From The New York Times Sunday July 28, 2013, The Great Divide by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, a powerful read about the health tolls of financial stress. Citing various studies, the sense of control from a sense of helplessness is now seen as a very large contributing factor in a shorter life span.
Socio economic status relates for children’s ability to pay attention and ignore distractions. According to Martha Farah, a neuroscientist at the University of PA, the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with self-control and planning, functions differently in poorer children.
The article reports that the feelings from being poor, the stresses of deprivation and the lack of services and education related to economic status all contribute to a challenge to focus on early childhood to improve conditions for those who need it most.
