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Poverty Stresses Kids' Brains

Posted by Clark Williams-Derry

03/31/2009 09:15 AM

Long-term study finds lasting effects from child poverty.

New research suggests that poverty hurts kids' brains:

A long-term study of cognitive development in lower- and middle-class students found strong links between childhood poverty, physiological stress and adult memory..."Chronically elevated physiological stress is a plausible model for how poverty could get into the brain and eventually interfere with achievement," wrote Cornell University child-development researchers Gary Evans and Michelle Schamberg in a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

If this is close to correct, then it ought to quiet the "pull yourselves up by your bootstraps" crowd a bit. Being born into poverty means you have a long way to pull; and long-lasting neurological changes resulting from stress make for some mighty short bootstraps!

Economy

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Comments

Posted by MVP 04/01/2009 01:48 AM

Interesting study, Clark. Thanks.

Reminds me of the importance of breakfast in a child's life, too. In San Francisco, when I was in elementary school in the early 1970's, our principal would hand out graham crackers to low-income students who had come to school without having had any breakfast. She knew that a student with an empty stomach would have a hard time concentrating, which could then impair their learning.

In your post, you talk about children's brains suffering from poverty. Well, doctors are finding that children's kidneys are suffering, too. There's been a dramatic rise in kidney stones in children, due to the high amount of sodium used in processed food.

Their take-away message:

Drink more water and fruit juice to help flush out the kidneys and prevent stones from forming.

Good advice for "kids" of all ages!

http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/03/28/fast-food-may-be-causing-kidney-stones-in-children/