The Effects of Chronic Poverty on South African and American Adolescent Psychosocial Development

Although little research exists on the effects of chronic poverty on adolescents, it is clear that the results of chronic childhood poverty have lasting effects on children's psychosocial development. For Black adolescents in South Africa, significantly more destitute living conditions, the AIDS crisis, and the relatively recent experiences of apartheid may shorten their adolescence and make positive developmental task resolution more difficult than for African-American adolescents. Comparing place-based influences on psychosocial development offers an important perspective for the practitioner, since much of the research on psychosocial development is based in a few countries and may not be applicable to others.