A recent research study led by researchers at Population Data Science at Swansea University indicates that community-level improvements such as increasing safety, connectivity and employment could help in a child’s educational attainment, mental health and reduce risk-taking behaviours.
Living in persistent poverty has a detrimental impact on child health, cognitive and behavioural outcomes. A child growing up in a disadvantaged area is also more likely to have less access to services and support. This can have long term implications for the child throughout their lives, putting them at greater risk of adverse health and social outcomes.
The study led by National Centre for Population Health & Wellbeing Research (NCPHWR) in collaboration with Administrative Data Research Wales (ADR Wales) and Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) aimed to examine factors in the local area that can help a child overcome the negative impact of poverty.
The study comprised of 159,131 children who lived in Wales, had completed their age 16 exams, Key Stage 4 (KS4), between 2009 and 2016, and who had a valid Free School Meal (FSM) record. Free School Meal provision was used as an indicator of household-level deprivation.
The participants were derived by linking Wales Demographic Service Dataset (WDSD) (a Wales-wide administrative register for all individuals with a general practitioner (GP) and education datasets in the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank.
Results
- The research found that 22% of children living in poverty (on FSM) were doing well overall compared to 54.9% of non-FSM children.
- Children living in poverty in non-deprived areas are significantly more likely to do well than those living in the most deprived areas.
- Children living in poverty in areas with higher community safety, higher relative income, and higher access to services are more likely to do well than their peers.
Amrita Bandyopadhyay, Research Officer at the National Centre for Population Health, said:
‘Children growing up in poverty are less likely to achieve in school and more likely to experience mental health problems.’
‘This study highlights where you live matters and so investing in community development and local area improvements, such as promoting neighbourhood safety, improving public transport and return to work schemes, can also help local children to do well in terms of education, mental health and reducing risk-taking behaviours (alcohol/drug use).’
Read the full publication here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323000356?via%3Dihub
