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This article presents intriguing research on how poverty and instability in childhood impact future outcomes. It finds that while poverty itself isn't significa

This article presents intriguing research on how poverty and instability in childhood impact future outcomes. It finds that while poverty itself isn't significantly linked to negative outcomes, environmental unpredictability during childhood is. This is evident in the reported correlation (r = .40, p < .01) between early instability and adult criminal behavior. This challenges common perceptions about poverty's role in shaping life trajectories.

pattmayne 3y ago
That's really interesting. I had poverty and instability growing up, and I tend to treat the instability as an effect of the poverty. And I blame many of my adult problems on that poverty. But in truth, if I had to get rid of one then I would keep the poverty and get rid of the instability. Except for one thing: poverty forced us to live in the forest because we couldn't afford to live in town. That social isolation was hands-down the worst and most long-term harmful thing that I ever experienced. Poverty can also be poison.
- firesteelrain 3y ago
  It does seem that families that are impoverished are more likely to be unstable. At least to a degree
  - em-bee 3y ago
    which is the downside of living in a country without good social support and also not having any family support. i have been though this. in the early years when my parents didn't have the support they would have needed (or didn't want to accept it) we experienced years of instability. once that support arrived (or my parents figured out what they needed to do to get it), things stabilized. but the damage was already done. in my case it affected my ability to make friends which didn't get better until university where i was at least able to meet some like-minded people, which helped.
foobarian 3y ago
This is something I saw a lot of with certain immigrant families. The incoming generation would generally be quite poor, but there was some other property they had that made a big difference: they were educated, stable, capable, loving, etc. It's as if you transported a well-off family somewhere else while only taking all their money away but leaving everything else. They would live modestly but then the first generation would end up quite well off.

pattmayne 3y ago

That's really interesting. I had poverty and instability growing up, and I tend to treat the instability as an effect of the poverty. And I blame many of my adult problems on that poverty. But in truth, if I had to get rid of one then I would keep the poverty and get rid of the instability. Except for one thing: poverty forced us to live in the forest because we couldn't afford to live in town. That social isolation was hands-down the worst and most long-term harmful thing that I ever experienced. Poverty can also be poison.

firesteelrain 3y ago
It does seem that families that are impoverished are more likely to be unstable. At least to a degree
- em-bee 3y ago
  which is the downside of living in a country without good social support and also not having any family support. i have been though this. in the early years when my parents didn't have the support they would have needed (or didn't want to accept it) we experienced years of instability. once that support arrived (or my parents figured out what they needed to do to get it), things stabilized. but the damage was already done. in my case it affected my ability to make friends which didn't get better until university where i was at least able to meet some like-minded people, which helped.

foobarian 3y ago

This is something I saw a lot of with certain immigrant families. The incoming generation would generally be quite poor, but there was some other property they had that made a big difference: they were educated, stable, capable, loving, etc. It's as if you transported a well-off family somewhere else while only taking all their money away but leaving everything else. They would live modestly but then the first generation would end up quite well off.