Child Development and the
Risk of Living in Poverty
Svetlana Apley, Steven Brouse & Debora Tolliver
1
What is Poverty
o Poverty is a state of being poor: the state of not having
enough money to take care of basic needs such as
food, clothing, and housing
o Poverty is relative
o Poverty occurs in all races and in all countries
o Economic class is a continuous line, not a clear-cut
distinction
2
Statistics about Poverty
o There were 7.7 million poor families (9.8%) in 2006, up from
6.4 million in 2000.
o Immigrant children are twice as likely to be poor as native-born
children.
o Regardless of race or ethnicity, poor children are much more
likely than non-poor children to suffer developmental delay and
damage, drop out of high school, and to give birth during the
teen years.
o Poverty prone children are more likely to be in single-parent
families.
o Poor inner-city youths are 7 times more likely to be the victims
of child abuse or neglect than children of high social and
economic status.
3
Statistics of Poor Children in USA
United States
Number of Children in
Poverty in 2006
Percentage of Children in
Poverty
All Races
12,896,000
17.6%
Caucasian
7,908,000
14.1%
Hispanic
4,072,000
26.9%
African-American
3,777,000
33.4%
Asian-American
360,000
12.2%
Native American
194,272
31.9%
4
Statistics About Poverty
5
Educational Inequality
o Educational inequality occurs where the quality of
education available to pupils is closely related to their
class or status.
6
Results of Educational Inequality
o Bigger class sizes
o Less experienced teachers
o Higher teacher turnover rates
o Lack of technologies and technologies integration
o Unsafe schools
o Low rate of parental involvement
7
A Tale of Two Schools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xdfVAPvv9A&feature=related
8
Developmental Processes
o Biological: changes in body
o Cognitive: changes thought, intelligence and
language
o Socioemotional: changes in relationships, emotions,
and personality
Biological
Processes
Cognitive
Socioemotional
Processes
Processes
9
Periods of Development
o Prenatal period: conception to birth
o Infancy: birth to about 18-24months
o Early childhood: end of infancy to 5-6 yrs. old
o Middle & late childhood: 6 yrs. old to 11 yrs. old
o Adolescence: 10-11 yrs. old ending 18-19 yrs. old
Prenatal Period
Infancy
Early
childhood
Middle
& late
childhood
Adolescence
10
Nature Vs. Nurture
o Nature: biological inheritance
• extreme environments can stunt development
• we walk before we talk
o Nurture: environmental experience
• diet can affect growth, thought and problem
solving
• culture plays a role in skills, thoughts and
relationships
11
Prenatal Period: Biological & Poverty
o Teratogen: any agent that can cause a birth
defect or negatively alter cognitive and
behavioral outcomes (drugs, incompatible blood
types, environmental pollutants/hazards,
infectious disease, maternal diet & nutrition,
emotional states & stress, maternal age, and
paternal factors)
o Genes: missing, nonfunctional or mutated can
cause Chromosomal and Gene-linked
abnormalities
o Prenatal Care: educational, social and nutritional
services, medical care, and regular exercise
o Consequences of preterm birth & low birth weight
12
Infancy: Biological & Poverty
o Low Birth Weight (LBW) affects psychological and
intellectual development
• Poor children are more likely to be of LBW and to die in
the first month of life
• LBW equates to increased risk of respiratory,
neurological and cognitive problems; subnormal head
circumference up to 7 months old & catch up during 8
months; deficiency in visual recognition acuity; greater
behavior problems
o Brain
• Shaken Baby Syndrome
• Children who grow up in deprived environments may
have depressed brain activity
• Fewer positive early learning experiences
13
o Nutrition
• The percentage of babies less than 6 months old and are
overweight is on the rise in the U.S. (they eat too much junk
food and not enough fruit & vegetables)
• A mother’s weight gain during pregnancy and her own high
weight before pregnancy may be a factor for children
becoming overweight
• Women who work full time outside the home, are under 25
years old, without a high school education, or have lowincome are less likely to breast feed
• Infants need to consume 50 calories/day for every pound
they weigh
• When infants are severely malnourished, they fail to grow
adequately and they are listless
• Marasmus-sever malnutrition due to insufficient proteincalorie intake
• Kwashiorkor-severe malnutrition caused by a deficiency in
protein
14
o Sleep
• Daytime crying/fussing or being distressed when
separated from mother causes night waking
• Bed sharing puts infants at greater risk when
caregiver is impaired by alcohol, smoking or
being overly tired
o SIDS
• Infants with abnormal brain stem functioning
involving the neurotransmitter serotonin, those
who share beds, are exposed to parental
smoking, sleep in soft bedding, have LBW, have
sleep apnea, are in lower socioeconomic groups,
have had siblings die from SIDS, are of AfricanAmerican or Eskimo descent, are at higher risk of
dying from SIDS.
