Evans Gary W, Schamberg Michelle A
Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-4401, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Apr 21;106(16):6545-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0811910106. Epub 2009 Mar 30.
The income-achievement gap is a formidable societal problem, but little is known about either neurocognitive or biological mechanisms that might account for income-related deficits in academic achievement. We show that childhood poverty is inversely related to working memory in young adults. Furthermore, this prospective relationship is mediated by elevated chronic stress during childhood. Chronic stress is measured by allostatic load, a biological marker of cumulative wear and tear on the body that is caused by the mobilization of multiple physiological systems in response to chronic environmental demands.
收入成就差距是一个严峻的社会问题,但对于可能导致学业成绩方面与收入相关缺陷的神经认知或生物学机制,我们却知之甚少。我们发现,童年贫困与年轻人的工作记忆呈负相关。此外,这种前瞻性关系是由童年时期慢性压力的增加所介导的。慢性压力通过应激负荷来衡量,应激负荷是身体累积损耗的一种生物学标志物,它是由多个生理系统为应对慢性环境需求而动员所引起的。