the biggest are social class andpoverty. These have been found very often to predict the developmental outcomes of childhood. There are suggestions that infants and young children who grow up in poverty are more likely tosuffer health problems., cognitive delays and behavioral problems as compared to children whodo not grow up in poverty. These poor children “more likely to experience medical problemssuch as lead poisoning, failure to thrive, otitis media, iron deficiency, anemia, and to score loweron developmental and cognitive scales.” There are many variables that effect relationshipsindirectly, these include nutrition, housing, medical care, lifestyles, neighborhood quality,accidents, and exposure to toxic substances. Also a social and emotional qualities in which thechild develops: parenting skills, maltreatment, maternal disharmony, and quality of care.Young children who have a low SES are assigned the term “doubled jeopardy,” becausethey are not only exposed to risk factors more frequently, but they also experience more seriousconsequences from these risks. People from a low SES background are vulnerable to negativeevents in their lives such as single parenting, social isolation, and unemployment. The fate of thechild raised in poverty is further jeopardized by more exposure to power-assertive discipline andphysical punishment without the parenting support they need. Evidence of poor abusive familieswho live in poverty is likely to be associated with an increase in the severity of maltreatment. “The effect of low SES on social development and delinquency is particularly strong whenexperienced in early childhood.” Poverty severely affects the child’s home environment. Thereare other features of poverty that are also linked to social class. There is a study done in 1991 thatshowed adolescent mothers who had a two-month old infant, that there was more role-reversal inlow SES subjects...
