I Wrote A Paper On Child Poverty for Lifespan Development
The Detrimental Effects of Child Poverty on the World
Nicole Spearman
Lifespan Development
Kirsten Byrnes
December 11th, 2023
Growing up in poverty is quite detrimental to physical health, mental health, and psychological well-being. There have been many studies that show the detriment of growing up poor from third world countries to America.
Poverty: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.
Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.” (World Bank Organization, 2008)
The effects of poverty can be overlooked at times, but it has a huge effect on the world. Looking at countries affected by war... There is a direct correlation between psychological effects and poverty. Food scarcity, family violence, and poverty all play a role in the psychological stance of the children involved.
Growing up impoverished in America is extremely detrimental to the health and well-being of many individuals. Highlighting the black community is quite important due to the underrepresentation of their struggles, their feats, and their triumphs. Growing up in College Park, there was a place called The Shrine of the Black Madonna. In the shrine, there’s a book named the Willie Lynch Letter that details the ‘making of a slave’ from a slave master named Willie Lynch. Since slavery and the take down of Black Wall Street, it has been a struggle for black communities to survive without government assistance (food stamps, section 8, welfare).
The American Psychiatric Association is an organization of psychiatrists that deeply care about the studies of mental illnesses. In a study done that was led by Harnett Ph.D. in 2023, it was predicted that adversity causes PTSD. Adversity can be defined as a stance or instance of serious misfortune in life. (Merriam Webster 2023). As you can imagine, a series of misfortune can lead to psychological problems and even physical ailments. Black children in comparison to white children, have been statistically proven to experience a vast level of childhood adversity. Structural racism has been proven to be a cause of much of the childhood adversity that impoverished black children face. Environmental injustice (zoning impoverished families close to toxic waste), biased policing of black men and boys, and voter suppression policies are all examples of structural racism that influences the psyche of young, black children.
A study that needs to be highlighted is one that includes 7,300 white children and 1,800 black children. The age group of the children were 9 and 10 years old. In this study, they studied MRI scans and surveys. Their predictions and what this paper is in support of was proven to be true. There is a strong correlation between household income and brain volume differences. This can be attributed to family violence at home, access to resources, sleep deprivation, and many other things. This information is extremely helpful because it explains why many children grow up to have mental disturbances and are in and out of jails/psych wards. It starts at home.
Rising inflation is also an important topic to dive into. As we go grocery shopping, many of us are appalled at the prices. Talking to veterans and older people in general, you can always hear them say “I remember back in my day when candy was a penny...” with a tear in their eye. It’s heartbreaking and extremely relevant how pieces have risen these days. Who does this impact the most? The children. Children are more likely to experience poverty than adults over the age of 18 according to the American Psychological Association recorded in 2008. This study provided is extremely important because children are the future. As stated in the last paragraph, mental disfunction and despair is in direct relation to household income. The lower the household income, the more likely it is to record a lower brain volume when in comparison to peers. 1 in 6 children are reported to live below the poverty line making child poverty a crisis in America (American Psychological Association, 2008). Poverty is associated with emotional and health related problems, developmental problems, low birth weight, and asthma. From personal experience, growing up in College Park Georgia, many of our peers had developmental problems, emotional regulation issues, and asthma.
Cortisol is a stress hormone that is regulated and produced by the adrenal glands. It is quite important for the body as it fights off infections, regulates blood sugar, and regulates your body’s response to stress (University of Rochester Medical Center 2008). Brown and Anderson (2019) conducted an important study on the cortisol levels of children that are exposed toan impoverished home life. There is a recorded relation between child poverty, cortisol levels, and household chaos. This important study was conducted with a study group of 375 children ages 3-5. The study also noted that their primary caregivers were also included in the study as well for notes. In this study, it was proven that household chaos and economic instability have a very high correlation. This makes much sense and it’s very important because economic instability affects things on a national and international level. On a worldwide scale, the economy determines the price of the dollar, inflation, and many more determinants. It is very alarming that 42% of children are growing up in poverty in the United States (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2017).
