The developmental health of young children is highly influenced by the socioeconomic conditions in which they are raised. How to accurately measure these conditions is a point of debate in the current literature on child development, health, and social determinants. We have evaluated four existing indices of socioeconomic status (SES) to determine the most relevant for the analysis of early childhood development (ECD) in Canada. Following a literature review of published SES indices which used 2006 Canadian Census data, four indices were chosen based on their relevance to ECD and the number of citations in subsequent articles. These were: the Canadian Deprivation Index, the Socioeconomic Factor Index, the Canadian Marginalization Index and an index created by the Early Childhood Mapping Project in Alberta, Canada. The indices were replicated using SES data for 2038 customized geographic neighbourhoods encompassing 99.9% of the Canadian population, and the relationship of the indices to ECD was investigated by linking to aggregated data from the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a teacher-completed questionnaire used to assess kindergarten children's physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development, and communication skills. The derived SES indices were compared based on four criteria: the input variables used, the index structure, the interpretability of the index and the variance they explained (R2) in the different EDI outcome measures. In terms of variance explained, material components of the SES indices (e.g., income, education) consistently showed the strongest association with children's language and cognitive development. The patterns of association for the non-material SES components and the other developmental domains of the EDI were more complex. We discuss the findings in regard to current developments in the field, and the need for refining empirical and theoretical approaches to examine associations between different facets of SES contextual factors and different aspects of ECD outcomes.
The Canadian Neighbourhoods Early Child Development (CanNECD) database is a unique resource for research on child developmental health and well-being within the socioeconomic and cultural context of Canadian neighbourhoods. This paper describes the CanNECD database and highlights its potential for advancing research at the intersection of child development, social determinants of health, and neighborhood effects. The CanNECD database contains Pan-Canadian population-level child developmental health data collected through regional implementation of the Early Development Instrument (EDI), geo-coded information on residential neighbourhoods covering all of Canada, and socioeconomic and demographic variables from the Canada Census and Income Taxfiler database. The data are de-identified but linkable across datasets through use of common numeric sequences. The nearly 800,000 records spanning 2003-2014 and representing all Canadian provinces and territories (with the exception of Nunavut) are compiled in a secure electronic collection system at the Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Early studies using the EDI demonstrated its utility as a tool for assessing child developmental health at a population level, and its potential for both community-level and large-scale monitoring of child populations. Research using the CanNECD database is now examining to what extent social determinants and the steepness of the social gradients of developmental health differ between geographical jurisdictions and between different sub-populations. We are also working to identify outlier neighbourhoods in which EDI scores are substantially higher or lower than predicted by a neighbourhood’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and exploring other potentially important determinants of children’s developmental health. Finally, we are examining the extent to which change-over-time in aggregate EDI scores vary geographically, and how well it coincides with changes in socioeconomic factors. Thus, the CanNECD database offers the opportunity for research that will inform national policies and strategies on child developmental health.
BackgroundEarly childhood is a dynamic period of physical, psychosocial and cognitive development, where age appropriate intervention during the preschool years influences psychosocial, behavioural and academic achievement of children. This study evaluated the impact of a comprehensive preschool intervention on psychosocial, cognitive and behavioural school preparedness among children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsEmploying a cluster-sampling design, 150 preschool children who received the basic preschool curriculum (non-intervention) were compared with 100 randomly selected children who received a comprehensive preschool curriculum (intervention) using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) in five domains. Sample t-tests compared means of domain scores. Binary logistic regression analysed proportions of vulnerability in domains and overall.ResultThere were no group differences in gender, age, special need status or child’s first language. Intervention children had higher domain scores on social competence (mean difference 0.67 (SE=0.26)), emotional maturity (mean difference 0.77 (SE=0.29)), language and cognitive development (mean difference 0.67 (SE=0.40)), communication and general knowledge (mean difference 0.82 (SE=0.34)). Accounting for confounding variables, intervention children had a lower chance of overall vulnerability to domain problems (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.38; 95% CI 0.13 to 1.15), language and cognitive development (AOR=0.21; 95% CI 0.03 to 1.64), and social competence (AOR=0.20; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.45).ConclusionThe comprehensive intervention was associated with better outcomes on early childhood development across four domains. It is recommended to extend this programme to other areas of Ethiopia, where children do not have appropriate school preparation, to reduce risk of school dropout, negative personal and societal outcomes.
