child poverty

Persistent poverty harms the cognitive development of children, but family instability has no effect, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data collected from almost 19,000 British children and their families when the children were 9 months, 3 years and 5 years old. The data provided insight into family poverty, family transitions, family demographics and housing conditions. There is much evidence of the negative effects of both poverty and family structure on child development, particularly persistent poverty and adverse living conditions. Poverty and family instability are linked as poverty affects families economically and socially and can increase the risk of relationship break-ups. However, less is known about their relative impact on children's cognitive functioning.

They found that children growing up in persistent poverty scored lower on cognitive tests than those who had never experienced poverty. After they accounted for a number of factors, the researchers concluded there was no link between family structure/instability and a child's cognitive ability, but persistent poverty did have a strong and significant negative effect on a child's cognitive functioning at 5 years of age.

They conclude: "Persistent poverty is a crucial risk factor undermining children's cognitive development – more so than family instability."