About poverty and trauma

Our focus recognises the heavy but unnecessary burden that poverty and trauma place on the overall wellbeing of people, families and communities, and the detrimental impact this can have.

In Scotland and around the globe, people’s daily lives have been changing rapidly these last few years. Ongoing economic upheaval, technology, shifting work patterns and climate change have all brought greater uncertainty and inequality.

The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened this inequality, and has had a far-reaching impact on people and communities – including greater financial insecurity, social isolation and poor mental health and wellbeing. Evidence suggests that people who were already living with economic hardship or previous trauma are most likely to bear the brunt of present challenges.

Poverty in Scotland

Even before the Covid-19 crisis, poverty in Scotland was on the rise. Figures show that, overall, poverty declined in the first decade of the 21st century before beginning to rise again from around 2012.

Poverty can have a devastating impact on people’s lives. Over and above immediate financial hardship, those living with poverty also face stress, social isolation, shame and stigma. In the longer term, poverty affects people’s health and wellbeing, limits their ability to live fulfilling lives and can lead to a wide range of lifelong negative outcomes.

Trauma

The last two decades have brought an increased understanding of how a person’s experience in childhood can affect them throughout their whole life. There is growing evidence that trauma, particularly when experienced during childhood, can impact on an individual’s long-term health, wellbeing, educational and life chances. Trauma can and does occur at all stages of life.

The toxic stress caused by childhood trauma (often referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs) can affect healthy brain development. There is also growing evidence that experiencing trauma as a child can bring about physiological changes to a person’s body as well. Indeed, there are links between ACEs and the likelihood of developing long-term health problems such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

How do poverty and trauma interact?

The links between poverty and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are complex, but there is growing evidence of an association between deprivation and ACEs, and that risk factors “cluster together in the lives of the most disadvantaged young people”.

There is also evidence that people who experience ACEs are more likely to experience poverty as an adult. When children experience poverty and trauma at the same time, the impacts can be even more profound and damaging and can extend well beyond childhood.