The study, by academics at Bristol University, found that 35 per cent of boys from the poorest fifth of households had behavioural problems at age three, compared with 15 per cent of those from better-off families.
By age seven, 22 per cent still experienced behavioural problems, compared with 10 per cent of those from wealthier homes.
Similarly, 29 per cent of girls from low-income families had behavioural problems at age three and 20 per cent at age seven.
The research also found that the prevalence of behavioural problems has increased over the past decade.
Girls born to low-income families in the early 1990s were twice as likely as their better-off peers to record behavioural issues at age seven.
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