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Cited by 348Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology and Mental HealthHealth disparities and outcomes

Socioeconomic status and child psychopathology in the United States: A meta-analysis of population-based studies

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Peverill, Matthew, Dirks, Melanie A., Narvaja, Tomás, Herts, Kate L., Comer, Jonathan S., McLaughlin, Katie A.·2021·Clinical Psychology Review
DOI 10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101933PMC PMC7855901
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Abstract

Children raised in families with low socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to exhibit symptoms of psychopathology. However, the strength of this association, the specific indices of SES most strongly associated with childhood psychopathology, and factors moderating the association are strikingly inconsistent across studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of 120 estimates of the association between family SES and child psychopathology in 13 population-representative cohorts of children studied in the US since 1980. Among 26,715 participants aged 3-19 years, we observed small to moderate associations of low family income (g = 0.19), low Hollingshead index (g = 0.21), low subjective SES (g = 0.24), low parental education (g = 0.25), poverty status (g = 0.25), and receipt of public assistance (g = 0.32) with higher levels of childhood psychopathology. Moderator testing revealed that receipt of public assistance showed an especially strong association with psychopathology and that SES was more strongly related to externalizing than internalizing psychopathology. Dispersion in our final, random effects, model suggested that the relation between SES and child psychopathology is likely to vary in different populations of children and in different communities. These findings highlight the need for additional research on the mechanisms of SES-related psychopathology risk in children in order to identify targets for potential intervention.

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  • A meta-analysis including 120 effects showed that SES was significantly, negatively associated with mental health problems in adolescents.

    “A meta-analysis including 120 effects showed that SES was significantly, negatively associated with mental health problems in adolescents [13].”

    From Socioeconomic status impacts Chinese late adolescents’ internalizing problems: risk role of psychological insecurity and cognitive fusion (2025) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Abstract reports a meta-analysis of 120 estimates and an association between lower SES and higher psychopathology; the Results section also reports a pooled association. But the 26,715 participants were aged 3–19, so the reported overall finding is not specific to adolescents. Page numbers were not supplied. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • The family investment model maintains that parents with low SES face difficulties in affording adequate housing in safe communities, and their limited time and energy create challenges in accompanying their children, which may increase the risk of children's psychological problems.

    “The family investment model maintains that parents with low SES face difficulties in affording adequate housing in safe communities, and their limited time and energy create challenges in accompanying their children [14]. These limitations in resources may increase the risk of children’s psychological problems [13].”

    From Socioeconomic status impacts Chinese late adolescents’ internalizing problems: risk role of psychological insecurity and cognitive fusion (2025) · cites this paper as [13]

  • Systematic reviews consistently report that children and adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are at greater risk of poorer mental health and maladjustment.

    “Systematic reviews of the literature looking at social inequalities in children's psychopathology consistently report that children and adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are at greater risk of poorer mental health and maladjustment (Peverill et al., 2021;Reiss, 2013).”

    From Risk and protective factors for children's psychopathology in the context of domestic violence – A study using nationally representative longitudinal survey data (2023) · cites this paper as Peverill et al., 2021

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Authors
Peverill, M., Dirks, M. A., Narvaja, T., Herts, K. L., Comer, J. S., & McLaughlin, K. A.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • McGill University (CA)
  • University of Washington (US)
  • Weill Cornell Medicine (US)
  • Florida International University (US)
Corresponding author
Peverill, Matthew
ORCID
Venue
Clinical Psychology Review
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-02
Volume
83
Pages
101933
ISSN
0272-7358 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101933
PMC
PMC7855901
OpenAlex
W3093076934
Cited by
348
References
121
Citations by year
2026: 49 · 2025: 82 · 2024: 75 · 2023: 61 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 32
FWCI
2.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Clinical Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Keywords
socioeconomic status, child psychopathology, household income, poverty, social assistance, parental education, subjective socioeconomic status, externalizing disorders, internalizing disorders, population-based cohort
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Child, Humans, Parents, Social Class, Socioeconomic Factors, United States

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