For example, consider how different populations may be at greater risk for experiencing trauma or how trauma might occur in on-campus, online, after-school, or community settin

European Journal of Educational Sciences, Special Edition, October 2019, ISSN: 1857- 6036

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Chronic Poverty: The Implications of Bullying,

Trauma, and the Education of the Poverty-Stricken

Population

Kevin Johnson, M.Ed. Liberty University, United States

Doi: 10.19044/ejes.s.v6a6 URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/ejes.s.v6a6

Abstract

Chronic poverty is a worldwide epidemic, and communities must take

a proactive approach to assist the poor by extending a hand to lift them up and

not hold them down. Tribulations are part of life, but are some afflictions self-

imposed, escalated, or reinforced by living in deprived contextual

environments. Poverty-stricken people experience more trauma throughout

their lifetime; they are less educated than their counterpart, causing them to

become targets in school, increasing their chances of being bullied and

demoralized. Bullying is not a rite of passage, and it has lifelong effects that

reveal itself in adulthood by strengthening generational curses, oppressing

families and communities, expanding the educational gap, and reinforcing the

cycle of chronic poverty. The research depicted in this article explores the

correlation between poverty, human development, trauma, pedagogical

implications, and bullying, characterizing the detrimental ramifications in

adulthood. The paper analyzes bully symptomology, the etiology of traumatic

experiences, and how the consequences of chronic poverty affect human

development that expands the educational gap between minorities and white

students. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective

empirically-based treatment modality to combat the symptoms of

posttraumatic stress. School systems must do a better job of educating

traumatized children living in poverty. The research ventures to explain

chronic poverty's role in human development, traumatology, and education,

taking an inclusive approach to providing solutions to create a cultural shift

that will change the contextual environment and propel people to become self-

sufficient, more educated, and equipped to break the generational curse of

chronic poverty.

Keywords: Chronic poverty, trauma, bullying, CPTSD, education.

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Introduction:

President Thomas Jefferson wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-

evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator

with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the

pursuit of happiness." In the eyes of their Creator, all men are created equal –

in the image of God, but throughout history, a man divided equality and justice

for all during slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement. Many people

are miseducated and do not comprehend that the Civil Rights Movement was

not just for the Black race but all people, nationalities, ethnicities, gender, and

the disabled; the fight was for fairness for every color and creed. During this

period, the mentally challenged and disabled had struggles and battles of their

own. Fortunate enough, there were advocate groups and parents who were

willing to stand up and fight for the equal rights of those who could not stand

and fight for themselves. The mentally challenged and disabled have been

marginalized from society and the classrooms for years. Is it possible for

people who are reared in chronic poverty to beat the odds and succeed when

all odds are stacked against them? How is it possible to provide quality

education and security when children living in poverty normally stand out

from the crowd due to hunger, lack of resources, and poor hygiene, not

adequately having clothing, shelter, and other basic needs?

In President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, he proclaimed, "And

so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what

you can do for your country." What happens when the country placed certain

people at a significant disadvantage by being born the wrong color? How can

those who live a life of chronic poverty and generational curses of destitute do

anything for their country when they lack education and financial resources?

Chronic poverty orchestrates a life of injustice, discrimination, prejudice, and

unequal opportunities, regardless of the misconception that people are created

equal. Chronic poverty puts people at higher risk of poor mental and physical

health, risky behaviors, substance use disorders, complex posttraumatic stress,

and live a traumatic and detrimental lifestyle that stifles education, religious

beliefs, maturity, and personal growth, which has the propensity to bind

individuals mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Lifetime adversities and

trauma correlate with low self-esteem, mental illness, lower socioeconomic

status, and small educational achievement, especially in the Black and Latino

populations who happen to be underrepresented to most studies. Myers,

Wyatt, Ullman, Loeb, Chin, Prause, Zhang, Williams, Slavich, and Liu (2015)

asserted that minorities experience unique stressors that impact their health –

including stressors such as neglect by society, discrimination, and multiple

traumatic experiences. Hardships in life devitalize people, resulting in pain,

suffering, and stress, while others who perceived the same traumatization rally

up the power to not only survive but thrive.

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Generational poverty poses a distinct predisposition to the etiology of

the essence of traumatization because poverty can be a "little leaven" that

levels an entire generation. As the root cause of many traumatic events,

poverty has the proclivity to construct a unique dynamic that makes trauma

challenging to isolate and identify as a tragedy because families are described

as dysfunctional. Lowdermilk and Brunache (2013) professed that many

children reared in poverty mirrors the same behaviors as parents and their

community. They reflect those individuals growing up in demanding

environments, reporting negative/absent parent, parents with multiple sexual

partners or engaged in prostitution, substance use disorder, violence in the

home and community, verbal/physical abuse, unsanitary conditions, lack of

finances and resources, and parents demonstrate very low educational

expectations for their children, and all of this happens within the children's

nuclear family. With the dismantling of the family structure, is it possible to

close the achievement gap and break the generational curse of the chronicity

of poverty?

Chronic Poverty and Human Development

Researchers examine the psychological and emotional development of

children living in poverty based on parental guidance and the methods parents

use to rear their children. Evans and Kim (2012) reported that "in the last two

decades, many scholars have investigated the underlying psychological

processes that explain why childhood poverty has such pervasive ill effects on

human development" (p. 43). Evidence substantiates that poverty causes

chronic stress, which deteriorates human functioning in every faculty of the

body, especially memory, brain development, and emotional regulation.

Children in poverty face unusual stressors that children living in middle-class

do not know about because they live in a contextual environment perceived as

safe and nurturing. Amatea and West (2007) declared that children living in

poverty are considerably more likely than children from the middle-class to

report increased levels of anxiety and depression, exhibiting a higher

frequency of behavioral and academic difficulties, and a lower level of

positive academic interaction and engagement in the school system. Collins,

Connors, Donohue, Gardner, Goldblatt, Hayward, Kiser, Strieder, and

Thompson (2010) reported that children who grow up in urban poverty display

symptoms of complex posttraumatic stress disorder; "complex trauma is a

varied and multifaceted phenomenon, frequently embedded in a matrix of

other psychosocial problems (e.g., neglect, marital discord, and domestic

violence that carry ongoing threat)" (p. 12). As reported by Gabrielli, Gill,

Koester, and Borntrager (2013), it takes a thorough understanding of the

ramifications of trauma and the unfolding developmental processes of

childhood as it is experienced in a particular culture, without neglecting to

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understand the nature of historical trauma, as aggregated spiritual, physical,

emotional, and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across

generations.

Studies show that the ability to sense touch occurs around eight weeks

of gestation, and fetal development of the other sensory organs begin around

five weeks of conception and continue to refine through birth and early

childhood (Uhernik, 2017). While in utero, the fetus can hear and respond to

sounds and noises outside of the womb. Many parents play music, read books,

and talk to their fetuses throughout the pregnancy, interacting by touching

certain spots of the mother's belly by poking or grabbing a hand or foot when

it is visible. At birth, the newborn can only see eight to ten inches, and research

denotes this short distance is "precisely the range required for gazing into the

caregiver's eyes when held and for beginning the visual and interactive dance

of attachment and bonding" (Uhernik, 2017, p. 54). Establishing a bond and

attachment between the mother and the baby is the first step in psychosocial

development, which is vital for successful progression throughout life. As

reported by Kim, Fonagy, Allen, and Strathearn (2014),

Maternal sensitivity to infant distress and non-distress as predictors of

infant-mother attachment security. Maternal attachment trauma, particularly

when unresolved, presents to the mother's attunement to and management of

her infant's distress. Although this has not yet been the subject of direct

empirical scrutiny, attachment researchers have long speculated that infants'

distress signals may activate unresolved traumatic memories in their

respective mothers, thereby initiating a cascade of compromised maternal

responses. (p. 354)

The maternal reactions manifest traumatic memories for the mother

and can affect memory and cognitive abilities for the newborn.

Erik Erikson was a renowned psychologist and anthropologist who

identified eight stages of psychosocial stages of development, from birth to

old age. Everyone must discover her sense of regulation as she interacts with

the environment and the biological, emotional, and psychological

idiosyncrasies in life. Infants must establish trust so that they feel safe in

knowing that their needs will be met, and they will not be neglected. Stability

and a sense of security allow infants to see the world as secure and a

dependable place, encouraging optimism about the future and having

confidence in themselves and other people. Mounting research postulates that

fetuses can learn and have short term memory, which is believed to help the

fetus bond with his or her mother. When researchers used vibroacoustic

stimulation, Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Suarez, Perez-Pinero, Armas, Domenech,

and Bartha (2006) asserted that newborns in utero recognized the stimulus.

Newborns habituated sooner than babies who were not stimulated before birth.

This evidence suggests that babies encouraged during fetal life were able to

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learn, recall, and memorize. Fetuses demonstrate advancement in cognitive

abilities throughout the fetal development period because the brain is this

amazing organ that has the potential for plasticity, neurogenesis, and the

creation of new neural pathways. Researchers like Otto Rank and Wilfred

Bion hypothesized that being born is a traumatizing experience because the

brain becomes bombarded by outside stimuli, causing the infant to experience

chaos and traumatization.

