Mental Health in Children of Low Income Families

1. Mental Health in Children of Low Income Families East Central Chapter of Indiana AEYC Conference April 12th, 2014

2. About Us • Lillie Weidner • Ball State University • Child Development with minors in Interpersonal Relations and Developmental Psychology • Senior • Alyssa St.Amant • Ball State University • Child Development with a minor in Leadership Studies • Senior

3. Activity

4. Poverty • Poverty is the condition of not having enough income to meet basic needs for food, clothing and shelter. • An income at or below $22,113 per year (for a family of four) • 44% of children in Indiana live in low-income families • Adverse health, developmental, emotional and behavioral problems are more prevalent • http://youtu.be/MHPz8YPys2w

5. Low Socioeconomic Status and the Family Dynamics • Parental stress negatively affects the child • Time constraints • Relationships • Increase child stress levels • Physical and mental development • Home chaos • Lower test scores of cognitive ability • Low self-regulatory capabilities • Poor language skills • Higher behavioral problems • Learned helplessness

6. Poverty and Mental Health • Mental health refers to state of well-being in which one is able to cope with the stressors of life in a productive and fruitful way. • Children’s development can be related to poverty histories. • Children’s early experiences of poverty may be the most important time in reducing the overall poverty impact on children. • Ill tempered, shy and children with close relationships • interactional continuity • Problems may remain at a high level, even when economic situations improve. • habits becoming constant and continuous (negative outcomes) • If poverty continues, there may be increasing mental health problems as children grow older.

7. Poverty and mental health (continued) • The relationship between financial burden and mental health in early childhood may be disconnected. • Not the financial burden its self, rather the hardships that branch off of the instability of poverty • Do early experiences of poverty predict high levels of mental health problems in children? • Do persistently poor children experience more rapid increases in mental health problems than other children?

8. Children’s mental health • Common Disorders • Withdrawal • Depression • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder • Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome • Peer Problems

9. Poverty through the eyes of a child • http://youtu.be/JpS_eJkkAxc

10. Effect on Brain Development • Effects of stress on growth and development • Release of cortisol • Switching on genetic markers • Schizophrenia • Anti-social personality disorder • Major depression • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • Hippocampus/ Amydala • Hippocampus (episodic) • Matures throughout childhood and adolescence • Amydala (emotional) • Mature at birth

11. Brain Development

12. Dr. Becky Bailey • Creator of Conscious Discipline • Four Brain Smart Principles • The best exercise for the brain is exercise. • The brain is pattern-seeking and survival-oriented. • Connections on the outside with others build neural connections. • The brain functions optimally when the child feels safe.

13. Classroom Techniques • Corticolimbic Connections • Enable a person to override impulses from the lower states • Made through connections with other people • Connections involving eye contact, touch, presence • I Love You Rituals • http://youtu.be/C3PtrlnUm4U • Self Regulation • Control impulses • Jim Gill Music • http://youtu.be/5Zs9z3_LOpU

15. You CAN make a Difference! • Programs for young children should be attentive to mental health problems as well as cognitive and intellectual deficits • Open communication with families • Fostering meaningful relationships within the classroom setting • Maintain a stable environment • You CAN make a difference!

16. Other Comments/Discussions?