Policy & Practice October 2018

Figure 1

This diminishment of cognition can be blamed for a series of daily (and largely inconsequential) errors many people make, such as choosing junk food for dinner, impulse buying, or giving in to a child’s unreasonable demands. In a much more consequential way, living in poverty places many daily demands on self-regulation. For example, juggling public transportation, child care, changing job shifts, feeding and otherwise caring for family, and navi- gating public assistance requires a high degree of organization, multitasking, inhibition, and emotional control. These tasks tend to be both regular and overlapping among many people living in poverty. Using many self-regulation resources to attend to the daily tasks of living leaves fewer resources available for goal setting, planning, and future- oriented thinking.

evaluation—that occur in succession until evaluation potentially leads back to a previous step (as illustrated in the figure by arrows).

chemistry is through toxic stress or exposure to frequent or chronic stress activation. Long periods of childhood poverty have been associated with high levels of chronic stress during childhood. 15 However, well-developed self-regulation skills can buffer the effects of poverty or chronic stress and research shows that interventions can strengthen self-regulation skills, even in adulthood. 16 In addition to influencing the for- mation of self-regulation skills, the environment shapes how well people are able to use their self-regulation skills. Psychologists have long argued that the capacity or “bandwidth” for using cognitive skills is limited. 17 Demands on self-regulation “tax” some of that bandwidth, rendering self-regu- lation skills less effective. Experts have described self-regulation as analogous to a muscle that tires with repeated use. One form of this is popularly known as “decision fatigue”: the dimin- ishing ability to use logic and reason after making many previous decisions or exerting a lot of self-regulation.

How Does the

Environment

Influence the Use of

Self-Regulation Skills? The development of self-regulation begins in infancy and continues throughout childhood, into adoles- cence. Recent research suggests that skills may continue to develop into adulthood. During the time the brain processes that support self-regulation are being refined, adverse experi- ences can affect how those processes develop. Adverse experiences in child- hood, including, but not limited to family instability, exposure to violence or abuse, harsh parenting, neglect, and food instability can disrupt the brain circuits involved in developing self- regulation skills. 14 One way adverse experiences might influence brain

See Self-Sufficiency on page 34

October 2018   Policy&Practice 23