Income also has a deep correlation to problem level. This can be proven without study, as we continue to relate this to our personal lives. Thinking of the definition of poverty earlier in this paper, we know that poverty can be defined as lack of food, resources, support, etc. Without these basic elements, children fall behind the scenes and struggle severely. Growing up in College Park, there were many children who could not afford breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so our school had a program to provide that for them. During the CRCT, it was IMPERATIVE that you ate breakfast. Why? You cannot concentrate on an empty stomach as Grandma used to say. Thinking of the children who cannot afford basic necessities, it is extremely hard for them to get ahead in any way in life.
Depression and income level have also been studied as having a strong correlation between the two. Previous research shows that young African Americans are more likely to display anger problems than their European peers. This can be attributed to the difference in income level between the two groups. Low-income levels have a direct correlation to higher stress. With low income and poverty, you do worry about where your next meal is going to come from. You do worry about whether you can afford sanitary napkins. Can you afford a $1 bus ticket this week to get to work? These are all real worries if you have a lower income level. Stress can ultimately lead to anger, and too much pent-up stress can lead to physical and mental ailments. While spending time in the psych ward and getting to know my floor mates, many of them came from impoverished childhoods. Even while visiting jails and prisons, you see that many of the inmates come from low-income areas and still struggle with that notion.
To summarize these findings, it is quite imperative to take note of the state of the world today. Wars, famine, starvation, poverty... Who does this affect the most? The children, of course. Growing up in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Georgia, there was much to learn about the effects of poverty on young children. As many of our peers ended up in jail and prison due to the detrimental effects of their environment, it hurts for others to not be versed in the effects of poverty. While working a job earlier this year, our manager stated that “kids don’t need money, they just need love”. Unfortunately, many studies have shown that that’s not true. Children need proper shelter, clothing, and food to thrive in their environment. Due to racial disparities, adversity welcomes black youth like a warm hug. They struggle, struggle, struggle, until they break. While taking a doula class, we learned about toxic stress and how detrimental it can be. Toxic stress is defined as stress that is “prolonged, severe, and chronic” (Franke, 2014). Toxic stress can cause many health problems. “Toxic stress can increase health risks including heart disease, mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders, substance misuse, and has long-lasting negative consequences for cognitive functioning, behavioral health, immune functioning, and physical health.” (Hamoudi, et al, 2015) Toxic stress in young children/adults needs to be highlighted because they are linked to social and economic disadvantages in society. The more toxic stress in an individual, the more dangerous the world becomes. As a society, one person represents us all. ‘No child left behind’ is an amazing sentiment to behold. Leave a child behind and change the whole world.
Works Cited
American Psychological Association. (n.d.-a). Effects of poverty, hunger and homelessness on children and Youth. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/socioeconomic-status/poverty-hunger-homelessness-children
Brown, E. D., Anderson, K. E., Garnett, M. L., & Hill, E. M. (2019). Economic instability and household chaos relate to cortisol for children in poverty. Journal of Family Psychology, 33(6), 629–639. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hccc.edu/10.1037/fam0000545
Cortisol (blood). University of Rochester Medical Center. (n.d.). https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=167&contentid=cortisol_serum#:~:text=Cortisol%20is%20a%20steroid%20hormone,up%20and%20lowest%20around%20midnight.
Government of New Brunswick, C. (2010, November 25). What is poverty?. Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation. https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/overview/content/what_is_poverty.html
Kara, B., & Selçuk, B. (2020). Under poverty and conflict: Well-being of children living in the east of Turkey. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(2), 246–258. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hccc.edu/10.1037/ort0000426
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Adversity definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adversity
Racial disparities in childhood adversity linked to brain structural differences in U.S. children. Psychiatry.org - Racial Disparities in Childhood Adversity Linked to Brain Structural Differences in U.S. Children. (2023, February 1). https://www.psychiatry.org/news- room/news-releases/racial-disparities-in-childhood-adversity
Taylor, J. J., Grant, K. E., Amrhein, K., Carter, J. S., Farahmand, F., Harrison, A., Thomas, K. J., Carleton, R. A., Lugo-Hernandez, E., & Katz, B. N. (2014). The manifestation of depression in the context of urban poverty: A factor analysis of the Children’s Depression Inventory in low-income urban youth. Psychological Assessment, 26(4), 1317–1332. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hccc.edu/10.1037/a0037435
Toxic stress. Administration for Children & Families. (n.d.). https://www.acf.hhs.gov/trauma-toolkit/toxic-stress#:~:text=However%2C%20stress%20that%20is%20prolonged,the%20Developing%20Child%2C%20n.d.).
