Linda Burton: What We Don't Know About Poverty

A 25 year-old grandmother, a 14 year-old man-of-the-house, a mother of two in an abusive relationship, a 10-month old baby that dies of pneumonia in a public-housing high-rise: Linda Burton can tell you the stories of each of these families with vivid detail. Duke's newest hire in sociology brings with her several decades of experience in field research on the challenges faced by poor families in this country.

"I've been working up close and personal with families and poverty for 20 years. You get to know the families very well," said Burton, a professor who comes to Duke from Pennsylvania State University, where she served as director of the Center for Human Development and Family Research in Diverse Contexts.

At the heart of her research is an approach that uses frequent visits and in-depth interviews with participants to better understand family dynamics in the context of poverty. According to Burton, ethnography -- intimate "in the trenches" systematic observation -- is essential to understanding the "why" of human behavior.

Additional Reading

Burton, L.M., Grandparents/grandchildren: The vital connection. Kornhaber, A., & Woodard, K. L., Journal of Gerontology (January 1986).

Burton, L.M., Family and individual development. Meacham, J. A., Contemporary Sociology, vol. 16 no. 1 (January 1987).

Burton, L. M., Childhood adultification in economically disadvantaged families: An ethnographic perspective (under review).

Burton, L. M., "Learning to labor:" Adolescents' kinwork in multigeneration families (under review).

Roy, K. & Burton, L.M., Maternal advocacy for non-residential paternal involvement in low income families (under review).

"Studying poverty from a distance gives an unrealistic, biased perspective. The strength of fieldwork is it allows you to look at the nuanced behaviors that people engage in," Burton said. "My work specializes in asking what is the difference between what people say and what they do, because somewhere in the middle you find the truth of what they really think and really do."

Burton uses this approach to examine the causes and effects of poverty in the lives of people across diverse backgrounds and ages. Her research couples ethnography with surveys, psychological studies, and geographic computer mapping systems to generate data that gives insight into the deeper issues of poverty. What does poverty do to families and marriages? How does health affect employment status? How do community resources affect children's development?

Her approach also is one that can be used to give students valuable research experiences. She hopes to teach courses on the "up close and personal" ethnographic methods, and give students opportunities to learn beyond the classroom, through apprenticeship.

Burton started research on family development, the sociology of aging and issues of poverty and race as a graduate student at the University of Southern California in the early ‘80s. However, her interest in these issues predated graduate school.

"These are issues that I have always been curious about because of the context in which I grew up," Burton said. As a native of Compton, California, she said most of the young women she grew up with were mothers by age 16.

"I took it on as a serious responsibility that if I had the opportunity to go on and get an education, there has to be something I can do with it to create better understanding and to eventually influence policy in a way that can help some of the kids and families that don't have the opportunity to make it out," Burton said.

Compton is known for its history of gang violence, but Burton said she also saw positive aspects of the Los Angeles suburb. A side that often isn't seen by outsiders is the family and community relationships that help residents. The stereotype of "the strong black family", often with a grandmother at its center, she said does have some truth. But her early research underscored that romanticizing this stereotype overlooks the community assistance that these grandmothers need to support their extended families, she explained.

"I wanted to be able to study those strengths and the problems systematically, and tie it together in a way where you see the integration of both sides and get a better picture of what you can do to make a difference," Burton said.

Part of the appeal of Duke for her was the opportunity to work closely with researchers, such as sociologists Eduardo Bonillo-Silva and Emilio Parrado who she said are doing great work, especially in the area of diversity.

"I am looking forward to working with [Eduardo and Emilio] on some of the race issues. I think there's a lot that has gone unsaid and I see it in working with families that are economically disadvantaged. Race in itself is not my specialization -- it's families and poverty. But race has reared its ugly head in these discussions, so not to pay attention to it, I would not be a good scientist."

Burton, whose husband Keith Whitfield is also a new faculty hire, is no stranger to Duke or North Carolina. "I have spent many, many tuition dollars in Durham" Burton said with a laugh. One of her daughters graduated from Duke in 2000, and her other daughter graduated from NCCU.

She said she will collaborate with faculty from Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NCCU on several projects, including an ongoing project with UNC-Chapel Hill called the Family Life Project that is looking at the development of young children in three rural communities in North Carolina. The project aims to understand how community resources and family life contribute to the development of young children in rural America.

"I am hoping that there will be additional opportunities that grow for similar work in the Durham community," Burton said.