Hendrickson: Childhood Poverty Flashcards
(37 cards)
T/F: The brain, endocrine system, and immune system are literally shaped by early poverty, with lifelong consequences.
True
Two ways to define poverty?
income standard: you are poor because you make less than $X
relative standard: you are poor because you have less than other members of society
The standard of poverty in the U.S is called the federal poverty level. Most families need about (blank)% of the FPL to meet basic needs.
200
(blank) are the poorest demographic group.
children
**minority children have even higher rates
(blank)% (>16 million) live below the FPL; half of these live in “extreme poverty.”
22
Children of (blank) mothers have the highest poverty rate
single
How does poverty endanger children?
Maternal depression Insecure attachment Abuse, neglect Parental drug abuse Domestic violence Lead poisoning, environmental toxins Premature birth Poor nutrition Learning and behavior problems Increased injury, death
Incidence of child maltreatment is much higher in poverty. What kinds of maltreatment are we talking about?
neglect, abuse
(blank) affects children in poor families disproportionately
maternal depression
Almost (blank) of American children live in food-insecure households
1/4
T/F: The US is one of the worst in the developed world in terms of childhood poverty
True
This had a great impact on increasing the number of newly poor children
the great recession
How is Nevada doing in terms of childhood poverty & well-being?
Nevada’s child poverty rate is increasing
Nevada ranks 48th in child well-being
This is a key factor in persistence of poverty
school readiness
**when kids start kindergarten, poor children less likely to be ready
There is a (blank)% lower HS graduation rate among the poor
23%
Discuss the differences in language between parents/children in poor vs other families?
poor families talk less to their children & use fewer different words - fewer nouns/modifiers and past-tense verbs, less affirmative tone, fewer questions, less responsive to child’s initiations
poor children use less words, add new words more slowly
poor children heard 30 mil fewer words than children from professional families
Amount and quality of parents’ language predicts abilities and IQ at age (blank)
3
Why are the first 3yrs of life so important?
“Critical periods” of development concentrated in first years of life.
These are windows of time in which the brain, stress response, and immune systems demonstrate remarkable plasticity in response to input from environment.
Poverty creates toxic stress. Effects are reduced if children have a (blank) in their lives, but are intensified without a supportive adult. Toxic stress adversely affects (blank) development and the HPA axis.
caring adult; brain
Toxic stress leaves its mark through two processes. What are they?
synaptic remodeling: brain’s neural circuitry is shaped by early learning experiences
epigenetics: gene expression is altered
Synaptic remodeling happens in the (blank)
cerebral cortex
What is synaptic proliferation and pruning?
Synapses proliferate rapidly, are pruned extensively in early years.
Maximizes plasticity in response to early environment.
Most of this occurs during “critical period”for each region of cortex.
Once critical period is over, synapses are less “plastic”
What happens to the cortical thickness and surface area in the first few years of life?
Cortical thickness decreases rapidly in childhood and early adolescence, followed by more gradual thinning, plateau in early adulthood.
Cortical surface area expands through early adolescence, then shrinks through middle adulthood.
**By age 10, more intelligent children have thinner cortices, greater surface area
How does poverty effect cortical surface area & thickness?
family income is significantly associated with brain surface area, & borderline associated w/ cortical thickness
low income families –> lower surface area of brain
