Traumatic Stress, Socioeconomic Status, and Academic Achievement Among Primary School Students

Students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) families continue to underachieve within the educational setting; however, little research has examined how psychological trauma may be related to this problem. Using a sample of 5th-grade students from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 database, we used regression analyses to determine whether traumatic stress and SES influenced achievement. Results showed that low SES and traumatic stress predicted lower educational outcomes. This study has implications for counselors and educators because trauma is often overlooked or misunderstood in children.