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The Effects of Poverty, Hunger, and
Homelessness on Children and Youth
The nation’s economic crisis has deeply affected the lives of millions
of Americans. Skyrocketing foreclosures and job layoffs have pulled the rug
out from under many families, particularly those living in low-income communities.
Deepening poverty is inextricably linked with rising levels of homelessness
and food insecurity/hunger for many Americans and children are particularly
affected by these conditions. Find out below a summary of the myriad effects
of poverty, homelessness, and hunger on children and youth. Various resources
(from APA and other organizations) have also been listed that provide information
and tools on ways to fight poverty in America.
For more information on APA’s work on issues surrounding socioeconomic
status, please see the Office of Socioeconomic
Status.
Poverty
What are the current poverty and unemployment rates for
Americans?
Where is child poverty concentrated?
What are the effects of child poverty?
Poverty and academic achievement
Poverty and psychosocial outcomes
Poverty and physical health
APA Resources
External Resources
Sources
Hunger
What is the prevalence of child hunger in America?
What are the effects of hunger and undernutrition on child
development?
Prenatally
In infancy and early childhood
In childhood
APA Resources
External Resources
Sources
Homelessness
Who are homeless children and youth in America?
What are the risk factors for homelessness in children and youth?
What are the outcomes of homelessness for children and youth?
APA Resources
External Resources
Sources
What are the current poverty and unemployment rates
for Americans?
The ongoing economic crisis has negatively affected the livelihoods of millions
of Americans.
- As of September 2009, unemployment has spiked dramatically to 9.8%, having
doubled since the beginning of the recession in December 2007.
- The national poverty rate is the highest it has been for the last 11 years,
growing to 13.2% in 2008 from 12.5% in 2007.
- Poverty rates for 2009 are not yet available, but will likely mimic this
year’s dramatic growth in unemployment.
- While non-Hispanic Whites still constitute the largest single group of Americans
living in poverty, ethnic minority groups are overrepresented (24.7% African
American, 24.3% American Indian and Alaskan Native, 23.2% Hispanic, and 11.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander compared with 8.6% non-Hispanic White).
- These disparities are associated with the historical marginalization of
ethnic minority groups and entrenched barriers to good education and jobs.
Where is child poverty concentrated?
- The child poverty rate has gone up from 18% in 2007 to 19% in 2008 continuing
the upward trend in child poverty rates dating back to 2000 (16.2%).
- Racial and ethnic disparities in poverty rates persist, particularly among
children. In 2007, African American and Hispanic children were twice as likely
to live in poverty as non-Hispanic White and Asian children.
- Having immigrant parents increases children’s likelihood of living
in poverty. An estimated 58% of children with immigrant parents live in a
low-income family.
- Children with single mothers were more than five times as likely to live
in poverty as children living with married parents (42.9% vs. 8.5%).
- Single-mother headed households are also more prevalent among African American
and Hispanic families contributing to ethnic disparities in poverty.
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What are the effects of child poverty?
- Psychological research has demonstrated that living in poverty has a wide
range of negative effects on the physical and mental health and wellbeing
of our nation’s children.
- Poverty impacts children within their various contexts at home, in school,
and in their neighborhoods and communities.
- Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing,
homelessness, inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, inadequate child care,
lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and underresourced schools
which adversely impact our nation’s children.
- Poorer children and teens are also at greater risk for several negative
outcomes such as poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect,
behavioral and socioemotional problems, physical health problems, and developmental
delays.
- These effects are compounded by the barriers children and their families
encounter when trying to access physical and mental health care.
- Economists estimate that child poverty costs the U.S. $500 billion a year
in lost productivity in the work force and spending on health care and the
criminal justice system.
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Poverty and academic achievement
- Poverty has a particularly adverse effect on the academic outcomes of children,
especially during early childhood.
- Chronic stress associated with living in poverty has been shown to adversely
affect children’s concentration and memory which may impact their ability
to learn.
- School drop out rates are significantly higher for teens residing in poorer
communities. In 2007, the dropout rate of students living in low-income families
was about 10 times greater than the rate of their peers from high-income families
(8.8% vs. 0.9%).
- The academic achievement gap for poorer youth is particularly pronounced
for low-income African American and Hispanic children compared with their
more affluent White peers.
- Underresourced schools in poorer communities struggle to meet the learning
needs of their students and aid them in fulfilling their potential.
- Inadequate education contributes to the cycle of poverty by making it more
difficult for low-income children to lift themselves and future generations
out of poverty.
