Cognitive and Emotional Outcomes for Children in PovertyPRESENTED BY:

TIERRA BLAIR

Cognitive and Emotional Outcomes for Children in Poverty

Presented by: Tierra Blair

What is Poverty?

In the U.S., a monetary threshold known as the federal poverty level (FPL) is used. It is calculated by assuming that food costs constitute one-third of a family’s budget and is based on anticipated food expenditures multiplied by three. The threshold varies according to the size of a family and the age of its members is adjusted annually for the cost of living based on the consumer price index. For example, the poverty threshold for a family of two (two adults and two children) was $19,157. This method was created in the 1960’s and is now considered outdated.

Criticisms with the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

1. OUTDATED:

It doesn’t represent the changing face of the American economy.

Doesn’t accurately reflect differences in

poverty across population groups and

across time

Doesn’t consider different geographic

differences.

Doesn’t reflect the effects of policy

initiatives (i.e., Earned Income Tax Credit and

health care).

Doesn’t reflect the needs of unemployed and those working in and out of the home

(transportation, clothing, child-care

costs, etc. )

Criticisms with the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

2. DOESN’T DISTINGUISH THE DEGREE OF POVERTY EXPERIENCED BY FAMILIES:

Nearly half of poor, young children live in

households with incomes less than one half of the

poverty line.

Many families are “near poor” with incomes

between 100 and 200% of the poverty line. They tend to be ineligible for

certain government programs.

The near-poor may have difficulty in making ends

meet despite having higher incomes.

Criticisms with the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

3. POVERTY LINE IS BASED ON AN ABSOLUTE:

This is an income cut-off defined in 1960 and carried forward with cost of living increases.

Other countries use a line based on a percentage of median income. Therefore, as the overall income in a country increases, so does the poverty threshold.

Income to Needs Ratio

Policy scholars sometimes use the income to needs ratio which is calculated by dividing a household's income by the poverty threshold.

Deep poverty

Poverty Near Poor Lower-middle Class

Middle Class

Affluent

< .5 .5 to 1 1 to 2.0 2.0 – 3.0 3.0 – 4.0 4.0 and higher

*Income quintilesSecond quintile =

NEAR POOR

Bottom quintile = POOR

NOTE: In either representation, about 40% of all children are poor or near-poor in the United States.

Relative Poverty

The extent to which a household’s financial resources fall below an average income.

* This is used as another marker of poverty risk

* Using a relative poverty threshold gives a better picture of the uneven distribution of national wealth.

Note: It is estimated that not until a family of four reaches twice the Federal Poverty Level ($40,000) can it adequately provide for housing, food and health care (basic needs).

The Hard Facts:

1. The United States has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty among industrialized nations.

2. The average child in the U.S. is poorer than the average child in all of the 14 most developed nations.

3. One in five children in America are raised in poverty.

4. The percentage of Americans living in poverty has increased from 11.3% to 12.7% since the year 2000.

5. Children represent 35.2% of the people in poverty in America.

6. Thirty-five percent of African American children and 28% of Hispanic children live below the poverty line compared with 10% of white children.

Consequences for the Young:

Poor early cognitive, verbal, and

behavioral outcomes

Lack of essential goods and services

Cognitive measures between children in and out of poverty

noticeable by age 2.

Increased likelihood of lower

achievement, higher retention and

elevated dropout rate.

Behavior, emotional, conduct disorders,

depression, delinquency, and

peer relation problems noted

early.

Why the “Rise” and “Fall” of Poverty?

POVERTY

Economic situation changes

– job loss/gain

Changes in marriage

and divorce rates

Non-marital fertility rates

Unemployment rates

The increase in number of single parents is one of the most important causes of the rise in number of poor children: These children are more likely to be poor than two-parent households.

Single-mother vs. Two – parent families

Hispanic African Americans Caucasian0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

4539.3 39.5

21.721.223.7

6.5

Single mother vs. Two parent families in 2004

Single mother Two-parent

Ethnicity

Perc

ent

in P

overt

y

Does Poverty Matter?

The following large-scale research initiatives have over-sampled low-income families to isolate the effects of poverty on children’s development and have found significant income effects:

1. Infant Health and Development Program(IHDP)

2. Pane Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)

3. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY)

4. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Study of Early Child Care (NICHD SECC)

5. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS – K)

Links Between Poverty and Children’s Development

Early ChildhoodCognitive Outcomes Behavioral Outcomes

Children living below the poverty threshold are more than 1.3 times as likely as non-poor children to experience learning disabilities and developmental delays.

