Poverty and the Development of Adolescence - Research Paper Example

?Full Number: TA: Poverty and the Development of Adolescence Introduction Successful adolescence development is considered as an inter-generational process which involves open minded young individuals taking advantages of new situations and responsible adults providing them with growth-enhancing opportunities, materials and caring. The current study examines the previous research studies on four domains of adolescence development namely, physical, cognitive, social and emotional with special emphasis on household poverty. The specific objectives of the current study are to identify the concepts which are useful for measuring poverty and adolescent development and their association to investigate the impact of poverty on four domains of adolescent development. The paper is organized as follows. The first chapter presents the models, indicators and statistical concepts useful for measuring the household poverty level, adolescence development processes and the factors which influence the adolescence development. Second chapter on literature review describes the physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of the adolescents in poor families by reviewing the literature. Finally the conclusions are drawn relevant to adolescent development and poverty. Concepts The distinguished physical developmental characteristics such as development of breasts for girls and the deepened voices and broadened shoulders for boys are probably the most prominent characteristics of the adolescent development. However, the adolescent development is a much more complex process involving multiple factors of which some are in the immediate environment while the others are biological and determines at individual level. Youth in this stage are developing their cognitive skills and also undergo new experiences relating to the environment. Rather than adhering to what is told by others adolescents tend to process the information and formulate individual perceptions. Such perceptions largely associate with the individual characteristics and personality which may persist in adulthood. Perhaps the next mostly prominent characteristics during the adolescence can be the emotional ups and downs or bad mood. Therefore, the adolescent development theory is discussed with reference to physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral development. In the proceeding chapter, these domains are discussed in detail with reference to relevant research literature. Literature Review Physical Development The lower socio economic status in the family can result in impaired development and poorer health of children and increased mortality and morbidity of adults (Emerson et al., 2005). Purchasing power of the poor families is low. Limited access to foods and nutrients is a common problem faced by the third world countries. It is also well established that social support and health beliefs play an important role in physical activity level of the adolescence. These have been recorded as inadequate even among the poor youth in the USA (Debbie et al. 2008). In the US more than 25 percentage proportion of the adolescents are also overweight. More than 11 percentage proportion of the adolescents are obese which cause long term physical and mental health consequences in individuals. Wickrama et al. 2006, revealed that poverty, single parenthood and most of the racial minority statuses (African American, Hispanic American, and Native American racial/ethnic groups) are positively associated with obesity and overweight among adolescents in the USA. Asian American status however was found negatively correlated with these health problems. Emerson et al. 2005, used the statistics of National Statistics survey of the mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain to study the health status of the adolescents and household income. Sample consisted of 10,438 children between the ages of 5 and 15. In the above study the physical development of the adolescents were measured in terms of nine categories namely, current health status, current physical illness, sensory impairment, physical disabilities, speech/language problems, accidental injury, psychiatric disorder, specific learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities. Each of the above categories consisted of separate items and measurements and the equivalised household income was used as the measurement of socioeconomic status of the family. Analysis was done using the samples which were split based on the equivalised household income. The two age categories were defined into early adolescence (of age between 5 and 10) and late (of age between 11 and 15). Logistic regression approach was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. This study revealed the importance of using the equivalised household income as opposed to parental occupational status which is low in predictive power of the adolescence physical development. The authors suggest that using parental occupational status exclusively may underestimate the strength of the correlation between adolescents’ health status and the socioeconomic status of the family. Moreover, the statistical estimates did not yield statistically significant association in either age group between equivalised income and (i) the three general categories of current physical illness, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment and (ii) the specific physical illness categories of hayfever, glue ear, digestive problems, and food allergies. However, low income was associated with poorer health status on 12 indicators in the age range of 5–10 years, and 10 indicators in the age range of 11–15 years for boys. Low income was also associated with poorer health status on six indicators in each age range for girls. The study also tested the hypothesis that adolescence represents a period of ‘relative equalisation’ of health inequalities and findings suggested such a trend does not exist. Debbie et al. 2008, studied a sample of African American girls who were average 10.5 year old girls and lived in female headed families (sample size =72). Majority of these families were poor (i.e. 64 percentage proportion of the sample) and showed obesity (i.e. 58 percentage proportion of the sample). The above study has established that self-efficacy for physical activity in African American prepubescent girls and girls in transition to be significantly higher compared to the post-pubescent girls. Furthermore, it was revealed that improving the self-efficacy for physical activity in post-pubescent African American girls is important to reduce the prevalence of obesity among them and increase the level of physical activity