Research Links Poor Kids' Stress, Brain Impairment

[populistdriven]

Source: Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/05/AR2009040501719.html?hpid=topnews

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Now, research is providing what could be crucial clues to explain how childhood poverty translates into dimmer chances of success: Chronic stress from growing up poor appears to have a direct impact on the brain, leaving children with impairment in at least one key area -- working memory.

"There's been lots of evidence that low-income families are under tremendous amounts of stress, and we know that stress has many implications," said Gary W. Evans, a professor of human ecology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who led the research. "What this data raises is the possibility that it's also related to cognitive development."

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"It's critical for learning," Evans said. "If you don't have good working memory, you can't do things like hold a phone number in your head or develop a vocabulary."

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"It's not just 'Read to our kids and take them to the library,' " he said. "We need to take into account that chronic stress takes a toll not only on their health, but it may take a toll on their cognitive functioning."

[redqueen]

1. Finally...

this is so good to see.

[populistdriven]

2. It is not just read and feed its also feeling safe

Even if you are loved and well fed the stress of poverty will harm your memory.

And this isn't directly related but I was horrified when I read Freakonomics and considered the fact that 16 years after Roe v Wade the crime rates dropped because of fewer unwanted kids being born.

The issue of abortion aside. This fact really hits home how horribly devastating the stress of growing up in a family that doesn't want you must be.

We cannot afford as a country to continue as we are and MUST do more. I am optimistic since Michelle is so outspoken on this subject. Our families not only need support we need to make sure the kids who are extremely stressed get immediate help.

[Muttocracy]

3. Another article on the research I was just about to post

Just got in my alumni news. Probably seems obvious to us, but it's good to have the data to back it up for policy-making.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April09/PovertyBrains.sh.html
Cornell Chronicle Online
April 9, 2009
CU study: Poverty can physically impair brain, reducing children's ability to learn
By Sheri Hall

Chronic stress from growing up in poverty can physiologically impact children's brains, impairing their working memory and diminishing their ability to develop language, reading and problem-solving skills, reports a new Cornell study.

The study, published online March 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is one of the first to look at cognitive responses to physiological stress in children who live in poverty.

"There is a lot of evidence that low-income families are under tremendous amounts of stress, and we know already that stress has many implications," said lead author Gary W. Evans, the Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of Human Ecology in the Departments of Design and Environmental Analysis and of Human Development in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. "What these data raise is the possibility that stress is also related to cognitive development."

Evans and Michele A. Schamber '08, who worked with Evans as an undergraduate, have been gathering detailed data about 195 children from rural households above and below the poverty line for 14 years. They quantified the level of physiological stress each child experienced at ages 9 and 13 using a "stress score" called allostatic load, which combines measures of the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, as well as blood pressure and body mass index.

At age 17, the subjects also underwent tests to measure their working memory, which is the ability to remember information in the short term. Working memory is crucial for everyday activities as well as for forming long-term memories.

Evans found that children who lived in impoverished environments for longer periods of time showed higher stress scores and suffered greater impairments in working memory as young adults. Those who spent their entire childhood in poverty scored about 20 percent lower on working memory than those who were never poor.

"When you are poor, when it rains it pours," Evans explained. "You may have housing problems. You may have more conflict in the family. There's a lot more pressure in paying the bills. You'll probably end up moving more often. We know that produces stress in families, including on the children.

"We put these things together and can say one reason we get this link between poverty and deficits in working memory may be from this chronic elevated stress," he said.

The findings suggest that government policies and programs that aim to reduce the income-performance gap should consider the stress children experience at home.

"It's not enough to just take our kids to the library," Evans said. "We need to also take into account that chronic stress takes a toll on their cognitive functioning."

[Why Syzygy]

4. If we assume

this is not a new phenomena, it would explain a lot about my own mother who grew up in a very poor home. She doesn't read books at all. The newspaper is about it. She can't remember. Sheds a light on many things. Surely there are plenty of others in that age group, Great Depression/WWII that also suffered poverty.

[Muttocracy]

5. I know my short-term memory goes when I'm under stress so it makes sense to me

And kids have social and reading developmental periods, so if your brain is stressed out during those, maybe you miss chances or fall behind your peers and give up.