Nicole Spearman
Lifespan Development
Kirsten Byrnes
December 11th, 2023
Growing up in poverty is quite detrimental to physical health, mental health, and psychological well-being. There have been many studies that show the detriment of growing up poor from third world countries to America.
Poverty: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.
Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.” (World Bank Organization, 2008)
The effects of poverty can be overlooked at times, but it has a huge effect on the world. Looking at countries affected by war... There is a direct correlation between psychological effects and poverty. Food scarcity, family violence, and poverty all play a role in the psychological stance of the children involved.
Growing up impoverished in America is extremely detrimental to the health and well-being of many individuals. Highlighting the black community is quite important due to the underrepresentation of their struggles, their feats, and their triumphs. Growing up in College Park, there was a place called The Shrine of the Black Madonna. In the shrine, there’s a book named the Willie Lynch Letter that details the ‘making of a slave’ from a slave master named Willie Lynch. Since slavery and the take down of Black Wall Street, it has been a struggle for black communities to survive without government assistance (food stamps, section 8, welfare).
The American Psychiatric Association is an organization of psychiatrists that deeply care about the studies of mental illnesses. In a study done that was led by Harnett Ph.D. in 2023, it was predicted that adversity causes PTSD. Adversity can be defined as a stance or instance of serious misfortune in life. (Merriam Webster 2023). As you can imagine, a series of misfortune can lead to psychological problems and even physical ailments. Black children in comparison to white children, have been statistically proven to experience a vast level of childhood adversity. Structural racism has been proven to be a cause of much of the childhood adversity that impoverished black children face. Environmental injustice (zoning impoverished families close to toxic waste), biased policing of black men and boys, and voter suppression policies are all examples of structural racism that influences the psyche of young, black children.
A study that needs to be highlighted is one that includes 7,300 white children and 1,800 black children. The age group of the children were 9 and 10 years old. In this study, they studied MRI scans and surveys. Their predictions and what this paper is in support of was proven to be true. There is a strong correlation between household income and brain volume differences. This can be attributed to family violence at home, access to resources, sleep deprivation, and many other things. This information is extremely helpful because it explains why many children grow up to have mental disturbances and are in and out of jails/psych wards. It starts at home.
Rising inflation is also an important topic to dive into. As we go grocery shopping, many of us are appalled at the prices. Talking to veterans and older people in general, you can always hear them say “I remember back in my day when candy was a penny...” with a tear in their eye. It’s heartbreaking and extremely relevant how pieces have risen these days. Who does this impact the most? The children. Children are more likely to experience poverty than adults over the age of 18 according to the American Psychological Association recorded in 2008. This study provided is extremely important because children are the future. As stated in the last paragraph, mental disfunction and despair is in direct relation to household income. The lower the household income, the more likely it is to record a lower brain volume when in comparison to peers. 1 in 6 children are reported to live below the poverty line making child poverty a crisis in America (American Psychological Association, 2008). Poverty is associated with emotional and health related problems, developmental problems, low birth weight, and asthma. From personal experience, growing up in College Park Georgia, many of our peers had developmental problems, emotional regulation issues, and asthma.
Cortisol is a stress hormone that is regulated and produced by the adrenal glands. It is quite important for the body as it fights off infections, regulates blood sugar, and regulates your body’s response to stress (University of Rochester Medical Center 2008). Brown and Anderson (2019) conducted an important study on the cortisol levels of children that are exposed toan impoverished home life. There is a recorded relation between child poverty, cortisol levels, and household chaos. This important study was conducted with a study group of 375 children ages 3-5. The study also noted that their primary caregivers were also included in the study as well for notes. In this study, it was proven that household chaos and economic instability have a very high correlation. This makes much sense and it’s very important because economic instability affects things on a national and international level. On a worldwide scale, the economy determines the price of the dollar, inflation, and many more determinants. It is very alarming that 42% of children are growing up in poverty in the United States (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2017).
Income also has a deep correlation to problem level. This can be proven without study, as we continue to relate this to our personal lives. Thinking of the definition of poverty earlier in this paper, we know that poverty can be defined as lack of food, resources, support, etc. Without these basic elements, children fall behind the scenes and struggle severely. Growing up in College Park, there were many children who could not afford breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so our school had a program to provide that for them. During the CRCT, it was IMPERATIVE that you ate breakfast. Why? You cannot concentrate on an empty stomach as Grandma used to say. Thinking of the children who cannot afford basic necessities, it is extremely hard for them to get ahead in any way in life.
