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JUCONI
Violence, poverty and children
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What happens to a child who grows up amid violence and poverty?
Children who are raised in these negative environments develop complex defense mechanisms
in order to survive. Unfortunately, these defenses have a devastating effect on emotional,
cognitive and physical health.
Constant exposure to violence and a child’s inability to process it provokes the development
of anti-social behaviors. A child’s ability to thrive in society is limited by her tendencies
towards impulsive actions, resistance to authority, violent communication and other damaging
behaviors. This leads directly towards higher incidences of depression, high-anxiety, drug
addiction and alcoholism that only exacerbate her social exclusion.
Recent investigations show that a young child’s emotional experiences are vital part of her
brain development. The emotional experiences that children have in this phase are permanently
etched into the brain’s infrastructure. Constant negative stress (family abuse, chaos, and
abandonment) is a detrimental factor that prevents the appropriate connection of the child’s
brain circuits. Other negative experiences such as poor nutrition, a lack of stimulation,
the absence of positive social relationships also cause negative alterations in the brain
structure. Often the result is a brain that is no capable of operating in complex and
favorable environments. However, this damage can be reversed with the appropriate
intervention.
"Given what we now know about how much early experience affects learning and health
outcomes, particularly given what we know about toxic stress and its impact, and knowing
what we know about how serious adversity can undermine brain circuit formation in a young
child, there’s a huge moral responsibility to do something. We can’t just stand by and
allow children to be damaged in this way.............We know too much."
Jack Shonkoff, Director, Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University
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