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Poverty and psychosocial outcomes
- Children living in poverty are at greater risk of behavioral and emotional
problems.
- Some behavioral problems may include impulsiveness, difficulty getting
along with peers, aggression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
and conduct disorder.
- Some emotional problems may include feelings of anxiety, depression, and
low self-esteem.
- Poverty and economic hardship is particularly difficult for parents who
may experience chronic stress, depression, marital distress and exhibit harsher
parenting behaviors. These are all linked to poor social and emotional outcomes
for children.
- Unsafe neighborhoods may expose low-income children to violence which can
cause a number of psychosocial difficulties. Violence exposure can also predict
future violent behavior in youth which places them at greater risk of injury
and mortality and entry into the juvenile justice system.
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Poverty and physical health
Children and teens living in poorer communities are at increased risk for a
wide range of physical health problems:
- Low birth weight
- Poor nutrition which is manifested in the following ways:
- Inadequate food which can lead to food insecurity/hunger
- Lack of access to healthy foods and areas for play or sports which
can lead to childhood overweight or obesity
- Chronic conditions such as asthma, anemia, and pneumonia
- Risky behaviors such as smoking or engaging in early sexual activity
- Exposure to environmental contaminants, e.g., lead paint and toxic waste
dumps
- Exposure to violence in their communities which can lead to trauma, injury,
disability, and mortality
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APA Resources
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External Resources
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Sources
American Psychological Association (2000). Resolution on poverty and socioeconomic
status. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from www.apa.org/pi/urban/povres.html
American Psychological Association, Task Force on Socioeconomic Status (2007).
Report of the APA task force on socioeconomic status. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www2.apa.org/pi/SES_task_force_report.pdf
Cataldi, E.F., Laird, J., & KewalRamani, A. (2009). High school dropout
and completion rates in the United States: 2007. Washington, DC: National Center
for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of
Education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009064.pdf
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (2009). America’s
children: Key national indicators of well-being, 2009. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.childstats.gov/pdf/ac2009/ac_09.pdf
Moore, K. A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbwana, K., & Collins, A. (2009).
Children in poverty: Trends, consequences, and policy options. Washington, DC:
Child Trends. Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2009_04_07_RB_ChildreninPoverty.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau (2005). Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in
the United States: 2004. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved
from http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau (2009). Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in
the United States: 2008. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved
from http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau (2009). Poverty: 2007 and 2008 American community surveys.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/acsbr08-1.pdf
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What is the prevalence of child hunger in America?
- In 2007, 36.2 million Americans (23.8 million adults and 12.4 million children)
lived in food insecure households. Overall, 11.1% of households were food
insecure.
- Food insecure means that at some point during the year, the
household had limited access to an adequate supply of food due to lack
of money or other resources.
- In eight states and the District of Columbia, over 20 percent of the child
population lives in food insecure households. Texas and Mississippi have the
highest rates of children living in households without consistent access to
food.
- Use of food stamps increased by 13% last year to nearly 9.8 million U.S.
households. This increase was led by Louisiana, Maine and Kentucky.
- About 20% of Americans utilize at least one of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
(USDA) nutrition assistance programs each year.
- About 50% of infants born in the United States receive support from the
Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program.
- 55% of schoolchildren participated in the National School Lunch and Breakfast
Programs in 2007. Of the meals served in 2008, 50% of lunches and 71% of breakfasts
were free.
What are the effects of hunger and undernutrition
on child development?
Prenatally
- Maternal undernutrition during pregnancy increases the risk of negative
birth outcomes, including premature birth, low birth weight, smaller head
size, and lower brain weight.
- Babies born prematurely are vulnerable to health problems and are at increased
risk for developing learning problems when they reach school-age.
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In infancy and early childhood
- The first three years of a child’s life are a period of rapid brain
development. Too little energy, protein, and nutrients during this sensitive
period can lead to lasting deficits in cognitive, social, and emotional development.
- Protein-energy malnutrition, iron deficiency anemia, iodine, zinc, and
other vitamin deficiencies in early childhood can cause brain impairment.
- Failure to thrive, the failure to grow and reach major developmental milestones
as the result of undernutrition, affects 5-10% of American children under
the age of three.
- Hunger reduces a child’s motor skills, activity level, and motivation
to explore the environment. Movement and exploration are important to cognitive
development, and more active children elicit more stimulation and attention
from their caregivers, which promotes social and emotional development.
