Childhood Poverty, Chronic Stress, Self‐Regulation, and Coping

Abstract

Poverty is a powerful factor that can alter lifetime developmental trajectories in cognitive, socioemotional, and physical health outcomes. Most explanatory work on the underlying psychological processes of how poverty affects development has focused on parental investment and parenting practices, principally responsiveness. Our primary objective in this article was to describe a third, complementary pathway—chronic stress and coping—that may also prove helpful in understanding the developmental impacts of early childhood poverty throughout life. Disadvantaged children are more likely than their wealthier peers to confront a wide array of physical stressors (e.g., substandard housing, chaotic environments) and psychosocial stressors (e.g., family turmoil, separation from adult caregivers). As exposure to stressors accumulates, physiological response systems that are designed to handle relatively infrequent, acute environmental demands are overwhelmed. Chronic cumulative stressors also disrupt the self‐regulatory processes that help children cope with external demands.

Associations Between Early Family Risk, Children’s Behavioral Regulation, and Academic Achievement in Portugal

“…Several pathways have been investigated to explain links between sociodemographic risk and behavioral regulation, including how risk is related to adverse parenting and to children's stress levels (Evans & Kim, 2013;Sarsour et al, 2011).…”

“…For example, parents with low education, income, and occupational status are more likely to have fewer resources and higher levels of distress (Blair & Raver, 2012;Evans & Kim, 2013). This can lead to lower parent warmth/responsiveness, and less cognitive stimulating experiences for children (e.g., fewer educational materials and learning opportunities, Evans & Rosenbaum, 2008;Mistry, Benner, Biesanz, Clark, & Howes, 2010;Sarsour et al, 2011).…”

“…Sociodemographic risk can also lead to higher stress levels in children, as indicated by higher levels of physiological dysregulation (Evans & Schamberg, 2009). Chronic stress in the form of chronic activation of the HPA axis can result in "down stream" effects on cortical structures important for the development of behavioral regulation (Blair, 2010;Evans & Kim, 2013;Kiss, Fechete, Pop, & Susa, 2014).…”

“…It has also been suggested that family risk affects children's stress levels, which can interfere with the development of behavioral regulation (Evans & Kim, 2013). Potential mechanisms linking risk to behavioral regulation should continue to be examined in future work.…”

Health Care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Early Childhood — United States, 2011–2012

“…Sociodemographic, health care, family, and community attributes have been associated with increased risk for mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDDs) in children (1,2). For example, poverty has been shown to have adverse effects on cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical development (1).…”