Poverty Linked to Wide Array of Child Health Issues, Parent Survey Shows

Newly updated data reveal that the percentage of California public school students eligible for free/reduced price meals rose from 51% in ’08 to 56% in ’10 — an increase of more than 281,000 children statewide. Eligibility for this program is widely viewed as a proxy measure for poverty.

As increasing numbers of children fall below the income level required to qualify for the program, it’s instructive to note data from our foundation’s 2010 California Parent Survey. The survey asked parents of 1,685 children how their child was faring across dozens of measures that address the whole terrain of childhood, from physical, emotional and behavioral health to school-related issues and family and societal influences. Parents’ responses highlight the many ways that poverty is connected to child health.

The parents of one-quarter of children said their family’s income was not adequate to meet their child’s basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter. The survey also showed that lower-income children have poorer health; lower quality health care; poorer emotional health; higher rates of depression; neighborhoods that are less safe; lower-quality schools, and less satisfactory child care arrangements (differences were statistically significant.)

These results conform with a substantial body of research that links poverty with long-term negative consequences for children. According to a 2009 Child Trends analysis of 10 studies, poor children are more likely than children from more affluent families to have low academic achievement, to drop out of school, and to have health, behavioral, and emotional problems. As the Child Trends report notes, “these linkages are particularly strong for children whose families experience deep poverty, who are poor during early childhood, and who are trapped in poverty for a long time.”

For policy implications related to child poverty, see the Child Trends report.

Tags: Data Projects, New Data

Posted by kidsdata.org

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