How poverty changes the brain

Фото: Depositphotos

Poverty is not just a lack of money, but also a condition of the brain, and this is evidenced by the results of scientific research.

The prefrontal cerebral cortex, which is responsible for solving problems, setting goals and completing tasks, with financial problems is constantly exposed to stress and negative emotions, and as a result of this overload it gradually loses the ability to solve problems, set goals and accomplish tasks in the most efficient way. The Atlantic.

People with a similar problem often need outside help to successfully achieve their goals, and EMPath employees at Boston have developed a whole program that allows people and families in difficult situations to overcome problems.

We all saw the picture in the biology class - the human brain in a section. Part of it in the forehead is called the prefrontal cortex. She is responsible for solving problems, setting goals and performing tasks, and works in conjunction with the limbic system, which is closer to the center of the brain. The limbic system processes emotions and causes emotional reactions that are partly stored in long-term memory.

According to several studies, if a person lives in poverty, the limbic system constantly sends messages of fear and stress into the prefrontal cortex, which overloads and, in fact, destroys its ability to solve problems, set goals and accomplish tasks in the most efficient way.

At some point in life, this happens to everyone, regardless of social class. Overloading can be caused by any number of things, including an overly busy work day or an emergency family situation. However, people living in poverty bear the additional burden of constant stress. They are constantly trying to make ends meet and often face class bias, which adds additional stress to their daily lives. When the brain is overloaded with these worries and fears, there is not much room for other things.

Economic Mobility Pathways or EMPath has built a model of its work around this scientific evidence. The Boston non-profit organization began as the Union of Women of Crittenton, formed by the merger of two of the oldest urban women's organizations, both of which were aimed at improving the economic situation of families.

After years of adult learning and observing the benefits it brings to children, EMPath placed children at the center of its model, offering a way out of poverty through brain research.

Elizabeth Babcock, president and CEO of EMPath, says that people living in poverty often find themselves trapped in perverse cycles when stress leads to bad solutions, aggravates other problems and reinforces the idea that they cannot improve their lives.

“We try to create positive cycles where when people take a step and learn that they can achieve something they may not have imagined, their self-esteem increases,” Babcock said.

Maybe this step helps them earn more money, solves the problem of child care, which leads to better behavior for children, or simply brings up a sense of control over their own lives. All these things reduce stress, freeing up more mental possibilities for further positive steps.

Indeed, the effects of persistent stress and the dangers of poverty actually change people's brains. Al Rase, deputy co-director of the Child Development Center at Harvard University, who works closely with EMPath, says that children who grow up in poverty are doubly affected. But the sections of the brain in question are known for their "plasticity", which means that they can be strengthened and improved in adulthood.

EMPath project Intergenerational Mobility Project, known as Intergen, uses three tools: one for adults, one for children and one for the family as a whole, to determine how people represent their collective and individual life.

Tools for children and adults use the bridge metaphor to illustrate how different supports are important for ultimate success - if one column on the bridge weakens, according to the metaphor, the entire bridge may collapse.

The “bridge to self-sufficiency” for adults teaches parents to calculate and build stability and well-being, teaches them financial management, helps in professional training and career management.

“Children's bridge to a brighter future” leads children to thinking about health and well-being, social and emotional development, preparation for independence and progress in education.

A tool Family Carpool Lane Tool helps parents and their children reconcile individual and family goals. Working together, they can avoid the stopper and move forward as fast as possible.

Intergen mentors visit participating families and help adults and children make decisions about the future, taking into account context and other important factors, support them during conversations that encourage adults and children to make future-oriented decisions. Their goal is to help adults in families become mentors for themselves and their children.

Stephanie Brueck, senior coordinator for the Intergenerational Mobility Project, recently worked with single mother Guinnella. She has five children: four girls and one boy, ranging in age from kindergarten to college.

Over the past year, Brück has helped the family think through both personal and family goals. The youngest 5-year-old Sayres has health problems that will probably require an invasive operation that can be delayed with certain exercises. The family doctor has prescribed a list of exercises, few of which Cayère can do himself. However, the exercise was Cyrus’s personal goal for Intergen Project.

Bruck created an easier-to-use exercise plan and helped Ginelle figure out how to develop progress in exercises in order to achieve the plan originally set by the doctor. Looking back, Ginella is surprised that she could not break an overly complex task into simpler steps on her own.

"I am an adult, I have a brain," says Ginella, who describes her difficulties in thinking as well as brain science.

“Depending on how busy your mind is or how busy you are with your life, you tend to see things as black or white: “I need to do this” versus “If I don’t do this completely, I won’t be able to achieve my goal.” Life actually has many more shades,” the woman admitted.

In families that participated in the project Intergen for at least one year, 86% of children showed an increase in activity and efficiency, and 86% of families brought their cases in relative order.

The program allows these people to understand that change can be achieved.

“We have people who, thanks to the program, have overcome the path from poverty to wages, which allows them to feed their families. Most organizations working with low-income families try to engage them in their work. We are trying not only to get a job, but also to ensure that she can allow herself and her family to be fed, ”explained Babcock.

Text translation prepared edition The idealist.

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