPS scores than those selecting "lack of opportunity" (p = 0.001, g = 0.41) or "sometimes people are to blame" (p = 0.023, g = 0.46). Scores differed by mother's education (F (5, 506) = 3.27, p = 0.006, η²p = 0.031) but not by father's education, family income, year of study or employment status. In the final regression model (R² = 0.075), mother's education (B = -1.15, 95% CI - 1.77 to -0.53) and attribution to injustice (B = 2.88, 95% CI 1.62 to 4.15) were associated with PPS scores; the female-male difference was small and imprecisely estimated (B = 1.29, 95% CI - 0.11 to 2.69), and household income adequacy, year of study and father's education showed no evidence of association.Conclusion In this single-university sample, maternal education and attribution of poverty to injustice were associated with PPS scores, whereas no evidence of an association with self-reported household income adequacy was observed. The analyses were exploratory and the model accounted for a small proportion of the variance; the cross-sectional design does not support causal inference or conclusions about the effectiveness of educational approaches. Poverty-related beliefs merit evaluation in educational research using measures of knowledge, stigma and practice.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -