How income relates to young children’s development in different socioeconomic settings in China.

AbstractThis study examines how family income affects 3- to 6-year-olds’ cognitive and socioemotional development in China, where the <italic>hukou</italic> system, regional disparities, and large-scale internal labor migration have profoundly affected children’s development. The analysis is based on a nationally representative sample from the Urbanization and Labor Migration Survey in China (N = 1,817). Results show that preschool children from low-income families underperform their peers from higher-income families on both verbal and numeracy tests and exhibit more externalizing behavior problems. Family income impacts children’s test scores through parents’ investment in a stimulating home learning environment and contributes to children’s externalizing behavior problems through the primary caregiver’s psychological distress and punitive parenting. We also find a moderating effect of the structural and socioeconomic covariates. The effect of mediators on child development is stronger among rural children and children living in western China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]