Improving How Measure Child Socioeconomic Disadvantage: A More Holistic and Contextual Approach

Developmental science has made great strides in understanding how child social and economic circumstances, including material, environmental, economic, or psychosocial stressors, shape outcomes in a range of domains. More recently, developmental scientists have argued we need to operationalize socioeconomic circumstances clearly and consistently, and investigate child circumstances in a context-sensitive way. However, there is a need to bring together these perspectives to understand how we should operationalise and measure socioeconomic disadvantage in ways that are both context-sensitive and precise, striking a balance between mechanistic insight and policy relevance. This paper highlights three ways in which we can develop a more holistic, comprehensive and inclusive understanding of how socioeconomic disadvantage shapes child development. Firstly, by using measures of socioeconomic circumstances that are meaningful to the population under study and their ecological context. Secondly, by considering multiple pathways through which socioeconomic disadvantage may impact child development. Finally, by striving to capture heterogeneity in family circumstances which includes strengths, as well as hidden costs.