Poverty and fatalism: Impacts on the community dynamics and on hope in Brazilian residents.

The aim of this study was to analyze the consequences of poverty on expressions of fatalism, hope, and sense of community of two Brazilian States: Ceará and Rio Grande do Sul. Seven-hundred and thirty-one people, divided in four groups (extreme poverty, poverty, median income, and adequate income) answered a questionnaire. The variables sense of community and hope were found to be predictors of fatalism. Individuals in situations of poverty and extreme poverty showed high indices of fatalism, pessimism, divinity control, and luck, and low indices of hope and sense of community. Individuals with adequate income have low levels of fatalism, pessimism, and divinity control. It is concluded that poverty has consequences on the life of those who experience it, and that attitudes of pessimism, hopelessness, and belief in luck as well as the weakening of community networks, articulate and support the maintenance of the status quo.