The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 154, Issue 2 , Pages 284-289.e1, February 2009

The Impact of Episodic and Chronic Poverty on Child Cognitive Development

  • Jake M. Najman, PhD, FASSA

      Affiliations

    • School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
    • School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Jake M. Najman, PhD, School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston Road, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
    • ,
  • Mohammad R. Hayatbakhsh, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • Michelle A. Heron, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Qom University of Medical Science, Qom, Iran
    • Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
    • ,
  • William Bor, PhD
    • ,
  • Michael J. O'Callaghan, MBBS, MSc, FRACP

      Affiliations

    • Mater Misericordiae Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • Gail M. Williams, PhD

      Affiliations

    • School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Received 23 January 2008; received in revised form 23 June 2008; accepted 4 August 2008. published online 28 November 2008.

Objective

To determine whether changes in family poverty between pregnancy, early childhood, and adolescence predict child cognitive development at 14 years of age.

Study design

We conducted a population-based prospective birth cohort study of 7223 mothers who gave birth to a live singleton baby, observed to 14 years of age. Family income was measured on 4 occasions from pregnancy to the 14-year follow-up. Child cognitive development was measured at the 14-year follow-up using the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices and Wide Range Achievement Test.

Results

Poverty experienced at any stage of the child's development is associated with reduced cognitive outcomes. Exposure to poverty for a longer duration (birth to 14 years) is more detrimental to cognitive outcomes than experiencing poverty at only 1 period. For each additional exposure to poverty, the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices scores declined by 2.19 units and the Wide Range Achievement Test scores declined by 1.74 units.

Conclusion

Children experiencing family poverty at any developmental stage in their early life course have reduced levels of cognitive development, with the frequency that poverty is experienced predicting the extent of reduced cognitive scores.

Abbreviations: ANCOVA, Analysis of covariance, ANOVA, Analysis of variance, PPVT, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, SES, Socioeconomic status, SPM, Standard Progressive Matrices, WRAT, Wide Range Achievement Test

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 The core study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, but the views in this paper are those of the authors and do not reflect in any way the views of any funding body. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

PII: S0022-3476(08)00892-5

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.08.052

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 154, Issue 2 , Pages 284-289.e1, February 2009

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