[pattmayne]

That's really interesting. I had poverty and instability growing up, and I tend to treat the instability as an effect of the poverty. And I blame many of my adult problems on that poverty. But in truth, if I had to get rid of one then I would keep the poverty and get rid of the instability.

Except for one thing: poverty forced us to live in the forest because we couldn't afford to live in town. That social isolation was hands-down the worst and most long-term harmful thing that I ever experienced. Poverty can also be poison.

[firesteelrain]

It does seem that families that are impoverished are more likely to be unstable. At least to a degree

[em-bee]

which is the downside of living in a country without good social support and also not having any family support.

i have been though this. in the early years when my parents didn't have the support they would have needed (or didn't want to accept it) we experienced years of instability. once that support arrived (or my parents figured out what they needed to do to get it), things stabilized. but the damage was already done. in my case it affected my ability to make friends which didn't get better until university where i was at least able to meet some like-minded people, which helped.