One in five American children now live in families with incomes below the poverty line, and their prospects are not bright. Low income is linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence. Consequences of Growing Up Poor is an illuminating examination of the way economic deprivation damages children at all stages of their development.

In Consequences of Growing Up Poor, developmental psychologists, economists, and sociologists address specific questions about how low income puts children at risk intellectually, emotionally. and physically. They demonstrate that although income clearly creates disadvantages, it does so selectively and in a wide variety of ways.

Based on their findings, the editors and contributors recommend more sharply focused child welfare policies targeted at specific eras and conditions of poor children's lives. They also weigh the relative need for income supplements, child care subsidies, and home interventions.