Children – Neglected Victims of Politics

By Giselle Garcia ’23, Legal Fellow with the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies

The impact of innumerable governmental policies which create and maintain inequity in our society inevitably falls on the most vulnerable members of our communities. Left to bear the consequences of political decision-making with little understanding or agency to advocate for or protect themselves, children are among the most vulnerable populations in society. Today, children are experiencing high rates of diagnosable toxic stress that could potentially have lifelong adverse effects on their health.

In California, 1 in 3 children are at risk for toxic stress, and nearly two-thirds are affected by prolonged adverse childhood experiences which include severe forms of physical and sexual abuse, neglect, the incarceration of a parent, or challenges with a household member suffering from substance use disorder. According to the Office of the California Surgeon General, “High levels of adversity, without the buffering protections of trusted caregivers and safe, stable environments, lead to changes in brain structure and function, how genes are read, functioning of the immune and inflammatory systems, and growth and development.” The presence of constant adversity and stress in a child’s life without proper treatment and support can cause lifelong physiological and psychological impacts.

In an interview with UCLA Health, doctor George Slavich, Director of the Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research at UCLA, differentiates the difference between healthy and toxic stress: healthy, everyday life stressors present temporary challenges that help build coping skills, meanwhile experiences of toxic stress tend to be longer-lasting and more difficult to resolve. In the short-term, toxic stress in children can manifest through anxiety, sadness, difficulty with concentration, behavioral problems, greater susceptibility to viruses like the common cold, and even alcohol and drug use. In the long-term, toxic stress can impact how the brain and immune system develop and manifest through lifetime health conditions like anxiety, depression, asthma, chronic pain, certain cancers, and other diagnosis. Many of the causes of toxic stress can be connected to environmental stressors created by poor public policy.

Immigration Policy

A report published by The Children’s Partnership and Early Edge highlights that children of immigrants in California are suffering from toxic stress due to hostile federal immigration policies interfering with immigrant families from meeting basic needs and fear of deportation causing severe anxiety. According to the report, not only do immigrants without status often face poverty by working low-wage jobs, but fear of interacting with government agencies stop many from applying for food or other assistance programs, if any are available in the first place; thus, families are left unable to meet basic needs like food or stable housing. Additionally, because children subconsciously pick up on social cues and behaviors of adults surrounding them as early as fourteen months, the fear of deportation commonly experienced in family environments is also internalized by children. When a family’s worst fear comes true and a parent is deported, a child experiences the separation as a violent and traumatic event, and that trauma is prolonged by the parent’s continuous absence. Social workers have noted sharp shifts in behavior, including withdrawal and nervousness, from children who experienced the deportation of a parent. Unfortunately, failed immigration systems are only one example of how poor public policy can severely impact our children’s wellbeing.

Carceral Policy

Policies sustaining the carceral system also drive family separation and inflict trauma on children. 47% of the people incarcerated in state prisons across the United States are parents to minor children. Incarceration disproportionately occurs within families who are already living in poverty and can further drive a family into financial crisis and instability through the loss of an income source. Additionally, the shame and guilt experienced by families due to the stigma of incarceration causes low self-esteem and emotional instability. Children with an incarcerated parent often experience depression, disturbed sleeping patterns, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Yet, children with an incarcerated parent have worse access to medical and mental health care than their peers to support these children with coping mechanisms to resolve trauma.

Housing Policy

Housing instability, evictions, and homelessness is another public health crisis impacting families and children. People threatened with evictions report high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, conditions which worsen after an eviction occurs. Children experience the same adverse health effects because of housing instability, which is also usually coupled with little to no access to medical or mental health care. In fact, the effects of an eviction have shown adverse effects on pregnant mothers and is connected to pre-term or low birth weight deliveries of infants. Because the cycle of housing instability is often prolonged, these “existing racial and socioeconomic inequalities worsen disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes” and results in long-term cycles of poor health. Ultimately, a stable home is foundational to a child’s physiological and cognitive development, and the lack of policy successfully addressing housing instability is inflicting long-term harm on children.

Conclusion

There is a direct link between poverty and race in connection to toxic stress. Black children are more likely to experience toxic stress than their white peers. 78% of Latino youth suffer from at least one Adverse Child Experience (ACE) and are less likely to receive clinical or school based treatment than other groups. In fact, race-related disparities in childhood adversity activating constant stress responses have shown differences in gray matter volume in children’s brains; these structural effects on the brain are linked to cognitive dysfunction, and altered immune and metabolic regulatory systems. Structural racism and poverty in our society impacts our children on more than a social level, it becomes biologically embedded within and can manifest itself intergenerationally.  

There are countless domestic and international policies adversely impacting children’s health that can be addressed. Yet, poverty and structural racism are often at the root of prolonged trauma and negative experiences such as food insecurity, eviction, and incarceration. It is imperative that we challenge existing narratives and policies surrounding poverty, such us our government’s inability to afford its eradication. If the United States has enough money for bombs, there is enough money for education, health care, housing, and food. We must remember the existence of widespread poverty is a policy decision by those in power. If the onus to solve fractures in society and institutions has been placed on younger generations, the least we can do as a society is create stable environments for healthy early childhood development – where children can be free to be children, not worried about their next meal, losing a parent, or becoming another victim of broken policy.