15
Early Childhood: Biological & Poverty
o Health: Prevention and outpatient care are the
focus of early childhood health
• Children in poverty often have:
• lower rates of physician use and
immunizations
• high HIV/AIDS rates
• high childhood asthma rates
• have higher levels of lead in their blood and
are more often exposed to lead poisoning
o Nutrition and Eating Behavior
• Malnutrition
• Anemia
16
o Under 5 mortality: nutritional health and health knowledge
of mothers, level of immunization, dehydration, availability
of maternal & child health services, income and food
availability in the family, availability of clean water and safe
sanitation, and overall safety of the child’s environment
o Experiencing poverty during the first 3 years of life is
related to substandard nutritional status and poor motor
skills
o Poverty is stressful for children as young as 6
o Maternal depression and other adult mental health
disorders can negatively affect children if parents are not
capable of providing consistent sensitive care, emotional
nurturance, protection and the stimulation that young
children need
o Poor children are at greater risk for later school failure,
learning disabilities, behavior problems, mental retardation,
developmental delays and health impairments
17
Middle/Late Childhood: Biological & Poverty
o Sleep problems:
• Nightmares (frightening dreams that awaken the sleeper)
• Night terrors (sudden arousal from sleep and intense fear)
o Health
• Child cancer
• More likely to have health, behavior and emotional
problems
• Poverty is also associated with obesity among children
• More likely to have chronic health problems such as
asthma and anemia
• More likely to have physical impairments that restrict their
activities
18
o The poor often experience lives of hunger, malnutrition,
starvation, illness, inadequate access to health care, unsafe
water
o Many of the children do not get essential amounts of iron,
vitamins or protein
o Childhood poverty is related to low height and weight for
age which is an indicator of poor nutrition
o Exposed to risk factors including environmental toxins,
maternal depression, parental substance abuse, trauma
and abuse, violent crime, discrimination, divorce, low
quality child care, substandard housing that may have lead
paint or other health hazards
o More likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods that are
not safe, provide fewer models of healthy behaviors and
have fewer stores that sell healthy food
o Lack of protection from harm
19
Adolescence: Biological & Poverty
o Brain: Significant structural changes
• corpus callosum thickens improving ones ability
to process information
• prefrontal cortex doesn’t finish maturing until age
18-25
• amygdala matures earlier than the other regions
that help to control it
• Adolescents are at higher risk for problematic
deviant behaviors such as legal troubles, arrest
and school drop out
• Adolescents are more likely to get involved in
risky and health-compromising behaviors like
smoking or engaging in early sexual activity
20
o Body growth & change: Environmental factors such
as health, weight and stress can influence puberty
• Poverty creates a context of stress in which the
stressors build on one another and contribute to
further stress (day-to-day hassles that arise
when living with less money, conflict among
family members, exposure to violence, frequent
moves and transitions, exposure to
discrimination and other traumatic experiences)
• Stress damages physical and psychological well
being of children and adolescents
• Chronic stress leads to elevated hypothalamic
pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activity and that has
been linked with compromised immune
functioning as well as other physical illnesses
21
How Does Poverty Affect
Cognitive Development?
“A person’s physical and emotional well-being
are directly related to their ability to think and
learn (Pellino, 2007).”
22
What Does the Research Say?
“Family economic conditions in early
childhood have the greatest impact on
achievement, especially among children in
families with low incomes (Duncan et. Al,
1998).”
“Economic conditions in early childhood are
important determinants of completing
schooling (Duncan et. Al, 1998).”
23
Motivation to Learn
Emotional Trauma:
• Stressful lifestyle
• Lack emotional nurturing
• Alienation, Inadequacy, Depression & Anxiety
Positive emotional nurture fosters effective learning &
academic success (Pellino, 2007).
24
Motivation To Learn (2)
“Culture of Poverty”
• Energies are directed towards survival
• Education is not valued
• Lucrative careers that bring quick money
• Sense of belonging
• Their idea of success
• Ex. Drug Dealing, Prostitution, Theft, Gangs
• Failure expectations from parents
• “Self fulfilling prophecy”
25
Lack Readiness to Learn
Readiness-measures both behavioral and cognitive
aspects of a child’s development
“The quality of a child’s earliest experiences has great
influence on future development and potential to succeed
(Duncan et. Al, 1998).”
• Students need a support system to be free to
focus on learning
• Lack parental support and emotional stimulation
• Causes developmental delays in cognition
26
Readiness to Learn(2)
Disadvantaged from the start; a look at the reasons
children from low SES’s are behind before they even
begin school:
• lack home computers
• lack visits to educational sites such as
zoos/museums
• limited attendance in pre-school programs
• limited availability of literature and reading
materials
• limited interaction with well-spoken, educated
people
• no parent(s) reading to them
27
Brain Based Research
Emotions and Perceptions contribute to student learning
Emotions Affect Cognition
• Ability to store and recall information
• Capacity to grasp new ideas
• Fear
• Most prominent affect on cognition
• Strong negative affect on learning
• Will I have dinner tonight?