The hypothesis is not too far-fetched, considering that research

postulated that learning and memory formation occur in utero. Memory and

cognitive abilities learned inside the womb clash with the new environment

when the infant is removed from the womb. The baby takes in an array of

sounds, light, and different touches and smells that were limited in utero. If

the trauma of being born is significant, it is the caregiver's responsibility to

ensure that a secure attachment is formed, because this lessens the "traumatic

experience" by providing a contextual environment where the infant can

establish trust instead of mistrust. The strength of the mother's attachment,

mentally and physically, predicates the extensiveness of the trauma or

determines if the traumatic birthing experience will be lessened and managed

by providing love and trust instead of neglect and mistrust. Aside from the

possible functions of recognition and attachment to the mother, the

significance of fetal memory and cognition are necessary for the promotion of

breastfeeding and language acquisition (James, 2010).

Lipina, Colombo, and Jorge (2010) postulated that SES levels are

associated with a degree of hemispheric specialization and gray/white matter

volumes, concluding that reduced language skills were associated with lower

SES and related to less underlying neuronal specialization. According to

James (2010), "A large amount of evidence from habituation, classical

conditioning and exposure learning in humans substantiate that the fetus can

learn; however, there is no sound evidence showing that extra auditory

stimulation is of benefit to child development" (p. 52). Chronic poverty adds

a different variable to how newborns learn; the implications poverty has on

babies as they develop through the various stages of life impact their

education, increase stress levels, exposure to violence, and put them at a higher

risk of being traumatized.

Mounting studies show the detrimental impact of poverty on brain

development in children and adolescents, revealing how and why there is an

achievement gap in education between Blacks, Latinos, and their white

counterpart. Cortisol is the stress hormone needed when there is distress and

the fight and flight response catapults into high gear when the body senses

imminent danger or significant stress. High levels of cortisol affect the

amygdala that regulates emotions, and it can cause coronary heart disease,

hypertension, and high cholesterol levels. Children living in poverty have

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higher levels of cortisol and other stress markers that have disadvantageous

effects on emotional intelligence, regulation, academics, and executive

functioning. According to Blair and Raver (2016),

Executive function is essential for self-regulation and school readiness

and is a fundamental building block of early cognitive and social competence.

Available evidence indicates that the effects of socioeconomic and early

psychosocial disadvantage on cortisol and brain structure partially mediate

effects of poverty on the development of executive function in childhood.

Impact of poverty on brain development and executive function are likely one

critical pathway, along with reduced stimulation for learning, through which

poverty is associated with gaps in school readiness and achievement and

positive life outcomes. (p. 4)

Taylor and Barrett (2018) professed that "the impact of developmental

trauma in the early years can have a disproportionate effect on the growth,

day-to-day functioning and life chances of a young person" (p.73).

Other studies have shown how nonhumans' neural pathways evolve,

creating new and advanced channels when placed in environments where they

were stimulated and challenged to interact with devices and manipulatives that

promoted higher levels of cognitive functioning. According to Lipina and

Colombo (2009), elements of executive function, memory, and self-

monitoring tend to be lower in children who live in poverty. The researchers

used basic tasks to "assess skills related to dorsolateral prefrontal (working

memory), anterior cingulate (cognitive control), and ventromedial (reward

processing) prefrontal systems, the results showed a consistent disparity

between children from lower and middle SES groups" (p. 583). As various

studies report, poverty-stricken children are placed at a disadvantage from

birth throughout the different stages of life. If preventive measures,

interventions, and programs are not tailored to meet this demographic, the

cycle of generational poverty will continue, creating a new environmental

DNA passed down to its offspring. How do society and educational systems

close the divide in education, learning, and development? According to Ladd

(2012), "Addressing the educational challenges faced by children from

disadvantaged families will require a broader and bolder approach to

education policy than the recent efforts to reform schools" (p. 204).

Chronic Poverty and Trauma

The majority of psychological research on the consequences of trauma,

poverty, and education has been conducted at the level of the individual,

typically studying the persons' trauma histories, and trauma exposures with

their symptoms, demographics, and contextual environment (Klest, 2012). As

reported by Collins et al. (2010), there is critical evidence suggesting that

children, adolescents, and families growing up in poverty are more likely to

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experience multiple traumas, significant adverse life events, and develop

convoluted symptoms of traumatic distress at disproportionate rates. The

research presented in this literature explores trauma from a specific group that

it impacts and consists of a subset or region of individuals, instead of looking

at trauma as a single catastrophe but a subset of issues or deficiencies that

culminate into traumatic experiences from living a life of generational curses

and chronic poverty. It is no secret that Blacks, Latinos, and other minorities

constitute most of this vulnerable and underserved group. As reported by

Collins et al. (2010), "Efforts to explain the severity and chronicity of reactions

to repeated traumas traditionally focus on the cumulative effects of multiple

traumatic episodes" (p. 11). Trauma can be experienced or witnessed

vicariously, and second-hand trauma can be worse for the person who is

helping the survivor or the one who saw the event from a different perspective.

