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Socioeconomic Adversity, Associated Risks, and Resilience across Neurocognitive, Emotional, and...
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Socioeconomic Adversity, Associated Risks, and Resilience across Neurocognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Development

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2017) | Viewed by 46456

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Scott J. Hunter

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departments of Psychiatry, Behavioral Neuroscience and Pediatrics, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., MC 3077, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Interests: pediatric neuropsychology; developmental neuroscience; neurodevelopmental disorders (neurogenetic and acquired developmental disorders, i.e., autism, neurofibromatosis, down syndrome); epilepsies; attention; executive functions; intervention
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There has been a significant increase in our understanding of the factors that contribute to variability when studying the development of neurocognitive, emotional and behavioral regulatory capabilities. Of particular interest has been the growing understanding of the role socioeconomic factors, particularly poverty, play in mediating the effects of culture and education on developmental outcomes. This Special Issue of Behavioral Sciences is devoted to the exploration of the intersection between socioeconomic status and its associated effects on both risk and resilience, and the trajectories of neurocognitive, emotional, and behavioral outcomes developmentally. Research that examines such areas as educational challenge and attainment, homelessness and housing security, substance use and risk, HIV/AIDS and other STI risks, and their impact on neurodevelopmental status is strongly sought for this issue, to provide guidance regarding current policy and outcomes efforts, and to help provide a broader understanding for continued research in these areas.

Dr. Scott J. Hunter
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • socioeconomic status
  • neurocognition
  • emotion and behavior regulation
  • poverty
  • resilience

