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 relativeo Poverty occurs in all races and in all

countrieso Economic class is a continuous line, not a

clear-cut distinction

2

Statistics about Povertyo 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=related8

Developmental Processeso Biological: changes in body

o Cognitive: changes thought, intelligence and language

o Socioemotional: changes in relationships, emotions, and personality

BiologicalProcesses

SocioemotionalProcesses

CognitiveProcesses

9

Periods of Developmento 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 & Povertyo 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 weight12

Infancy: Biological & Povertyo 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 low-income 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 protein-calorie 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 African-American or Eskimo descent, are at higher risk of dying from SIDS.

15

Early Childhood: Biological & Povertyo 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

• Anemia16

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 6o 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 harm19

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

“A person’s physical and emotional well-being are directly related to their ability to think and learn (Pellino, 2007).”

How Does Poverty Affect Cognitive Development?

22

“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).”

What Does the Research Say?

23

Emotional Trauma:

• Stressful lifestyle

• Lack emotional nurturing

• Alienation, Inadequacy, Depression & Anxiety

Positive emotional nurture fosters effective learning & academic success (Pellino, 2007).

Motivation to Learn

24

“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”

Motivation To Learn (2)

25

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

Lack Readiness to Learn

26

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

Readiness to Learn(2)

27

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?

Brain Based Research

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 fruitso 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

ReferencesAber, 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, 463-

483.

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),

1-23.

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