Young children living in poverty are more likely than non-poor children to display emotional or behavioral problems.

* Childhood Adolescence

Cognitive Outcomes Behavioral Outcomes

Modest effects on family income measured during adolescence on cognitive ability have been found. It should be noted that parental income is restricted to the child’s adolescent years which has potentially biased the findings. (Research finds that the earlier the “poverty experience”, the more it negatively effects cognitive outcomes).

Studies reveal a correlation between family income and number of behavioral problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiance) in children ages 9-13. Behavioral outcomes of children in poverty indicate an increase in anxiety and decrease in self-esteem in the adolescents studied.

Depth, Persistence, and Timing of Poverty

DEPTH PERSISTENCE TIMING

Studies reveal that the deeper the poverty, the greater disparity in cognitive scores (negatively). However, when the income changes positively for the very poor child, their cognitive scores increase as well; displaying outcomes similar to their non-poor peers. When non-poor children’s income increases, little difference is noted.

Studies reveal that children who experience longer durations of poverty will lag behind non-poor or temporarily poor classmates. Children that experience transient levels of income score below non-poor classmates by less of a margin. NOTE: Persistent poverty evoked feelings of dependence, unhappiness, and anxiety, but current poverty has a larger influence on disruptive behaviors and peer conflict.

Research is conflicting concerning the timing of poverty and its relation to cognitive and behavioral development. Children who experienced poverty after infancy had less favorable outcomes, while children in persistently poor families scored the lowest of all four groups analyzed (never poor, poor during infancy, poor only after infancy and chronically poor).

Poverty PathwaysThe Family Stress Model – focuses on the relationships and interactions within the family. This model was designed to examine how emotional distress and marital conflict, bought about by the demands of economic pressure, affect adolescent adjustment (parents’ mental health).

Income loss

Marital conflict

Punitive parenting, poor adolescent and

academic outcomes, maternal

depression, anxiety, and less

attentive parents.

Income loss

Maintaining

positive parenti

ng practice

s

Less marital conflict, high self esteem

and achieve

ment among

children

Poverty PathwaysThe Investment Model- emphasizes the role of income in parents’ ability to provide material goods, services, experiences, human capital, and home environment.

Income Parenting Time

Social Capital

Home Environment

Child Health and Nutrition

Neighborhoods

Child Care

Influences the amount of cognitively stimulating materials (games, books, etc.) and experiences (museums, theatre, etc.)

The time parents spend with their children is a valuable commodity. Working parents give more time to jobs than their children, often with less financial gain.

Refers to the help and support from family and friends in the form of time and money. Supports parents in maintainingemotional health.

Families in poverty typically have less safe, clean, darker, and more cluttered environments than non-poor.

Poor children experience more low birth weights, elevated blood levels which contribute to higher rates of learning disabilities and behavior problems.

Studies have documented a negative association between neighborhood poverty and early school-aged children’s math and verbal achievement(neighbors indirectly influence child development).

Research suggests that children’s experience in child care can affect their cognitive and social development in early childhood (quality, age of entry, parents’ poverty status are determining factors).

Policy Implications

Encompasses services that may mitigate the negative effects of poverty on children's development.

1. EITC – a tax reduction and wage supplement for low-and moderate-income working families that has lifted more than 4 million families and 2 million children out of poverty every year ( most effective antipoverty program for working families).

2. Early intervention – programs that target families with young children in an effort to increase outcomes before entering school (The Abecedarian Project, Project CARE, and Early Head Start).

3. Welfare Reform – The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 instituted the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

a. Provides assistance to families in poverty so that children can remain in their homes

b. Promotes job training, work, and marriage

c. Prevents childbirth outside of marriage

d. Encourage the formation of two-parent families

NOTE: WIC, food stamps, and reduced/free breakfast and lunch are also designed to assist the disadvantaged.

Final Thoughts…

Welfare caseloads have dropped since the passage of the reform legislation in 1996 (The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act). However, only 40 to 50% of mothers who have left the welfare rolls have secured full-time employment. Of those former welfare recipients who are employed, their average yearly salary of $16,000 is not enough to keep a single mother of two children above the poverty level. More support is needed to ensure that children born into economically disadvantaged families will not continue to fall behind their more advantaged peers. Income supplementation, early intervention, and sound support systems can positively enhance poor children’s chances for life and school success.

Take a Look at Poverty in Education

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBgF-OOMSHs