Impoverished children delay gratification less than children who are raised in wealthier families. This could be an adaptive strategy, that prompts people to utilize resources as soon as they become available, when those resources are perceived as scarce.

I only have an opinion, however -

I wouldn't think so - where one need is going unmet, there is often a need for its absence to be met with what is more easily obtainable, and yields a similar type of 'satisfaction' chemically, once obtained. Adults seem to be able to have more success with being self generative - in that concepts of restraint, will power, and self control can themselves substitute for material gratification, by providing the adult with a similar type of destruction satisfaction in their own ability to show restraint. Children on the other hand, wouldn't have this skill unless they are deliberately taught it. But the child that goes without food is unlikely to have the support structure in place, that can foster this kind of development. Not to say it can't happen, but in my anecdotal experience of observing the lasting effects of poverty into adulthood - it does not happen often.

/r/psychology Thread Parent Link - journals.sagepub.com