Edited by Bruce S. McEwen, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and approved February 24, 2009 (received for review November 22, 2008)
The income–achievement gap is a formidable societal problem, but little is known about either neurocognitive or biological mechanisms that might account for income-related deficits in academic achievement. We show that childhood poverty is inversely related to working memory in young adults. Furthermore, this prospective relationship is mediated by elevated chronic stress during childhood. Chronic stress is measured by allostatic load, a biological marker of cumulative wear and tear on the body that is caused by the mobilization of multiple physiological systems in response to chronic environmental demands.
Author contributions: G.W.E. designed research; M.A.S. performed research; G.W.E. and M.A.S. analyzed data; and G.W.E. and M.A.S. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.