• Will mom/dad come back?
• Is this teacher going to abandon me too?
28
Intervention & Prevention
o Early intervention & prevention works best to promote healthy
development in children; Offering medical care is not enough;
Treat not only medical problems but also the conditions of the
entire family; Identify children who are at risk for problems
and try to alter the risk factor in an effort to prevent illness
and disease; By reducing poverty and improving nutrition,
sanitation, education and health services, many deaths of
young children around the world can be prevented
o Quality child care needs to be available and affordable to poor
families
o Interventions should not just be geared towards parents;
children & adolescents may benefit from a clinical focus on
their personal experiences of poverty’s stress, stress on
different ethnic groups should be considered, treatment &
prevention efforts should be aimed at internalizing problems
for identifying and coping with poverty related stress
29
o Early Head Start programs have positive impacts on children’s
cognitive and language development; parents are more
involved & provide more learning support; emotionally
supportive
o Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC)
• serves approximately 7,500,000 people in the U.S.
• positive influences on young children’s nutrition and health
• higher intake of fruit and lower intake of added sugar from
snacks
• anemic WIC children improved when they did not eat snacks
and dried fruits
o Hawaii Family Support/Healthy Start Program
• improve family functioning & reduces child abuse
• screen and interview for risk factors (unstable housing,
histories of substance abuse, depression, parents’ abuse as a
child, late or no prenatal care, few than 12 years of
schooling, poverty and unemployment)
30
• only families with a substantial number of risk factors can
participate (new mothers in the hospital are screened &
interviewed; physicians, nurses and other can refer families)
• weekly visit from family support worker who helps the family
cope with any immediate crises
• family is linked directly with a pediatrician to ensure regular
health care for the children; infants are screened for
developmental delays and are immunized on schedule;
pediatricians are notified when a child is enrolled and when a
family at risk stops participating
• sometimes a male family support worker visits the father to
talk about his role in the family
• parents are encouraged to participate in weekly group
activities
• the family can participate until the child is 5 and enters
public school
31
References
Aber, J.L., Bennet, N.G., Conley, D.C., and Li, J. (1997). The effects of poverty
on child health and development. Annu. Rev. Public Health, 1997, 18, 463483.
Berliner, D.C. (2009). Poverty and potential: out-of-school factors and school
success. Boulder and Tempe: Education and the Public Interest Center &
Education Policy Research Unit. Retrieved March 29, 2009 from
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/poverty-and-potential
Brown, C. (2007). Still not equal: Expanding educational opportunity in society.
New York: Peter Lang.
Duncan, B., Duncan, O.D., & Featherman, D.L. (1972). Socioeconomic
background and achievement: Studies in population. New York: Seminar
Press.
Duncan et al. (1998). How much does childhood poverty affect the chances of
children? American Sociological Review, 63.
Dyer, H. S. (1969). School factors and equal educational opportunity. In Harvard
College (Eds.) Equal educational opportunity. (41-59). Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University.
32
Melmed, M.E. (2007). Statement of zero to three policy center. [Submitted
to the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives].
Retrieved from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/
PovertyTestimony_4_2_07_BM.pdf?docID=3041
Moore, K.A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbwana, K., Collins, A. (2009).
Children in poverty: trends, consequences, and policy options. Child
Trends Research Brief. Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/files/
child_trends-2009_04_07_rb_childreninpoverty.pdf
Mosteller, F., & Moynihan, D. (1972). On equality of educational opportunity.
Brattleboro, VT: The Book Press.
Orfield, G., Lee, C (2007). Historic reversals, accelerating resegregation, and
the need for new integration strategies. Los Angeles, CA: Civil Rights
Project. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 500611)
Pellino, K. (2007). The effects of teaching and learning. Retrieved from
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/poverty/print.htm
Riordan, C. (1997). Equality and achievement: An introduction to the
sociology of education. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational.
Ruby, K. (2005). A framework for understanding poverty. Highlands, TX: Aha!
Process Inc.
33
Santrock, J.W. (2009). Child Development. (12th ed.). New York, NY,
McGraw-Hill.
Sewell, W.H., & Shah, V.P. (1967). Socioeconomic status, intelligence, and
the attainment of higher education. Sociology of Education, 40 (1), 123.
Wadsworth, M.E., Raviv, T., Reinhard, C., Wolff, B., Santiago, C.D., and
Einhord, L. (2008). An indirect effect model of the association between
poverty and child functioning: the role of children’s poverty-related
stress. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 13, 156-182.
34