Youth.Gov, created by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs and composed of representatives from 19 federal agencies, looked into the statistics about those adolescents who were diagnosed with mental illnesses, including ADHD and depression. Through the studies examined by Youth.Gov, it was discovered that 57% of low income children in households who live under the federal poverty level have mental health disorders. Additionally, fifty percent of children and youth in the child welfare system have mental health disorders. The amount of money in the household leads to a type of home environment, one that can be taxing on the children residing within the home. A biological role with these finances may be at play as well: Those adolescents in lower socioeconomic brackets have been shown to not only have a difference in income, but also a difference in brain reactivity and development. The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis states that “conditions associated with poverty interfere with how key brain regions connect and increase depression risk in children.” Researchers discovered that the poorer the family, the more likely …show more content…
According to The National Institution of Health, children who have parents that are less involved, as well as those with broken families, were stated to be more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Parents who had low occupational status, as well as low education levels, while not a significant association with the children in the survey sample, was shown to be more prevalent (Russel et al). Due to these household complications, many studies show ADHD is more common in these environments. In total, it accounted for half of ADHD cases. Adolescents that were surrounded by abuse and neglect, however, were shown to have even higher rates. This was supported by Youth.Gov, “The risk for mental health problems, especially traumatic stress, is greatly increased for children who are living in foster care as a result of abuse and neglect.” Environments that surround a person can be magnificently related to how it affects he/she, otherwise changing the normal course of how he/she might feel or think. Facing these struggles in comparison to other children whom the child is surrounded by is likely a great difference, as one child is faced with more stressful situations and thus far will be more susceptible to obtaining a mental illness. This shows us that not only the income of the household