Family environmental risk, frontal brain asymmetry, and social-emotional functioning for children living in poverty

Current research in child emotion has embraced the importance of multimethod approaches to the study of how and why psychopathology develops. Some research has focused on the role of environmental risk, whereas alternate data have implicated patterns of frontal lobe brain activity in trait-like styles of emotional responding that may predict psychological disorder. However, the relation between environmental risk and its interplay with biological systems needs further elucidation. The current study examined the longitudinal relation between environmental stressors and frontal brain asymmetry, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG) over a four month period in 12, 4-6 year-old children from low-income families in a western state. General trends suggest that EEG asymmetry may differentiate those children who experience more negative life events and behavioral problems. However, with the exception of income, relations between EEG alpha asymmetry and other identified risk factors were non-significant. Potential conclusions and implications of these data are discussed.