Summary: The Effects Of Poverty On Children

early environment and that is stays with child as they continue to develop. It is extremely important and it is not usually plastic. It also shows that attachment style is correlated to existing behavioral problems. This research reported that children who were insecurely attached when they were 12 to 18 months showed aggression, defiance and hyperactivity at the age of 3.

Another study states that income is highly influential on behavioral outcomes for children. Children from low-income families are often forced to live in neighborhoods and areas that are less safe, and where access to healthcare, education and other resources are harder to obtain. The effects of poverty are especially harsh on children because of the stress the parents feel

Researches obtained cortisol levels from each parent’s saliva. They found that the average cortisol level of those whose income was below the poverty line was 564.1 ng/mL while the average cortisol level for those with an income level above the poverty line was 354.1 ng/mL (Wheatley 2013). As a society we tend to blame the parents but we forget about the role of stress. When we are stressed we are unable to use the higher functioning parts of our brain, mainly the frontal lobe, and we depend on the lower functioning parts of our brain to make decisions. The lower functioning parts of the brain tend to be more reactive so a parent who is feeling stressed may shout at their infant because their impulse

450). In poverty, individuals lack resources and feel powerless in their ability to change their circumstances which creates a sense of unpredictability. An example of this is concerns about putting food on the table, this itself, adds another layer of stress that is related to a lack of control and uncertainty about the future. When parents are living in poverty, it becomes much more challenging to provide a secure base from which a young child can explore their world, or a safe haven to return to when they become upset or just need to know a parent is there. This is because the parent is uncertain about everything so it is impossible to give the child any sense of stability or certainty. If a parent is unable to be there to support or comfort the child this can lead to attachments where both children and parents struggle (Colin 1991). To the parent in poverty, an infant or toddler’s demands can be experienced as yet another source of stress. This research discusses that there might be another factor at play here for parents who are in poverty and their ability to form secure attachments with their children. It may not just be that they are physically unavailable for their child but that they are also emotionally unavailable as