“It puts a stamp on you”: Caregiver perceptions of deficit- and strength- based narratives about brain development in the context of poverty

Research on poverty and child brain development often reaches the public, yet little is known about how families interpret these messages. Prior work has traditionally relied on deficit-oriented language framing poverty as a threat to children’s brains, while newer approaches emphasize adaptation and contextual strengths. The present study examined how caregivers (N=39) of young children living at or below the poverty line perceive these contrasting narratives. Caregivers viewed two brief, publicly available blog excerpts describing poverty and brain development, one framed around deficit and risk and the other grounded in a strength-based perspective. Participants then recorded video reflections in a mobile app describing how each message felt, what language stood out, and which framing felt more respectful or accurate. Through reflexive thematic analysis, four themes were identified. First, caregivers described how scientific language can either emotionally harm or empower families, with deficit framing eliciting fear, shame, and discouragement, and strength framing fostering validation and motivation. Second, caregivers emphasized the need for communication that is balanced and attentive to developmental context rather than deterministic. Third, caregivers highlighted children’s and families’ agency, values, and everyday strengths, rejecting portrayals of children as passive or defined by income. Finally, caregivers located challenges within broader structural conditions, emphasizing resources and systems rather than parental fault. Together, these findings show that the language used to describe poverty and the brain has consequences for how families see themselves and their children. We offer practical strategies for communicating developmental neuroscience about poverty in more balanced and context-sensitive ways.