Young people from the poorest families in the country fear they will achieve few or none of their goals in life, such as finding a decent job or buying a house, according to new research.
One in four from poor homes said "people like them" do not succeed in life, found a study of more than 2,300 people aged between 16 and 24 by the Prince's Trust youth charity and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Youngsters growing up in poverty were three times as likely to believe they will end up on benefits for part of their life, and four times as likely to think they will end up in a dead-end job, said the report.
More than one in six of those from poor homes said their friends and family make fun of them if they talk about finding a good job.
Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince's Trust, said: "The aspiration gap between the UK's richest and poorest young people is creating a youth underclass who tragically feel they have no future.
"We simply cannot ignore this inequality."
Fionnuala Earley, of RBS, said: "The long-term effects of poverty are far-reaching, leaving many youngsters left on the sidelines. This lack of confidence and aspirations among young people from poor backgrounds also affects their future economic prospects."
The research also revealed that one in 10 young people from the UK's poorest families did not have their own bed when they were growing up and almost a third had few or no books in their home.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "We are determined to tackle youth unemployment. That's why we've lined up thousands of employers to provide work experience places for young unemployed people. We've launched tens of thousands of new apprenticeships.
"Our new sector-based work academies will offer a new dimension to the support on offer by combining real training, work experience and a guaranteed interview, which will give young people another platform to get into a job. We're determined to make sure our young people have a brighter future."
