Child poverty as a potential developmental trauma: shame, self-esteem, and rediginifation of childhood

Abstract

Se presenta una reflexión que trata de arrojar luz siobre las relaciones entre pobreza y vergüenza, señaladas por autores como R. Walker. Esta relación puede estar mediatizada por la experiencia de traumas evolutivos, algo que se haya presente en las situaciones de pobreza que afectan a la infancia.

This article aims to enrich the traditional approaches concerning child poverty exploring the relation between poverty, trauma, and shame. In order to do so, it will try to answer two main questions: first, given the already proven relation between poverty and child, whether child poverty fulfills the criteria to be considered an experience with a high risk of becoming a traumatic one. Second, this article aims to explore the link between trauma and shame, as a possible mechanism that may account for the phenomenon of poverty-related shame. Accepting the first hypothesis, it will try to shed light on how this connection could benefit the measures against child poverty and the design of policies. If child poverty is associated to feelings of shame, and these feelings have their roots in trauma, then the policies to bring social justice for children into reality should surpass the economic area and implement also the damage concerning self-esteem and self-concept. As a result, we will advocate for re-dignifying the child through the improvement of mental health services as a necessary measure to bring to reality children s rights.