SD Lab research finds that more generous state-level social safety nets help to reduce the negative consequences of poverty on brain development and mental health in U.S. children.
In a paper recently accepted at Nature Communications, Stress and Development Lab researchers Dr. David Weissman and Dr. Katie McLaughlin, along with their co-authors, leverage data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study from 10,633 youth across 17 states. In this sample, youth from families with lower incomes had smaller hippocampal volumes and experienced more internalizing problems (i.e. anxiety and depression). The association of poverty with these outcomes was stronger in states with higher cost of living. However, in high cost of living states that provide more generous cash benefits for low-income families, socioeconomic disparities in hippocampal volume were reduced by 34%, such that the association of family income with hippocampal volume resembled that in the lowest cost of living states. Similarly, the association of family income with symptoms of anxiety and depression was reduced by 50% in high cost of living states that provided more generous benefits for low-income families. These findings suggest that more generous state-level anti-poverty policies have the potential to reduce socioeconomic disparities in brain development and mental health.
This work was led by SD Lab postdoc Dr. David Weissman, in collaboration with Harvard co-authors Dr. Mina Cikara and Dr. Mark Hatzenbuehler, Dr. Deanna Barch at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Katie McLaughlin – SD Lab director – was the senior author.
Read more about these findings at the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-money-helps-to-build-brain-power-d900ddaa
Read more about these findings at the Harvard Gazette: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/05/poverty-hurts-young-brains-but-social-safety-net-may-help/
Read more about these findings at USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/05/08/anti-poverty-programs-children-brain-development-health/70179467007/
Read more about these findings at The Hill:
Read more about these findings at NPR: https://www.nepm.org/regional-news/2022-04-05/study-poverty-affects-childrens-brains-but-public-policy-can-reduce-impact
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