Socioeconomic status (SES) can have many effects on children and adolescents which be positive and negative. Socioeconomic status is not just about income but also occupation, subject perceptions of social status and social class, and educational attainment (American Psychological Association, 2019). Socioeconomic status encompasses quality of life attributes as well as the opportunities and privileges afforded to people within society (American Psychological Association, 2019).
Evidence supports the link between lower SES and negative psychological health outcomes, while higher levels of SES have a more positive psychological outcome such as optimism, self-esteem for youth (American Psychological Association, 2019). Low income and reduced access to health care represent just one manifestation of the negative effects of socioeconomic status on the life chances of adolescents (Escarce, 2003). The main settings that influence the way children and adolescents grow up include families, neighborhoods, and schools and the quality of these settings, and whether they are supportive and nurturing or dangerous and destructive, has a profound influence on adolescents’ chances for leading successful adult lives (Escarce, 2003). Family income can have an impact on the education of children and adolescents and their chances of educational success. Due to socioeconomic status, low-income students usually attend schools which have lower funding levels, resulting in reduced availability of textbooks, library books, laboratory, and other educational resources (Escarce, 2003). In result, there tend to be less qualified teachers and administrators and these effects of concentrated poverty in schools may include disciplinary problems and chaotic learning environments (Escarce, 2003). Sadly, low-income adolescents tend to have reduced achievement motivation and a higher risk of educational failure (Shultz, 1993). The cumulative effect of socioeconomic status on families, neighborhoods, schools, and health care guarantees that poor and low-income adolescents arrive at young adulthood in worse health, engaging in riskier and more dangerous behaviors, and with lower educational attainment and more limited career prospects than their more affluent counterparts.
There is a positive correlation between SES and academic achievement for children and adolescents (Quagliata, 2008). Socioeconomic status does, in fact, affect a students ability in school. There is a correlation between family income and a child’s ability and achievement (Bracey, 1999; Caldwell & Ginther, 1996; Milne & Plourde, 2006). Families with higher income are associated with higher educational attainment (Quagliata, 2008). Socioeconomic advantage and achievement motivation are important mediators of academic performance in result better educational programs, more access to material and resources and a higher chance at graduating.
References
American Psychological Association (2019). Children, youth, families and socioeconomic status. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/children-families
Bracey, Gerald W. (1999). The forgotten 42[percent]. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(9), 711-12. Retrieved November 24.2007, from Wilson Education Abstracts database. (Document !D: 42355560).
Escarce, J. J. (2003, October). Socioeconomic Status and the Fates of Adolescents. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360943/
Schultz GF. “Socioeconomic Advantage and Achievement Motivation: Important Mediators of Academic Performance in Minority Children in Urban Schools.” Journal of Urban Review. 1993;25(3):221–32.
Quagliata, T. (2008). ls, There a Positive Correlation between Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement? Retrieved from https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&context=education_ETD_masters