Life-course Perspectives on Childhood Inequality: Understanding Its Contemporary and Long-term Impacts

Abstract

Socioeconomic inequality in childhood has become a core challenge for global public health and social equity. This article reviews the socio-economic inequality experienced in childhood, which is reflected not only in physical and mental health and education, but also in social performance. These early disadvantages continue to accumulate and develop in the long term, affecting career development and individuals’ capacity for economic accumulation in adulthood, and eventually widen the physical and mental health gap in middle and old ages. The persistence of this predicament highlights the necessity of multi-faceted interventions during the critical period of children's growth and development. This study emphasizes the need for a comprehensive policy approach and early interventions that integrates educational investment, health system reform and social security enhancement. Understanding the impacts of and interventions for socioeconomic inequality in childhood is of great significance for achieving sustainable social equity and breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty.