Understanding the Relationship Between Multidimensional Poverty and Early Cognitive Development in China: An Ecological Approach

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 10:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Ecology of Early Childhood (Table 3)

Abstract

Established studies were focused on the effects of economic deprivation on child development. This study explores the associations between multiple dimensions of rural poverty in China (economic, health, livelihood, income, and employment) and children's cognitive development from an ecological perspective. A total of 1,346 children aged 18-42 months were recruited from 26 rural towns in southwest China. The results of multilevel structural equation modeling indicated that families’ educational poverty, living standard poverty and income poverty were negatively associated with cognitive development and these negative correlations were moderated by parental material investment but not by time investment. Additionally, regional poverty at the township level was found to moderate the relationship between families’ standard of living poverty and cognitive development.

Authors

• Ling Li, Southwest University

• Jin Sun, University of Macau

• Xiaolan Hu, Southwest University of China

• Li Huang, The Southwest University of China