among them. Social support and health beliefs significantly influence the intention for physical activity. This study employed multivariable linear regression analysis and SAS software to estimate Tanner score, sedentary behaviors, BMI and age. Cognitive Development It is well established that biological make up as well as the environment significantly shape the human cognitive development process (Elliot & Paige, 2012). Socioeconomic status of the families is a widely used variable to study the differences in cognitive development in relation to the individual’s environment. Multiple factors, mechanisms, and pathways through which poverty incident can increase the risk for academic failure among the youth is categorized as disadvantageous statuses in parental supervision, material resources, intellectual stimulation & value and others (Yun et al., 2012). In addition to the disadvantageous characteristics inherent to the families, characteristics of the poor and rural schools also affect cognitive development among the adolescents (Mathew at el., 2011 and Yun et al., 2012). Specific disadvantageous characteristics which affect the development of the cognitive skills among the youth in rural and poor families include issues relating to their economic hardship, geographical isolation, limited community resources and lack of encouragement to obtain postsecondary educational and vocational trainings Previous research findings have revealed that adolescents’ academic achievements and rates of school completion rates are higher in schools which comprises of lower proportions of the students in poor and racial/ethnic minority families (Mathew at el., 2011). Yun et al., 2012, used following explanatory variables to explain the differences in creative potential of the adolescents; schools attended, the local communities the students live in and parent education levels. It was revealed that students living in upper-middleclass suburban school districts have high creative potential which is indicated by the fluency, flexibility and original ideation compared to the students living in mixed-lower to middle-class school districts. The above author suggests that lower socio economic status in school, home and neighborhood environments affect the cognitive development and creative potential of the adolescents. School characteristics were the determinant factors on creative potential of the youth compared to the parents’ educational level. Moreover, previous research findings also reveal that there are advantageous characteristics in rural schools which benefit the cognitive development of the adolescents. For example, rural schools are typically 1) the community social and activity hub which in turn supports developing beneficial personality traits, 2) characterized by long-standing and supportive student–teacher relationships which induce academic achievement and discourage school dropouts and 3) close community-school relationships which initiate educational aspirations among the youth. In contrary some researchers have recorded that geographical isolation which is observed in rural communities act as a barrier for educational aspirations among the youth because postsecondary academic qualifications are not needed for local job opportunities in most rural industries (Mathew at el., 2011). However, in an information technology era which is characterized by the globalization and reduced proximity between the countries, it can be considered as a highly vague argument. Social Development Adolescent development which is influenced by the socio-environmental factors is described in terms of three broad research fields namely, neighborhood characteristics, maternal partnerships characteristics and the culture. A review of research literature which was conducted by Murry et al. 2011, examined the extent to which previous findings confirmed the following hypothesis; adolescent development issues which are associated with race and ethnicity are caused by the differential exposure to childhood poverty. The authors of the above study remarked that African Americans and Latinos are disproportionately exposed to poverty during childhood and hence there exists overlaps between race and poverty. Such overlaps complicate efforts to determine the validity of the above hypothesis at national level. Bachman and Carrano 2012, investigated the association between maternal partnership instability patterns with adolescents’ behavioral and emotional well-being among urban low-income families. The analyses employed 2,305 adolescents and the respective maternal partnerships in the families. Based on the maternal partnerships families classified as status at wave 3 (single, married, or cohabiting), always (since adolescent’s birth with no transitions), stable (lasting two years or more, proceeded by transitions), or new (transpiring in the past 2 years). The study revealed that adolescents in the always married group are associated with lower rates of delinquency and externalizing problems. Moreover, the individuals who were living with newly cohabiting mothers were associated with high rates of psychological distress. Santiago and Wadsworth 2011, investigated the family and cultural influences on development of 90, low-income Latino middle school children by using Hierarchical Linear modeling analyses. The results revealed that family reframing strategies such as defining family problems properly and solving them as a family unit can decrease the prevalence of psychological symptoms among adolescents. Emotional Development Adolescent psychiatry can be considered as an interface between physical, cognitive and social development domains. The above three domains influence the development of individuals’ psychiatry. Research literature reveals that prevalence of depression symptoms as the most common psychological health issue during the adolescence. The specific poverty related school and neighborhood characteristics which can induce depression symptoms among the adolescents can be described as follows. Adolescents who live with the families which fall under low income category are more likely to attend resource-poor schools and lack supportive emotional development. Encouraging perceptions such as belongingness to the school and self esteem which may lack in students attending resources poor schools are important for the psychological well-being of the adolescent population. The supportive teacher-student and peer relationships also contribute to the development of adolescents’ self esteem. The neighborhoods of low economic status families are also characterized by low facilities, high rates of unemployment, crime, and violence (Murry et al., 2011) which can cause anxiety and depression among the adolescents. The specific poverty related family issues which can induce depression symptoms among the adolescents can be described as follows. Economic stress which directly causes precipitating parental depression and marital conflict can harm the psychological health of adolescents. Maternal birth age (particularly adolescent birth), educational level, and marital status which also associate with household poverty in the USA can induce depression among the adolescents (Yoshikawa et al., 2012). Depression can interfere with the daily functioning of the adolescents and also result in recurrent depression, increased risk for suicide, and comorbidity and other psychological problems such as substance abuse persist into adulthood (Hammack et al, 2004). Adolescent depression symptoms include depressed mood, clinically defined depressive disorders and anxiousness/depression subscales or the co-occurrence of anxiety and depressive symptoms (Eamon, 2001). Among these the depressed mood is recognized as the most common depression symptom and affects 15 to 40 percentage proportion of the general adolescent population (Hammack et al, 2004). It is well established that there is a strong associations between poverty and mental health problems including depression. For example the depression mood as well as the poverty among African-American youth is higher compared to the other ethnic groups in the USA. The prevalence of clinically defined depressive disorders is also as high as 9 percentage proportion of the African-American youth population (Hammack, 2004). Eamon 2001, studied the school, neighborhood, and home related factors which mediate the correlation between poverty and depression in a national sample of adolescents between ages of 10 and 12 in the USA. The above study incorporated 1) characteristics of the adolescents; age in months, gender, ethnicity, and health status as stated by the mother 2) characteristics of the Family and Household; poverty as measured by the total family income that mothers reported, teen birth as measured by the mother’s age at the child’s birth, mother’s educational level and marital status and 3) Mediator Variables such as school and neighborhood influences, school satisfaction, neighborhood problems, urban residence and involvement in outside activities. Ordinary Least-squares (OLS) regression was used to estimate econometric models which illustrate the statistical association between depressive symptoms and the above characteristics in 898 adolescents. The results revealed that the depressive symptoms as measured by the anxiousness/depression subscale of were multiply determined and that low economic status increases the occurrence of depression symptoms among the studied adolescents. Hammack et al. 2004, studied the role of family stress on inducing depressed mood among 1,704 low-income, inner-city African-American adolescents, by using family stress model. Depressed Mood which forms the dependent variable in family stress model has been calculated by using a scale adopted by the Center for Epidemiological Studies. Poverty status has been determined as a poverty index formulated by using the following indicators; (a) welfare as a source of family income, (b) employment as a source of family income, (c) eligibility for a free or reduced-price lunch at school, and (d) participation in the food stamps program. Adolescent Social Stress Measure has been used to determine the family stress. The results of this study suggest that family stress model is more effective for females than males. Higher levels of family stress and poverty index were significantly associated with increased depressed mood among the female participants. Conclusions Current study revealed that certain concepts are useful for investigating adolescents of specific characteristics example, family stress model is more effective for assessing the emotional development of the females than the males. There seems to be characteristic differences associated with the gender, socioeconomic status and family structure in adolescent development. Poverty can adversely affect the academic achievements and inspirations, self-esteem and emotional well-being of the youth. Successful socio-emotional development can be induced by incorporating family reframing strategies and ensuring stability in maternal partnerships by the contemporary households in the USA. References Bachman H. J., Coley R. L., &Carrano J. (2012) Low-Income Mothers’ Patterns of Partnership Instability and Adolescents’ Socioemotional Well-Being. Journal of Family Psychology, 26 (2), 263–273 Debbie A. L., & Carol L. B. (2008) Determinants of Physical Activity in Low-income, Overweight African American Girls’Determinants of Physical Activity. American Journal of Health Behaviors, 32(3), 253-25 Eamon M. R. (2003). Influences and Mediators of the Effect of Povertyon Young Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31(3), 231–242 Elliot M. T. D. & Paige K, H. (2012). Intellectual Interest Mediates Gene,’ Socioeconomic Status Interaction on Adolescent Academic Achievement. Child Development, 82(2), 743-753 Emerson E., Graham H., &Hatton C. (2005) Household income and health status in children and adolescents in Britain’ Income and child health. European Journal of Public Health, 16(4), 354–360 Matthew J. I., Judith L. M., Soo-yong B., Thomas W. F.& Bryan C. H. (2011). Relationship of School Context to Rural Youth’s Educational Achievement and Aspirations’ Springer Science Business Media. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 40, 1225–1242 Murry V.M., Noni K. G., Berkel C., & Linder N.C. (2011) Neighborhood Poverty and Adolescent Development. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 114 – 128 Phillip L, Hammack, M. A., Robinson W. L,Ph.D., Crawford I, Ph. D., & Susan T. L, Ph.D. (2004) Poverty and Depressed Mood Among Urban African-American Adolescents’ A Family Stress Perspective. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13(3), 309–323 Santiago C. D., & Wadsworth M. E. (2011) Family and Cultural Influences on Low-Income Latino Children’s Adjustment. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40(2), 332–337 Wickrama K. A. T., Wickrama K. A. S., &Bryant C. M. (2006) Community Influence on Adolescent’ Obesity: Race/Ethnic Differences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(4) 647-657 Yoshikawa H., Lawrence A. J., &Beardslee W. R. (2012) The Effects of Poverty on the Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health of Children and Youth’ Implications for Prevention. American Psychological Association, 67(4), 272–284 Yun, D.Y., Tan, X., Marathe, A., Valtcheva, A., & Robert M. 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