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 248 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Self-Reported Executive Functioning and Risk-Taking Behavior in Urban Homeless Youth
by Joshua Piche, Jaeson Kaylegian, Dale Smith and Scott J. Hunter
Behav. Sci. 2018, 8(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8010006 - 3 Jan 2018
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7415
Abstract
Introduction: Almost 2 million U.S. youth are estimated to live on the streets, in shelters, or in other types of temporary housing at some point each year. Both their age and living situations make them more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, particularly [...] Read more.
Introduction: Almost 2 million U.S. youth are estimated to live on the streets, in shelters, or in other types of temporary housing at some point each year. Both their age and living situations make them more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, particularly during adolescence, a time of increased risk taking. Much of self-control appears related to the development of the prefrontal cortex, which is at a particularly crucial period of elaboration and refinement during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Executive processes like decision-making, inhibition, planning, and reasoning may be vulnerable to adversity experienced as a result of homelessness and related impoverishment during childhood and adolescence. No study to date, to our knowledge, has directly investigated differences in risk-taking by homeless youth as it relates to their developing executive control. Objective: Examine the relationship between the level of self-reported executive function (EF) and engagement in risk taking behaviors among a sample of shelter-living urban homeless youth. We predicted that homeless youth who have lower levels of self-reported EF would more readily engage in risky behaviors that could lead to negative outcomes. Participants: One hundred and forty-nine youths between 18 and 22 years of age were recruited from homeless agencies in Chicago. Of this study sample, 53% were female and 76% African American. Measures: All participants completed, as part of a broader neuropsychological assessment, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning-Adult Version (BRIEF-A), the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Analyses: Groups were separated based on level of self-reported EF, with two groups identified: High self-reported EF fell >1 SD above the normative average, and low self-reported EF fell >1 SD below the normative average. All analyses utilized Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. Results and Conclusions: Analyses revealed a relationship between the level of self-reported EF and risk taking behaviors in this group of sheltered homeless urban youths. Those with lower self-reported executive functioning had higher rates of engagement in multiple substance-related risk taking behaviors. These findings are important because they are a first step towards identifying contributions to risk-taking behavior in urban homeless youths. Identifying potential factors like low self-reported EF better allows us to potentially intervene, thereby providing focused support to youths who are at higher risk for engaging in problematic behaviors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socioeconomic Adversity, Associated Risks, and Resilience across Neurocognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Development)
240 KiB  
Article
The Link between Mastery and Depression among Black Adolescents; Ethnic and Gender Differences
by Shervin Assari and Cleopatra Howard Caldwell
Behav. Sci. 2017, 7(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7020032 - 12 May 2017
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7413
Abstract
Purpose: Although the link between depression and lower levels of mastery is well established, limited information exists on ethnic and gender differences in the association between the two. The current study investigated ethnic, gender, and ethnic by gender differences in the link between [...] Read more.
Purpose: Although the link between depression and lower levels of mastery is well established, limited information exists on ethnic and gender differences in the association between the two. The current study investigated ethnic, gender, and ethnic by gender differences in the link between major depressive disorder (MDD) and low mastery in the United States. Methods: We used data from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent supplement (NSAL-A), 2003–2004. In total, 1170 Black adolescents entered the study. This number was composed of 810 African-American and 360 Caribbean Black youth (age 13 to 17). Demographic factors, socioeconomic status (family income), mastery (sense of control over life), and MDD (Composite International Diagnostic Interview, CIDI) were measured. Logistic regressions were used to test the association between mastery and MDD in the pooled sample, as well as based on ethnicity and gender. Results: In the pooled sample, a higher sense of mastery was associated with a lower risk of MDD. This association, however, was significant for African Americans but not Caribbean Blacks. Similarly, among African American males and females, higher mastery was associated with lower risk of MDD. Such association could not be found for Caribbean Black males or females. Conclusion: Findings indicate ethnic rather than gender differences in the association between depression and mastery among Black youth. Further research is needed to understand how cultural values and life experiences may alter the link between depression and mastery among ethnically diverse Black youth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socioeconomic Adversity, Associated Risks, and Resilience across Neurocognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Development)
228 KiB  
Article
Examining the Relationship between Economic Hardship and Child Maltreatment Using Data from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2013 (OIS-2013)
by Rachael Lefebvre, Barbara Fallon, Melissa Van Wert and Joanne Filippelli
Behav. Sci. 2017, 7(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7010006 - 8 Feb 2017
Cited by 75 | Viewed by 14583
Abstract
There is strong evidence that poverty and economic disadvantage are associated with child maltreatment; however, research in this area is underdeveloped in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between economic hardship and maltreatment for families and children identified [...] Read more.
There is strong evidence that poverty and economic disadvantage are associated with child maltreatment; however, research in this area is underdeveloped in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between economic hardship and maltreatment for families and children identified to the Ontario child protection system for a maltreatment concern. Secondary analyses of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2013 (OIS-2013) were conducted. The OIS-2013 examines the incidence of reported maltreatment and the characteristics of children and families investigated by child welfare authorities in Ontario in 2013. Descriptive and bivariate chi-square analyses were conducted in addition to a logistic regression predicting the substantiation of maltreatment. In 9% of investigations, the household had run out of money for food, housing, and/or utilities in the past 6 months. Children in these households were more likely to have developmental concerns, academic difficulties, and caregivers with mental health concerns and substance use issues. Controlling for key clinical and case characteristics, children living in families facing economic hardship were almost 2 times more likely to be involved in a substantiated maltreatment investigation (OR = 1.91, p < 0.001). The implications in regard to future research and promoting resilience are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socioeconomic Adversity, Associated Risks, and Resilience across Neurocognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Development)
230 KiB  
Article
Poverty-Related Adversity and Emotion Regulation Predict Internalizing Behavior Problems among Low-Income Children Ages 8–11
by C. Cybele Raver, Amanda L. Roy, Emily Pressler, Alexandra M. Ursache and Dana Charles McCoy
Behav. Sci. 2017, 7(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7010002 - 29 Dec 2016
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 9200
Abstract
The current study examines the additive and joint roles of chronic poverty-related adversity and three candidate neurocognitive processes of emotion regulation (ER)—including: (i) attention bias to threat (ABT); (ii) accuracy of facial emotion appraisal (FEA); and (iii) negative affect (NA)—for low-income, ethnic minority [...] Read more.
The current study examines the additive and joint roles of chronic poverty-related adversity and three candidate neurocognitive processes of emotion regulation (ER)—including: (i) attention bias to threat (ABT); (ii) accuracy of facial emotion appraisal (FEA); and (iii) negative affect (NA)—for low-income, ethnic minority children’s internalizing problems (N = 338). Children were enrolled in the current study from publicly funded preschools, with poverty-related adversity assessed at multiple time points from early to middle childhood. Field-based administration of neurocognitively-informed assessments of ABT, FEA and NA as well as parental report of internalizing symptoms were collected when children were ages 8–11, 6 years after baseline. Results suggest that chronic exposure to poverty-related adversity from early to middle childhood predicted higher levels of internalizing symptomatology when children are ages 8–11, even after controlling for initial poverty status and early internalizing symptoms in preschool. Moreover, each of the 3 hypothesized components of ER played an independent and statistically significant role in predicting children’s parent-reported internalizing symptoms at the 6-year follow-up, even after controlling for early and chronic poverty-related adversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socioeconomic Adversity, Associated Risks, and Resilience across Neurocognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Development)
394 KiB  
Article
Sex-Specific Effects of Childhood Poverty on Neurocircuitry of Processing of Emotional Cues: A Neuroimaging Study
by Arash Javanbakht, Pilyoung Kim, James E. Swain, Gary W. Evans, K. Luan Phan and Israel Liberzon
Behav. Sci. 2016, 6(4), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs6040028 - 12 Dec 2016
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7196
Abstract
Background: There is accumulating evidence on the negative impacts of childhood poverty on physical and mental health. Previous work has suggested hyperactive neural response to social fear cues, as well as impairment in neural regulatory functions. However, despite differences found between males and [...] Read more.
Background: There is accumulating evidence on the negative impacts of childhood poverty on physical and mental health. Previous work has suggested hyperactive neural response to social fear cues, as well as impairment in neural regulatory functions. However, despite differences found between males and females in stress-related and anxiety disorders, possible sex-specific effects of poverty on emotional processing have not been explored. Methods: We analyzed data from three previously reported experiments of childhood poverty effects on emotional processing and regulation, for sex-specific effects. Participants were 52 healthy Caucasian males and females, from a longitudinal cohort of poverty development study, who were recruited for examining the long-term effects of childhood poverty and stress. The three functional MRI studies included emotion regulation task, emotional face assessment task, and shifted attention emotion appraisal task. Brain activations that associated with childhood poverty previously were entered into a regression analysis with interaction of gender by childhood income-to-need ratio as the independent variable, and age and current income-to-need ratio as variables of no interest, separately for males and females. Results: Amygdala reactivity to implicitly processed fearful faces was positively correlated with childhood income-to-need in adult females but not males. On the other hand, activation in dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal regions during emotion regulation by reappraisal was positively correlated with childhood income-to-need in males. Conclusion: Childhood poverty may exert sex-specific effects in adulthood as presented by hypersensitive emotional reactivity of the amygdala in females, and impaired emotion regulatory function of the prefrontal cortex in males. Results suggest further focus on sex-specific effects of childhood poverty. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socioeconomic Adversity, Associated Risks, and Resilience across Neurocognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Development)
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