Disparities in Poverty Characteristics among Diverse Family Structures: Evidence from Socioeconomically Deprived Rural China

Background Identifying disparities in poverty characteristics across different family structures is crucial for understanding the multidimensional nature of poverty and developing targeted intervention strategies. Methods This study was conducted in 2023 socioeconomic deprived rural areas of Shandong Province, China. The multidimensional poverty index system includes six dimensions, with higher scores reflecting greater deprivation. The deprivation scores were calculated according to the weights of multidimensional poverty index system to explore the poverty characteristics of different family structures. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis was used to assess the impact of family structure on various poverty characteristics. Results The results showed that compared to single-person households, young couple households, elderly couple households, two-generation families, and multigenerational families exhibited significant negative correlations with economic security, education, social capital, and living conditions ( P  < 0.05). Additionally, elderly couple households, two-generation families, and multigenerational families were significantly negatively correlated with health status compared to single-person households ( P  < 0.1). Specifically, elderly couple households showed a significant negative correlation with healthcare utilization compared to single-person households ( P  < 0.1). Conclusion These findings suggest that decision-makers should pay more attention to the distinct poverty characteristics of various family structures, which will enable the implementation of tailored and comprehensive support measures that effectively address the unique challenges faced by different household types.