Socioeconomic disparities in environmental exposure and adaptation among families of young children: Implications for early developmental outcomes

• In Event: The climate crisis and learning and development: some global perspectives

Proposal

This paper examines how household adaptations shape early childhood development amid rising extreme heat exposures. Early childhood is a critical period when extreme heat exposure can have lasting negative effects, and in China, such exposures are rising rapidly. Addressing these risks requires attention not only to exposure but also to how families adapt. Household conditions, shaped by socioeconomic status (SES), are central to children’s daily environments and families’ capacity to cope. Yet little is known about how families across different SES backgrounds adapt to extreme heat and how this, in turn, influences children’s early development,

We ask three research questions:
RQ1: Is adaptation associated with socioeconomic status? What is the socio-economic gradient in parental adaptations (adaptive behaviors and household mitigation technologies)?
RQ2: Does adaptation matter? Are extreme heat exposures differently associated with early childhood development outcomes depending on household adaptation status?
RQ3: Does adaptation matter more for socioeconomically disadvantaged children? Do associations of adaptation with outcomes depend on socioeconomic status?

This study was conducted in a coastal city in eastern China that was recently recognized as one of China’s emerging “four ovens” due to frequent extreme heat events. The sample includes one urban district, one suburban district, and one rural county, capturing socioeconomic variation. From 2022 to 2024, data were collected on 9,863 children aged 2–6 from 51 kindergartens. Child development was assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), 3rd edition, and household locations were linked to ERA5 reanalysis data to generate household-level Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). Key measures include socioeconomic status (SES) and parental adaptations, which were defined as adaptive behaviors, measured by whether caregivers checked air quality and temperature before outdoor activities, and mitigation technologies, which included air conditioning and an eco-device index (air purifier, water purifier, fresh air system, humidifier). Extreme heat exposure was calculated as the percentage of hours in a child’s first three years with UTCI above 30 °C and 35 °C. Developmental outcomes were measured using standardized ASQ scores across different domains.

To address RQ1, we used logistic regressions to estimate associations between SES and parental adaptations, controlling for child demographics, urban hukou, extreme heat exposure, and kindergarten fixed effects. For RQ2, we used OLS regressions to examine whether adaptations buffered the effects of extreme heat, stratified by children’s first, second, and third years of life. For RQ3, we applied OLS regressions to test associations between adaptations and child outcomes, including SES and adaptation interactions.

Preliminary findings show that household SES is strongly associated with parental adaptations to extreme heat: higher-SES families are more likely to adopt adaptive behaviors and mitigation technologies, with inequalities more pronounced for technology ownership. Adaptive behaviors are positively associated with children’s general and social-emotional development, with stronger benefits among lower-SES families, suggesting these strategies may buffer developmental risks in disadvantaged households. The study highlights how SES constrains parents’ capacity to adapt and underscores the potential of promoting low-cost behaviors and equitable access to technologies to reduce early childhood risks from rising extreme heat.

Authors

• Tingting Yang Rui, University of Pennsylvania

• Minghong Shen

• Emily Hannum, University of Pennsylvania

• JERE RICHARD BEHRMAN, University of Pennsylvania

• Michael MA

• Jia Miao, NYU Shanghai