The Effects of Poverty on a Child's Behavior

• Poverty frequently influences a child's overall health and personality. Jorg Greuel/Digital Vision/Getty Images

  Poverty is an issue that can have a profound effect on different elements of a person's life. It can negatively affect someone's health, appearance and behavior since income influences what items can be purchased and what food or beverages are consumed. Poverty also affects a child's behavior in a number of different ways.

Educational Aptitude

• StateUniversity.com reported that children growing up in poverty are statistically more likely to have poor grades in school than children who come from more well-off households. They are also more likely to skip school, quit altogether before graduating high school or get expelled. The student's family income level itself is not the sole likely culprit for these trends but is a greater indicator of other stress within the home. Family problems and other issues affect a student's attention in school-related tasks. Poverty is more directly related to failure to graduate since a child growing up in poverty is more likely to leave school so that he can get a job and bring more money into the household.

Substance Abuse

• While poverty itself is not a guarantee that a child will turn to drug or alcohol usage as he gets older, it is a major contributing factor that can lead to abuse for many impoverished children. Children in poverty generally have higher stress levels than children in better financial situations and will frequently seek out methods such as drugs or alcohol to assist in managing that stress. Drugs and alcohol also tend to be easier to get illicitly in lower income neighborhoods.

Aggression

• Many children in poverty also develop more aggressive personalities than those from better economic circumstances. Violence rates are generally higher in low-income neighborhoods, so children growing up in that environment are exposed to it at an early age and it becomes accepted as normal behavior. Living in a poor household frequently results in lowered expectations for the future, which raises frustration and contributes to poor anger management and potentially violent behavior. Depression is also frequent in low-income households, which increases the likelihood for antisocial tendencies.