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Material Deprivation Status of Malaysian Children from Low-Income Families

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Abstract

The article discusses material deprivation experienced by poor children in Malaysia. The data from a survey of 360 poor Malaysian children, age 9 to 17 years old. The study measured the material deprivation index based on the socially perceived necessities methodology. The findings implied that poor children in Malaysia experienced only a small degree of material deprivation. The results of this study provide valuable inputs for the government of Malaysia to improve its social services for children, which in the long run could help to enhance the children’s well-being.

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Data Availability

Data generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Administration and Justice, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Siti Hajar Abu Bakar Ah, Sabri Sulaiman & Noralina Omar

  2. Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1205, Bangladesh

    M. Rezaul Islam

  3. Department of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    M. Rezaul Islam

Authors
  1. Siti Hajar Abu Bakar Ah
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  2. M. Rezaul Islam
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  3. Sabri Sulaiman
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  4. Noralina Omar
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Contributions

SHABH led the team of this research, reviewed literature, and drafted this paper. SRI reviewed literature, drafted, revised, and approved the final version of the paper. SS and NO supervised the field and assisted SHABH and SRI in literature review and referencing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Rezaul Islam.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the Ethical Standards of the University of Malaya Research Ethics Committee. No animals were harmed in the process of conducting this research.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants over the age of 18. Informed assent (with parental/guardian informed consent) was obtained from children and adolescents under the age of 18.

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Abu Bakar Ah, S.H., Rezaul Islam, M., Sulaiman, S. et al. Material Deprivation Status of Malaysian Children from Low-Income Families. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 38, 139–148 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00732-x

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