Depression and income level have also been studied as having a strong correlation between the two. Previous research shows that young African Americans are more likely to display anger problems than their European peers. This can be attributed to the difference in income level between the two groups. Low-income levels have a direct correlation to higher stress. With low income and poverty, you do worry about where your next meal is going to come from. You do worry about whether you can afford sanitary napkins. Can you afford a $1 bus ticket this week to get to work? These are all real worries if you have a lower income level. Stress can ultimately lead to anger, and too much pent-up stress can lead to physical and mental ailments. While spending time in the psych ward and getting to know my floor mates, many of them came from impoverished childhoods. Even while visiting jails and prisons, you see that many of the inmates come from low-income areas and still struggle with that notion.
To summarize these findings, it is quite imperative to take note of the state of the world today. Wars, famine, starvation, poverty... Who does this affect the most? The children, of course. Growing up in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Georgia, there was much to learn about the effects of poverty on young children. As many of our peers ended up in jail and prison due to the detrimental effects of their environment, it hurts for others to not be versed in the effects of poverty. While working a job earlier this year, our manager stated that “kids don’t need money, they just need love”. Unfortunately, many studies have shown that that’s not true. Children need proper shelter, clothing, and food to thrive in their environment. Due to racial disparities, adversity welcomes black youth like a warm hug. They struggle, struggle, struggle, until they break. While taking a doula class, we learned about toxic stress and how detrimental it can be. Toxic stress is defined as stress that is “prolonged, severe, and chronic” (Franke, 2014). Toxic stress can cause many health problems. “Toxic stress can increase health risks including heart disease, mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders, substance misuse, and has long-lasting negative consequences for cognitive functioning, behavioral health, immune functioning, and physical health.” (Hamoudi, et al, 2015) Toxic stress in young children/adults needs to be highlighted because they are linked to social and economic disadvantages in society. The more toxic stress in an individual, the more dangerous the world becomes. As a society, one person represents us all. ‘No child left behind’ is an amazing sentiment to behold. Leave a child behind and change the whole world.
Works Cited
American Psychological Association. (n.d.-a). Effects of poverty, hunger and homelessness on children and Youth. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/socioeconomic-status/poverty-hunger-homelessness-children
Brown, E. D., Anderson, K. E., Garnett, M. L., & Hill, E. M. (2019). Economic instability and household chaos relate to cortisol for children in poverty. Journal of Family Psychology, 33(6), 629–639. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hccc.edu/10.1037/fam0000545
Cortisol (blood). University of Rochester Medical Center. (n.d.). https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=167&contentid=cortisol_serum#:~:text=Cortisol%20is%20a%20steroid%20hormone,up%20and%20lowest%20around%20midnight.
Government of New Brunswick, C. (2010, November 25). What is poverty?. Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation. https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/overview/content/what_is_poverty.html
Kara, B., & Selçuk, B. (2020). Under poverty and conflict: Well-being of children living in the east of Turkey. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(2), 246–258. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hccc.edu/10.1037/ort0000426
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Adversity definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adversity
Racial disparities in childhood adversity linked to brain structural differences in U.S. children. Psychiatry.org - Racial Disparities in Childhood Adversity Linked to Brain Structural Differences in U.S. Children. (2023, February 1). https://www.psychiatry.org/news- room/news-releases/racial-disparities-in-childhood-adversity
Taylor, J. J., Grant, K. E., Amrhein, K., Carter, J. S., Farahmand, F., Harrison, A., Thomas, K. J., Carleton, R. A., Lugo-Hernandez, E., & Katz, B. N. (2014). The manifestation of depression in the context of urban poverty: A factor analysis of the Children’s Depression Inventory in low-income urban youth. Psychological Assessment, 26(4), 1317–1332. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hccc.edu/10.1037/a0037435
Toxic stress. Administration for Children & Families. (n.d.). https://www.acf.hhs.gov/trauma-toolkit/toxic-stress#:~:text=However%2C%20stress%20that%20is%20prolonged,the%20Developing%20Child%2C%20n.d.).
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