IntroductionIn Ontario kindergarten children, measures of early child development (ECD) indicate worsening outcomes over the last two provincial measurements (2012-2015), particularly among indicators of early physical, emotional and social development. This is despite significant investments in early childhood in the province through the roll-out of universal full day kindergarten. Objectives and ApproachOur objective is to uncover correlates of change in the measures of ECD using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) between 2012 and 2015, particularly in relation to the average home/neighbourhood environments of students where school-level outcomes declined. This analysis links individual EDI data in Ontario, with 2016 DA-level Canadian Census data aggregated to the school level. The EDI is a kindergarten teacher-completed questionnaire measuring school readiness across five domains of child development. The schools are classified into groups based on whether they experienced statistically meaningful change in the domains of the EDI over the observed timeframe. ResultsThe changes observed at the provincial level were consistent with those observed at the school level. Developmental vulnerability increased overall, in the Physical Health and Well-being, Social Competence and Emotional Maturity domains. Vulnerability decreased in the Language and Cognitive Development and Communication Skills and General Knowledge domains. While the analyses are still ongoing, preliminary findings suggest that schools with a higher proportion of children from high immigrant, and high income neighbourhoods tended to improve more than other schools. These along with some other socioeconomic neighbourhood characteristics identify sub-groups of schools that tended to see more positive or negative change on average across the five domains. We will supplement these findings using the time of introduction of the free full-day kindergarten program in each school. Conclusion/ImplicationsThe presentation breaks down recent trends in kindergarten school readiness to identify schools that did better or worse than average based on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The analysis will also incorporate the timing of the introduction of full-day kindergarten into each school, providing insight into the effects of the program.
Social capital is thought to buffer the negative effects of low income on health and thereby flatten the social gradient. Child development research on social capital has suggested that social networks of adults and children in a neighborhood may play a protective role in children's outcomes. Yet little is known about how this relationship applies to diverse developmental outcomes in early childhood. This study examines whether the presence of role model adults and the willingness of neighbors to help keep children safe moderates the relationship between neighborhood income and five developmental outcomes for children in kindergarten: (1) physical health and well-being, (2) social competence, (3) emotional maturity, (4) language and cognitive development, and (5) communication and general knowledge. We linked neighborhood-level data on child development from two Canadian provinces, British Columbia (BC, n = 100) and Ontario (n = 482), to neighborhood-level data on social capital from the Ontario Kindergarten Parent Survey, and the BC Social Capital Study; and income data from the 2006 Canadian Census. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the main and interaction effects of social capital and income in relation to child development outcomes. In Ontario, higher levels of social capital were associated with better child outcomes on all five developmental domains. Similar trends were observed in BC. Higher levels of social capital flattened the income gradient in language and cognitive development in both provinces, and social competence in Ontario. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
IntroductionThe literature provides abundant evidence of socioeconomic gradients in health outcomes. However, it is unclear, and particularly understudied in early child development research, whether these observed gradients are linear, whether they diminish as socioeconomic status (SES) increases, and if they ultimately reverse in slope at the highest SES values. Objectives and ApproachWe linked neighbourhood-level Census and Tax Filer data with Early Development Instrument (EDI) data across Canada. The EDI is a kindergarten teacher-completed measure of five domains of early child development. We used this linked database to statistically compare and choose the most appropriate functional form of the relationship between each of the EDI domains (dependent variables), and the Canadian Neighbourhoods and Early Child Development (CanNECD) study's SES index (predictor) in regression models. Model comparison approaches included: visual checks of lines fitted using Generalized Additive Models, Akaike and Bayesian Information Criterions, Ramsay’s RESET, J and Cox tests. ResultsThe results indicate the optimal functional form of the gradient varies across domains of the EDI. The best model for the Physical Health and Well-Being domain was quadratic, suggesting there may be some reversal in slope at higher values of SES. The best models for the Social Competence and Language and Cognitive Development domains were logarithmic, indicating diminishing returns to SES but with no slope reversal. The best model for the Emotional Maturity domain was linear, suggesting the gradient was consistent across all values of SES. The best fit for the Communication Skills and General Knowledge domain was a cubic ‘S’ curve, suggesting the curve is positive and concave for lower levels of SES but curves upwards beyond a certain SES threshold. Conclusion/ImplicationsThe results demonstrate the importance of examining functional forms when modeling socioeconomic gradients. Assuming linear relationships between SES and health outcomes (early child development, in this case) may distort and bias the true nature of the relationships, thus leading to misinterpretations, especially at the highest and lowest values of SES.
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