Distinctive Mechanisms of Adversity and Socioeconomic Inequality in Child Development: A Review and Recommendations for Evidence-Based Policy

Abstract

This review proposes separate and distinct biological mechanisms for the effects of adversity, more commonly experienced in poverty, and socioeconomic status (SES) on child development. Adversity affects brain and cognitive development through the biological stress response, which confers risk for pathology. Critically, we argue that a different mechanism, enrichment, shapes differences in brain and cognitive development across the SES spectrum. Distinguishing between adversity and SES allows for precise, evidence-based policy recommendations. We offer recommendations designed to ensure equity in children’s experiences to help narrow the achievement gap and promote intergenerational mobility.

The relationship between cognitive enrichment and cognitive control: A systematic investigation of environmental influences on development through socioeconomic status

“…Our data suggest that SES is supporting cognitive control development to the extent that children have various cognitively stimulating items and opportunities that allow them to practice rule‐guided behavior. This is consistent with the literature on the types of policy‐based programs that have been shown to support positive progress in narrowing the achievement gap (Amso & Lynn, ). For example, the Chicago Readiness School Project (Raver et al., ) focused on teaching children self‐regulation in the classroom and in a variety of contexts.…”

“…However, our goal is to understand how SES across a wide income range impacts WM, not how the biological embedding of stress impacts WM. A critical distinction is that stress and enrichment act through different mechanisms to shape development (Amso & Lynn, ; Conger & Donnellan, ; Johnson et al., ; Lawson, Camins, et al., ; Lawson, Hook, et al., ; McLaughlin & Sheridan, ; McLaughlin et al., ; Sheridan, Peverill, Finn, & McLaughlin, ; Ursache & Noble, ) . When incorporating the adversities more common in poverty, there is little doubt that stresses acts to shape outcomes.…”

The Role of Executive Functions in Socioeconomic Attainment Gaps: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…However, it still remains likely that language skills contribute toward this relation, particularly as evidence suggests language may underpin executive functions by allowing children to effectively represent information related to goals (Gooch et al, 2016). Thirdly, growing up in a low-SES home-particularly at the extreme end of the SES spectrum, in poverty-may detrimentally impact executive functions when persistent stress is experienced (Amso & Lynn, 2017). Chronic levels of stress can lead to changes in the biological systems that respond to stress (Blair & Raver, 2012).…”

Socioeconomic status and the brain: prospects for neuroscience-informed policy

“…Furthermore, much of the literature considered in this article lumps together economic and noneconomic measures of SES and the range of deprivation varies across studies. In this Perspective, I will therefore adopt a 'lumping' rather than 'splitting' approach to SES and poverty but note that more precisely characterizing these distinctions would be very worthwhile, especially with respect to policy 7,8 .…”