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In childhood
- Families often work to keep their food-insecurity hidden, and some parents
may feel shame or embarrassment that they are not able to feed their children
adequately. Children may also feel stigmatized, isolated, ashamed, or embarrassed
by their lack of food.
- A community sample that classified low-income children ages six to twelve
as “hungry”, “at-risk for hunger”, or “not hungry”
found that hungry children were significantly more likely to receive special
education services, to have repeated a grade in school, and to have received
mental health counseling than at-risk-for-hunger or not-hungry children.
- In this same study, hungry children exhibited 7 to 12 times as many symptoms
of conduct disorder (such as fighting, blaming others for problems, having
trouble with a teacher, not listening to rules, stealing) than their at-risk
or not-hungry peers.
- Among low-income children, those classified as “hungry” show
increased anxious, irritable, aggressive, and oppositional behavior in comparison
to peers.
- Additionally, the multiple stressors associated with poverty result in
significantly increased risk for developing psychiatric and functional problems.
School-age children who experience severe hunger are at increased risk
for the following negative outcomes:
- Homelessness
- Chronic health conditions
- Stressful life conditions
- Psychiatric distress
- Behavioral problems
- Internalizing behavior, including depression, anxiety, withdrawal, and
poor self-esteem
The effects of undernutrition depend on the length and severity of
the period of hunger and may be mediated by other factors.
- Improved nutrition, increased environmental stimulation, emotional support,
and secure attachment to parents/caregivers can compensate for early undernutrition.
- Babies who receive enough nutrition while in the womb appear to show higher
cognitive performance in later childhood.
- The human brain is flexible and can recover from early deficits, but this
also means that brain structures remain vulnerable to further negative experiences
throughout childhood.
- Breastfeeding, attentive caretaking, and attention to environmental factors,
such as sleep cycles and noise, can also promote healthy development.
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APA Resources
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External Resources
The USDA’s nutrition
programs are available to assist adults and children experiencing food insecurity.
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Sources
Economic Research Service. (2009). An illustrated guide to research findings
from USDA’s Economic Research Service (EIB- 48). Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib48/
Kleinman, R., Murphy, M., Little, M., Pagano, M., Wehler, C., Regal, K., &
Jellinek, M. (1998). Hunger in children in the United States: Potential behavioral
and emotional correlates. Pediatrics, 101(1). doi: 10.1542/peds.101.1.e3
Tanner, E. & Finn-Stevenson, M. (2002). Nutrition and brain development:
Social policy implications. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72(2),
182-193.
Weinreb, L., Wehler, C., Perloff, J., Scott, R., Hosmer, D., Sagor, L., &
Gunderson, C. (2002). Hunger: Its impact on children’s health and mental
health. Pediatrics, 110(4). Doi: 10.1542/peds.110.4.e41
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Who are homeless children and youth in America?
- An estimated 2.3 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness at least
once a year. Homelessness affects people of all ages, geographic areas, occupations,
and ethnicities, but occurs disproportionately among people of color.
- Access to permanent and adequate shelter is a basic human need; however,
the ongoing economic downturn (composed of the foreclosure crisis, spiking
unemployment, worsening poverty rates, and inadequate low-cost housing) is
likely to increase rates of homelessness.
- A survey of school districts in fall 2008 reported increases in the number
of homeless students in the classroom, largely due to the economic downturn
and foreclosure crisis; this increase builds on previous increases in homeless
students in 2006 and 2007.
- People experiencing homelessness are comprised of three groups; single adults,
unaccompanied youth, and families with children.
- Unaccompanied youth (sometimes referred to as runaway youth) may number
between 575,000 to 1.6 million annually and typically range from ages 16 to
22. Family conflict is the primary cause of their homelessness with 46% having
experienced abuse and an estimated 20-40% identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual,
or transgendered (GLBT).
- Families with children comprise a third of the homeless population and are
typically comprised of a single mother in her late twenties with two young
children. It is estimated that 1 in 50 (1.5 million) of America’s children
fall within this category and that approximately 650,000 are below age 6.
- African American (47%) and Native American (2%) children are disproportionately
represented demographically among homeless children compared with White (38%)
and Hispanic (13%) children.
- Homeless single mothers often have histories of violent victimization with
over one third having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and over half
experiencing major depression while homeless. An estimated 41 percent have
developed dependency on alcohol and drugs and are often in poor physical health.
Maternal depression and parental substance abuse has a series of negative
outcomes for children.
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What are the risk factors for homelessness in children
and youth?
