A Multidimensional Analysis of Social Vulnerability

Social vulnerability is often defined as a life-situation characterized by a multi-dimensional combination of disadvantage and advantage, of inclusion and exclusion factors. Its distinctive characteristic is that the weak and unstable integration in the main mechanisms of resources distribution in contemporary society places the people in a situation of uncertainty and high exposure to the risk of poverty and, eventually, of social exclusion. Because of its often temporary nature, vulnerability is difficult to capture. The present paper presents various aspects of social vulnerability and the structuring of the main elements of which it is constituted.The analysis focuses across the family structure, exposure to poverty (temporary or permanent), housing conditions, the family/work system (the presence of unemployed and temporary workers in the household), the ways in which work and childcare are reconciled, and the presence of dependent persons in households in economically compressed situations.