Growing Up Poor & Scarcity Trauma

Growing up poor can deeply impact a person’s sense of self, especially as it relates to their identity and esteem.

What do I deserve? Am I good enough? Why is it difficult for me to receive compliments and good experiences?

One out of four American children now grow up in poverty, and worldwide the numbers are staggering.

Childhood poverty is inimical to human development. Not only the levels but the form of developmental trajectories of children, youth, and young adults are altered in ways that do not bode well for the long-term physical and psychological well-being of individuals growing up in disadvantaged families.

Some of these impacts, particularly for depression, anxiety, and behavioral conduct problems, appear to be conveyed, in part, by exposure to greater levels of cumulative risk throughout life. Unfortunately, the plethora of risk exposure beginning in childhood for poor families continues to take a toll on trajectories of behavioral problems of their children throughout life.

Limited Opportunities & Resources

• Food insecurity

• Not having enough to eat

• Unsure of when or if food will be available

• Limited options of food (eating the same thing over and over, not having access to fresh produce and vegetables, etc.)

• And more

Bullying

• Being bullied by others for not having what they have

• Comparison to others

  • Not receiving gifts for birthdays or holiday events like Christmas or the holiday season

• Being judged and ridiculed and internalizing judgements and criticisms

• Shame and guilt

• Feelings of embarrassment

• And more

Shame

• Feeling like a burden

• Feeling less than others

• Feeling inadequate or not good enough

• A deep sense of being bad or flawed

• And more

How It Can Show Up In Present Day As An Adult

• Extreme or binary thoughts

  • “This is good”

  • “This is bad”

  • “It’s good to X”

  • “It’s bad to X”

  • “I don’t deserve X”

  • “I deserve X”

  • “I’m a good person if X”

  • “I’m a bad person if X”

  • And more

• Feeling like no amount of money will be enough for you

  • Having a goal of making a certain amount of money and wanting to make more

  • New financial goals and new checklists creating more Anxiety

• Feeling not good enough and inadequate

• Fear of wasting food

  • Eating everything on your plate even if you are full or not hungry

• Fear of rejection

• Fear of criticism and negative feedback

• Feelings of guilt and shame

  • For spending money on an item you deem too expensive

  • Needing to justify why you want to buy something

  • Needing to justify why you want to do something

  • “I don’t deserve this”

  • “This costs too much”

• Over working. Working in excess to compensate for something else.

• Saving money in excess to feel in control and safe

• Not purchasing items until they fall apart, break, etc. in excess or at an extreme

• Buying the cheapest item not because you want to and find value in a good deal, but due to fear or scarcity

• Not taking time off, sick days, and/or vacation

• Fear of being fired or let go at any time

• Fear of losing part of or all your money

• Reaching your financial goals, but still wanting to

• Saving items you won’t use just because or for a future use

• Hoarding items

• Anxiety

• Depression

• And more

3 Common Effects of Poverty In Adulthood

Higher Levels of Psychological Stress

• People who grew up poor (whether working class poor, in poverty, scarcity, etc.) tend to have more stress than those who grew up relatively financially secure

• This can show up as

Internalizing Symptoms of Distress

• People who grew up in poverty tend to push down or keep their stress and symptoms inside. Keeping things inside will cause stress to boil up to a crisis and feeling overwhelmed like a volcanic eruption

• They do not tend to share or externalize their symptoms or stress to others

Learned Helplessness

• Learned helplessness is a theory that posits that those who have overcome challenges in life such as growing up in poverty tend to believe their actions and behaviors consistently do no matter which then leads to hopelessness and despair

  • “What’s the point?”

  • “I tried to change multiple times already and it doesn’t work”

  • “No matter how hard I work, I keep staying stuck in the cycle of poverty”

• While the above statements are true, this also decreases a sense of self efficacy and self mastery which promotes a self defeating belief and cycle of not trying and giving up prematurely

• Emerging adults who grew up in poverty from birth to age 9 evidence greater externalizing symptoms and are more susceptible to learned helplessness in comparison to their more affluent counterparts

• This learned helplessness measure is related to beliefs about personal control, experimental manipulations of control, and chronic exposure to uncontrollable stressors (Cohen, 1980; Cohen et al., 1986; Evans & Stecker, 2004; Glass & Singer, 1972; Peterson et al., 1993).

References

• Evans GW, De France K. Childhood poverty and psychological well-being: The mediating role of cumulative risk exposure. Dev Psychopathol. 2022 Aug;34(3):911-921. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420001947. Epub 2021 Feb 2. PMID: 33526153; PMCID: PMC8326302.

• Evans GW, Cassells RC. Childhood Poverty, Cumulative Risk Exposure, and Mental Health in Emerging Adults. Clin Psychol Sci. 2014 May;2(3):287-296. doi: 10.1177/2167702613501496. Epub 2013 Oct 1. PMID: 26609499; PMCID: PMC4655888.