Poverty is something that the United States has attempted to define for over a decade. A basic definition would be the state of being extremely poor. So how do we measure this state of being extremely poor? Well, the United States has opted to utilize a national poverty rate that was created in 1959, and has done so with very few changes leading into present day. According to the Census Bureau, a household income above 100% of their poverty threshold is considered above poverty level, while income between 100% and 125% is considered near poverty. Households with incomes below 100% are considered to be in poverty, and households below 50% are considered to be in severe poverty (UC Davis Center for Poverty Research, 2018). Based off of this poverty threshold, the poverty rate in the united states is at 12.7% according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 estimates, or roughly 43 million Americans (UC Davis Center for Poverty Research, 2018). Of …show more content…
For the purpose of this paper we will take a closer look at how these 15 million youths are being impacted by living in poverty. Specifically, we will look at how poverty impacts youth development, including both their emotional and social development. The following developmental issues will be looked at: mental health impacts, behavioral impacts, and academic impacts. This will be followed by possible interventions and discussion.
Mental Health Three common mental health problems exist among youths who live below the poverty line, and they include: anxiety, depression and self-esteem. Though these are the more common problems, these are far from the only mental health issues that can arise due to poverty among youth.
Poverty as defined by Wikipedia “is general scarcity, dearth, or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.” According to “Brevard County Income and Careers,” 12.51% of Brevard County’s population is living in poverty. Seminole County, a neighbor to Brevard has 10.78% of their population living in poverty. As you can see the percent of population in poverty in Brevard
The emotional security of a child will be damaged by the lack of self-esteem and this often results in challenging behaviours. If the background of poverty is also coupled with reduced parenting, maybe due to mental health issues, addiction or abuse, then challenging behaviours will almost certainly be displayed by the child. This often results in further isolation from the child’s desired peer group and the negative cycle
The author of the section I chose to discuss in this journal name is Cynthia Crosson-Tower. This portion of the chapter describes how a child’s environment can guide and mold their path and journey in life(Crosson-Tower, 2017). One interesting thing she wrote was that a kid that has been faced poverty in any portion of their life triples the chance that they will remain underprivileged up to the age 30 contrary to kids not underprivileged. The author adds that the lengthier of the time a kid experience such underprivileged life the greater the risk they will experience in their adulthood. Another point the writer mentions is that money is not the only concern, things such as being worried about their necessities being achieved.
How is poverty defined? It is difficult to answer this question because poverty in America is exaggerated compared to Third World countries. People in America tend to say they are in poverty, but in reality, they are not. If a person lives in true poverty, he/she is suffering, meaning no food, no roofs or just homeless. Anyone can think he/
According to Hodgkinson et al, there are “disparities in poverty rates depending on age, race or ethnicity, family structure, and geographic location. Although the largest number of poor and low income children are white, minority children are disproportionately affected, particularly African American, American Indian, and Hispanic children. In 2013, Hispanic and African American children were ~3 times more likely than white and Asian children to be poor. Children raised by single parents and children raised in the South or West are also more likely to be poor or low income than children residing in the Northeast” (Hodgkinson et al, 2016). Children and youth are a vulnerable population because they have no control over their situation or environment;
A major issue in America today is poverty. However not much is being done to help those in need. Many who struggle in poverty are those who struggle getting the basic necessities we need in the everyday life such as food, clothes, water, and shelter. Different factors that can contribute to poverty are lack of education, unemployment, poor economy, race/origin, non-effective policies, and illness/disease; therefore more help should be made towards helping those in need. One of the factors that contributes to poverty is lack of education.
According to the PBS Frontline video “Poor Kids” 2012, more than 46 million Americans are living beneath the poverty line. The United States alone has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. It is stated that 1 out of 5 children are living in poverty. The video documented the lives of three families who are faced with extreme hardships and are battling to survive a life of being poor. All three families have more than one child and could barely afford to pay their bills and purchase food for their household.
The great depression made a major impact on the lives of the people that lived through it. One group of people that is often overlooked are children that lived during that time period. When the parents lost their jobs the responsibility the parent once held was put on the children of the families to contribute to the income of the home. Because of this in the great depression “two-fifths of children were employed in part time jobs” (Elder 65). In Glen Elder’s book Children of the Great Depression: Social Change in Life Experience he discusses how the depression affected those children in their later lives.
Relative poverty considers the status of each individual or household in relation to the status of other individuals, households in the community, or other social groupings, taking into account the context in which it occurs (i.e. their position within the distribution of that population). Relative poverty typically changes spatially and temporally, and measures of relative poverty are therefore not necessarily comparable between locations (due to the differing social stratification between communities) or over time. The relative approach examines poverty in the context of inequality within a society, though they should not be conflated. According to FAO (2006) it is the condition in which people lack the minimum amount of income requirements in order to maintain the average standard of living in the society in which they live. Moreover, it is defined relative to the members of a society and, therefore, differs across countries.
The Effects of Poverty, Homelessness, and Hunger in Education Even before a child is born, they are affected by their environment. Poverty in children can be seen at a very young age. Mothers that live in poverty have babies with low birth weight and medical problems. Poverty, homelessness, and hunger can have extremely negative effects on the brain and body. It also affects a child’s education and learning ability.
That is almost 10% of the whole population. There are many reasons that cause poverty in America. The lack of jobs that are available for people with a low education. People can’t get the education they need because colleges are too expensive. Statistics have also proven that alcohol and drug addiction affect about 20% of the homeless.
These statistics are overwhelming due to the fact that child poverty affects all areas of their lives. Children exposed to poverty at such a young age are at a disadvantage in several areas; these children are at risk of low academic achievement, resulting in lasting negative effects. Our economy is not able to thrive if child poverty continues. Children living in poverty are also at risk of dropping out of school, being unemployed, and entering the juvenile justice system. Our government is responsible for ensuring that child poverty ceases to be an issue in the United States.
Who Is Poor, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division, US Census Bureau, Volume 16, Number 3S46-3S51 Boivin, M., Booij, L, Cote, S., Lambert, J., Mazza, J., Pingault, J-B., Tremblay, R., & Zunzunegui, M. (2017). Poverty and behavior problems during early childhood: The mediating role of maternal depression symptoms and parenting, Vol 41 (6) pages 670-680 Kaplan, S., Madden, V., Mijanovich, T., & Purcaro, E. (2013). The Perception of Stress and its Impact on Health in Poor Communities 38: pages 142-149. DOI1 Burke, L. (2013). Head Start’s sad and costly secret---what Washington doesn’t want you to know, http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/01/14/head-start-sad-and-costlu-secret-what-washington-doesnt-want-to-know.print.html
Poverty can adversely affect the population in so many ways. Families living in poverty can face emotional and social challenges, cognitive lacks and health and safety issues and acute and chronic stresses. Levels of stress increase with the economic circumstances. Subsequent poverty and job loss are associated with violence in families, including child and elder abuse. These families are also more likely to be exposed to illnesses, job loss, eviction, criminal victimization and family death.
2/28/18 Poverty and Education For this literature review, I conducted an analysis of poverty and how poverty affects children and their education. For my internship I work in a low-income school system, I really wanted to dive into what and how this has a role to play in brain and education. The major question that I feel needs to be answered in order to continue this research project is: has been shown to negatively influence child brain development, thus interfering with their success in the academic setting? There are many environmental factors that influence how a child’s brain develops before the age of six. These effects include prenatal care, health conditions, and poor school readiness skills in their language. Children raised in poverty are adversely affected both indirectly and directly through their family’s lack of resources and education.