Shifting Attitudes Toward Poverty: Effects of the Spent Online Simulation on Msw Students Perceptions

Background and Purpose: Homelessness and poverty remain significant social issues in the United States. According to the 2026 U.S. Census Bureau, 10.6% of the population, approximately 35.9 million people live in poverty, with higher rates in San Bernardino County (12.5%). While many individuals express sympathy toward those experiencing poverty, beliefs about its causes vary. Social work students are preparing to work with diverse populations, including individuals living below the poverty line, and their attitudes may influence the care they provide. Guided by the social determinants of health framework, this study examined whether graduate social work students’ perceptions of poverty and homelessness changed after completing the SPENT online poverty simulation.

Methods: This quantitative study used descriptive statistics and paired two-tailed t-tests to examine pre- and post-survey responses. Data were collected from 88 incoming MSW students during orientation at California State University, San Bernardino. Participants completed a 27-item survey, including demographic questions and the 21-item Attitudes Toward Poverty (ATP) Short Form. Pre-surveys were administered prior to the simulation, followed by post-surveys immediately after completion.

Results: Participants were primarily Hispanic (n = 55) and female (n = 61). Attitudes were measured across three factors: personal deficiency, stigma, and structural perspective. There was no significant change in personal deficiency (Factor 1), suggesting that beliefs attributed poverty to individual failings remained the same. However, there was a significant decrease in stigma (Factor 2), indicating reduced negative stereotypes toward individuals living in poverty. There was also a significant change in structural perspective (Factor 3). Given that these items are reverse scored, this finding reflects after the simulation, an increased recognition of structural factors, such as systemic barriers and social inequality, as contributors to poverty.

Conclusions and Implications: This study found that the SPENT online poverty simulation shifted students’ attitudes toward poverty in meaningful, but limited ways. While there was no significant change in beliefs related to personal deficiency, there was a significant reduction in stigmatizing attitudes and an increased perception of systemic structural factors contributing to poverty. These findings suggest that experiential learning tools like SPENT may be effective in reducing negative stereotypes and increasing awareness of systemic barriers but may be less effective in shifting deeply held beliefs about individual responsibility.

Implications for social work education include the need to pair simulations with critical reflection, and curriculum that directly challenges individualistic explanations of poverty. Future research should explore the long-term impact of poverty simulations, the role of facilitated discussion, and whether repeated or integrated interventions produce greater changes across all attitudinal domains.