Early "socio-economic adversity" affects later mental health, making it harder for a teenager to transition successfully into adulthood, according to the decade-long study of 500 families from Iowa.
Dr. K.A.S. Wickrama, professor of human development and author of the study, said that one of his main findings is that early family adversity is linked to depression in adolescents, making it harder for them to successfully transition into adulthood and reach their full potential socially, academically, and occupationally. This effect increases if a child also experiences disruptive events along with poverty.
Dr. Wickrama said his work indicates that poverty is passed down from one generation to the next through such mechanisms as adolescent depression.
This study appears in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
Labels: depression, mental_health, poverty
Posted By: Aspen Education Group