Influence of poverty and adversity on adolescents’ perception of family support

A recently published study from the UK, featuring ICON core member Viviane S Straatmann as one of the authors, shows that poverty and adversity in the family are linked to adolescent experiences of low emotional support and low-quality relationships with parents.

About the study

The study draws on data from the UK Millennium Cohort study, including almost 11,000 children. First, trajectories of poverty and adversity in the family were identified. The researchers then examined perceived emotional support and quality of family relationships among children following each of these trajectories.

Highlights

More than 1 in 10 of children in the UK experience persistent poverty and poor parental mental health. The same figure applies to the proportion of young people who perceive poor emotional support from their families.

Children who grow up in socioeconomically disadvantaged homes or homes characterised by psychosocial adversity, are more likely to report low emotional support.

The combined exposure to persistent poverty and adversity has particularly strong links to risks of low perceived emotional support and low-quality parent-adolescent relationships in adolescence.

Publication details

Adjei, N. K., Jonsson, K. R., Straatmann, V. S., Melis, G., McGovern, R., Kaner, E., … & Taylor-Robinson, D. C. (2024). Impact of poverty and adversity on perceived family support in adolescence: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 1-10.

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