Widening socioeconomic gap in child development and multi-domain mechanisms : Chinese kindergarten cohort study

Socioeconomic disparity in cognitive and socioemotional functions already exists in preschool. However, a dearth of longitudinal data tracking the dynamic changes of disparity from preschool to schooling ages has limited the exploration of mechanisms. The current study utilized a cohort sample to address this gap as an extension of Ip et al. (2016), which recruited a population representative sample of 5-year-old Chinese preschoolers. Health behaviours, parenting style, and family functioning dimensions were examined as possible mediators. The cohort was revisited four years after initial recruitment (N=519, Mean age=9.33 years, 55.3% girls, 76.2% retention). The effect of SES on both cognitive and socioemotional functions were relatively small (η2=.02, p<.01) in initial recruitment but the effect became stronger at follow-up (cognitive development: η2=.09, p<.0001; socioemotional development: η2=.05, p<.0001; symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: η2=.02, p=.008). Controlling for baseline SES, an upward change in SES also predicted better socioemotional development (β=.10, p=.02).