While growing up in poverty can be detrimental to health even in adulthood, children who have a caring, dedicated and involved mother seem to be spared some of the more negative effects of poverty, according to a new study published in the journal Psychological Science.
The stress of growing up in a disadvantaged home affects the psychological development of children, putting them at greater risk of long-term health problems like high blood pressure, poor blood sugar levels and obesity.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada looked at data from 1,215 adults who had participated in the Midlife in the United States survey. They found that people who had grown up in a household where neither parent held a high school diploma – considered a marker of poverty – were 1.4 times as likely to have health problems with blood pressure, waist circumference, glucose and lipids.
"But those greater risks later in life seems to be offset if the mom paid careful attention to the children’s emotional wellbeing, had time for them, and showed affection and caring," noted researcher Gregory Miller.
"There is a lot of evidence that nurturant moms [or other caregivers] can help buffer vulnerable kids from all sorts of negative outcomes. Adults can teach kids to cope with stress more effectively, model more appropriate emotional responses, or give them a sense of the world as generally a safe place."
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