Kids in Extreme Poverty Display More Disruptive Behaviour

Kids exposed to family adversity may respond well to parenting interventions, whereas poor kids may benefit from interventions targeting disruptive behaviour.

Growing gaps between rich and poor in recent decades have been exacerbated by a divergence in the behavior of the two groups. No feasible amount of income redistribution can make up for the fact that the rich are working and marrying as much or more than ever while the poor are doing just the reverse.

Unless the poor adopt more mainstream behaviors, and public policies are designed to move them in this direction, economic divisions are likely to grow. A recent study shows that children experiencing poverty suffer greater behavioural problems.

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‘There is no shortage of theories explaining behavior differences among children. The prevailing theory among psychologists and child development specialists is that behavior stems from a combination of genes and environment.’

The study of young children experiencing homelessness, high-quality parenting was associated with better peer relationships and protection from internalizing problems in the context of family adversity. In contrast, risk factors related to poverty were linked with more disruptive behaviour and worse teacher-child relationships, even when parenting was strong.

The study included 245 homeless parents and their children, aged 4 to 6 years. The findings suggest that children exposed to high family adversity may respond well to parenting interventions, whereas children in extreme poverty may benefit from interventions targeting disruptive behaviour and enhancing teacher-child relationships. "These results emphasize the importance of high-quality parenting for social-emotional development, but also its potential limits.

Severe poverty may overwhelm the benefits of strong parenting for children's behaviour, suggesting that interventions promoting child resilience need to reduce poverty-related risk in addition to building protective factors in the family," said lead author Madelyn Labella. The study appears in the journal Child Development.

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Source-ANI

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