Childhood poverty and cognitive development in Latin America in the 21st century

SEGRETIN, M.S.; HERMIDA, M.J.; PRATS, L.M.; FRACCIA, C.; RUETTI, E.; LIPINA, S.J.

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT

Wiley Online

Año: 2016 p. 9 - 29

For at least eight decades, researchers have analyzed the association betweenchildhood poverty and cognitive development in different societies worldwide,but few of such studies have been carried out in Latin America. The aim of thepresent paper is to systematically review the empirical studies that have analyzed the associations between poverty and cognitive development in childrenunder 18 years of age from Latin American and Caribbean countries between2000 and 2015. This analysis takes into consideration the country where thework was conducted, the experimental and analytical design, sample size andcomposition, cognitive and poverty paradigms implemented, levels of analysis,and the inclusion of mediation analyses. Through these, we identify commonpatterns in the negative impact of poverty that have been repeatedly verified inthe literature in other continents; we also call attention to a set of issues regarding sample, design, paradigms, impact, and mediation analyses that should be considered in future studies in the region.