After the 911 attack in New York, people suffered from posttraumatic stress

as far as Texas and Oklahoma; it is understood as a profoundly disrupting

experience that can threaten the well‐being and safety of those involved

(Gabrielli, Gill, Koester, & Borntrager, 2013).

Many psychologists and researchers describe trauma differently,

characterizing a common thread that ties the theories together, but a definitive

definition of trauma is difficult to establish because tragedy can be subjective.

A clinician and client can disagree about an episode being traumatic or not,

because of the client's apperception, resiliency, and personal growth. Scott and

Briere (2015) discussed the ambiguous description of trauma that is

characterized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders, 5th

edition (DSM-5), which provides a broad definition with limitations, causing

conflicting information in determining if an event satisfies statistical

definitions of trauma. Scott and Briere (2015) denoted their interpretation and

professed that "an event is traumatic if it is extremely upsetting, at least

temporarily overwhelms the individual's internal resources, and produces

lasting psychological symptoms" (p. 10). If the definition defined by the DSM-

5 is adhered to strictly, many clients would not be classified as a trauma

survivor.

There is a fallacy that a traumatic event must be a devastating isolated

experience that keeps resurfacing in a person's life. Trauma does not have to

be a single catastrophe but a culmination of small, insignificant issues that

converge together until all the pieces of life's problems connect like the perfect

jigsaw puzzle. The mental symptomology of traumatic experiences can

debilitate people from being able to access coping skills to keep intrusive

thoughts at bay, and they lack the cognitive abilities to manage and process

the traumatic experience and the possible manifestation of psychological

disorders. It takes a thorough understanding of the ramifications of trauma and

the unfolding developmental processes of childhood as it is experienced in a

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particular culture to understand the nature of historical trauma, as aggregated

spiritual, physical, emotional, and psychological wounding over the lifespan

and across generations (Gabrielli, Gill, Koester, & Borntrager, 2013). Trauma

that affects poverty-stricken cultures covers a broad range of atrocities that

destroys the sense of safety within the individuals' community, including

neighborhoods, schools, churches, towns, and other places where people

conjugate together but separately ("Center for Substance Abuse," 2014).

Studies have identified the problem and determined that increased

trauma is associated with poverty and deprivation. The consistent restriction

and limited opportunities that characterize poverty can lead to daily hassles

and unexpected traumatic events like the lack of food or disconnection from

water, electricity, and other supplies (Shamai, 2017). It is normal to experience

trauma across the lifespan; for most people, individuals and communities

usually respond to tragedy with resilience, because many influences shape the

effects of trauma among individuals and families. Due to other factors and

circumstances, it is not just the traumatic episode that predicts the outcome,

but also the episode's context and the interactions between family support, first

responders, counselors, psychological first aid providers, and community

leaders ("Center for Substance Abuse," 2014). Severe childhood adversity, in

the form of traumas such as physical and sexual abuse, alters young people's

transition into adulthood due to social and behavioral reasons, but also due to

the physiologic and neurobiological changes that occur due to chronic

stressors. Considering the impact and effects of poverty and trauma, Myers et

al. (2015) proclaimed that numerous studies refute the results expected

because both African Americans and Latinos(as) appeared to be rather

resilient, despite their higher than normal stressors and burdens of adversities

and traumatizing experiences. It is safe to infer that people who have lived a

life of trauma and lack resources all of their lives have become conditioned to

become content in whatever state they find themselves in their contextual

world. They do not know the hidden rules of the middle-class, so what appears

to be poverty and trauma for the middle-class is healthy everyday living for

people residing in poverty.

Research substantiates that fifty percent of people will experience

trauma in their lifetime. This traumatic experience for only fifty percent of the

population is up for debate if we believe in the work of Otto Rank who

proclaimed that being born is a traumatic experience, beginning when the

infant inhaled his or her first breath. Stewart (2014) purported that Arthur

Schopenhauer and Otto Rank discussed suffering because of birth itself,

referring to being born as a traumatic experience. Aside from birth, people in

poverty are exposed to the daily hassles that cause stress. Klest (2012) reported

that models of trauma and coping include the erosion of family processes and

dynamics (structure, relations, coping) in the context of community violence