- Extreme poverty is the strongest predictor of homelessness for families.
These families are often forced to choose between housing and other necessities
for their survival. 11% of American children living in poverty are homeless.
- Female-headed households (particularly by women with limited education
and job skills) are also particularly vulnerable. The current economic climate
has made the labor market even less hospitable as many of them do not have
more than a high school diploma or GED.
- Teen parents are also particularly at risk of homelessness as they often
lack the education and income of adults who become parents.
- Lack of affordable housing is also a risk factor for homelessness, particularly
for families who devote more than 50% of household income to paying rent or
those who experience a foreclosure. Foreclosures affect vulnerable tenants
as well as homeowners who are delinquent in their mortgage payments.
- Substance abusing or physically violent parents and stepparents are the
major drivers of homelessness in runaway youth, particularly for those who
identify as GLBT.
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What are the outcomes of homelessness for children
and youth?
- Homelessness has particularly adverse effects on children and youth including
hunger, poor physical and mental health, and missed educational opportunities.
- Homeless children lack stability in their lives with 97% having moved at
least once on an annual basis, which leads to disruptions in schooling and
negatively impacts academic achievement.
- Schooling for homeless children is often interrupted and delayed, with
homeless children twice as likely to have a learning disability, repeat a
grade, or to be suspended from school.
- Homelessness and hunger are closely intertwined. Homeless children are
twice as likely to experience hunger as their non-homeless peers. Hunger
has a series of negative effects on the physical, social, emotional and cognitive
development of children.
- A quarter of homeless children have witnessed violence and 22% have been
separated from their families. Exposure to violence can cause a number of
psychosocial difficulties for children both emotionally (depression, anxiety,
withdrawal) and behaviorally (aggression, acting out).
- Half of school age homeless children experience problems with depression
and anxiety and one in five homeless preschoolers have emotional problems
that require professional care.
- Homelessness is linked to poor physical health for children including low
birth weight, malnutrition, ear infections, exposure to environmental toxins,
and chronic illness (e.g. asthma). Homeless children also are less likely
to have adequate access to medical and dental care.
- Unaccompanied youth are often more likely to grapple with mental health
(depression, anxiety, and PTSD) and substance abuse problems.
- Many runaway youth engage in sexually risky behaviors (sometimes for their
own survival), which places them at risk of HIV, other STDs, and unintended
pregnancies. Also, emerging research has shown that GLBT homeless youth are
7 times more likely to be victims of violent crime.
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APA Resources
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External Resources
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has a number of resources:
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Sources
Duffield, B. & Lovell, P. (2008). The economic crisis hits home: The
unfolding increase in child and youth homelessness. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth & First Focus.
Retrieved from http://www.naehcy.org/dl/TheEconomicCrisisHitsHome.pdf
Mallett, S., & Rosenthal, D. (2009). Physically violent mothers are a reason
for young people's leaving home. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
24(7), 1165-1174.
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (2009).
Facts about homeless education. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from
http://www.naehcy.org/facts.html
National Center on Family Homelessness (2009). America’s youngest
outcasts: State report card on child homelessness. Newton, MA: Author.
Retrieved from http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/pdf/rc_full_report.pdf
National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2005). Facts on trauma and homeless
children. Washington, DC: National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Homelessness
and Extreme Poverty Working Group. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf
National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2007). Trauma among homeless youth.
Culture and Trauma Brief, 2(1), 1-7. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved
from http://nctsnet.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/culture_and_trauma_brief_v2n1_HomelessYouth.pdf
What can you do to help children and families struggling with poverty,
hunger, and homelessness?
- Volunteer your time with charities and organizations that provide assistance
to low-income and homeless children and families.
- Donate money, food, and clothing to homeless shelters and other charities
in your community.
- Donate school supplies and books to underresourced schools in your area.
- Make your voice heard! Support public policy initiatives that seek to:
- Improve access to physical, mental, and behavioral health care for
low-income Americans by eliminating barriers such as limitations in health
care coverage.
- Create a “safety net” for children and families that provides
real protection against the harmful effects of economic insecurity.
- Increase the minimum wage, affordable housing and job skills training
for low-income and homeless Americans.
- Intervene in early childhood to support the health and educational
development of low-income children.
- Provide support for low-income and food insecure children such as Head
Start, the National School Lunch Program, and the Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) authorization.
- Increase resources for public education and access to higher education.
- Support research on poverty and its relationship to health, education,
and well-being.
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