Socioeconomic difference in development among preschool children

Introduction: This study examined socioeconomic difference in development among Hong Kong preschool children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of 911 children recruited using multi-stage sampling. Child developmental outcome was measured using the Hong Kong Comprehensive Assessment Scale for Preschool Children. Socioeconomic data was collected through parent report of family income and parental education. Results: Using principal component analysis, a socioeconomic status composite was formed out of family income and parental education. Logistic regression and analysis of variance/covariance results indicated significant associations between socioeconomic status and developmental outcome. The relationship between socioeconomic status and child development was similar to a dose-response model, at population level. Conclusions: Our study, using a large sample drawn territory-wide, found an association between socioeconomic status and early childhood development, consistent with international and local studies. Scaling up evidence-based early intervention programmes at a population level could help address social inequality. 
目的：本研究調查了父母社會經濟地位差異對香港學前兒童發展的影響。方法：這是一項採用多階段抽樣對 911名兒童進行的橫斷面調查。兒童發展結果採用香港學前兒童綜合評估量表進行測量。社會經濟資料通過父母報告家庭收入和父母教育程度來收集。結果：利用主成分分析，社會經濟地位由家庭收入和父母受教育程度構成。Logistic回歸和方差／協方差分析結果表明，社會經濟地位和發展結果之間有顯著的相關性。在總體水平上，社會經濟地位和兒童發展之間的關係類似於劑量─反應模型。結論：我們的研究使用了全港大量樣本，發現社會經濟地位和兒童早期發展之間存在聯繫，這與國際和當地的研究一致。在群體層面擴大基於證據的早期干預計劃，可能有助於解決社會上不平等問題。 Copyright © 2020 Hong Kong Journal of Paediatrics.