Cognitive development during early childhood: insights from families living in areas of socio-economic disadvantage

The first year of a child's life has been considered important in shaping their cognitive development. The research literature has identified area-based socio-economic disadvantage as a possible risk factor for cognitive development but has suggested that various factors may facilitate children's resilience to socio-economic disadvantage. This study aimed to examine such factors that may predict cognitive development among a sample of 126 four-year-old children across socio-economically disadvantaged areas in Ireland, who were involved in a randomized controlled trial. The study considered the extent to which child's gender, attempt of breastfeeding, household income, maternal education and cognition, mother-child attachment, parent-child interactions and intervention intensity contributed to the prediction of cognitive development. The analysis revealed that gender, attempt of breastfeeding, income and intervention intensity were statistically significant predictors of cognitive development, explaining a considerable amount of the variance in children's cognitive scores. Based on the findings, policy and practice implications are discussed.