This paper seeks to investigate if childhood poverty has an effect on aggression towards outgroups in adulthood. While previous research has suggested that childhood poverty has a negative effect...Show moreThis paper seeks to investigate if childhood poverty has an effect on aggression towards outgroups in adulthood. While previous research has suggested that childhood poverty has a negative effect on behavior in teenage years and on physical health during adolescence and beyond, there has not been much literature on childhood poverty and its behavioral effects in adulthood. I looked specifically if childhood poverty would have negative behavioral effects, in this case aggression towards outgroups, in adulthood. Our sample consisted of 802 members from the United Kingdom and the United States of America, 362 of which reported having experienced poverty during their childhood. They played the Joy of Destruction game, which measured aggression towards an outgroup and then filled in an online questionnaire which include current socioeconomic information and experiences of childhood poverty. The results indicated that people who experienced childhood poverty displayed more aggression towards members of an outgroup. This result contributes to the existing literature that having adverse experiences during childhood will have a negative effect on one’s behavior in adulthood.Show less
