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Relationship between the neighbourhood built environment and early child development
Hayley Christian1, Stephen J Ball2, Stephen R Zubrick3
1School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009; Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Sport Science, Exercise&Health and School of Earth&Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009; Telethon Kids Institute, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, Western Australia, 6008.
Neighborhoods influence child development. Larger yards reduced emotional immaturity risks, while fewer main roads improved social competence. However, sociodemographic factors were more impactful than built environment features.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Urban Planning
- Public Health
Background:
- Early child development is crucial for lifelong outcomes.
- The built environment may influence child development.
- Understanding these links can inform community interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between neighborhood built environment features and early child development.
- To identify specific environmental factors impacting developmental vulnerability.
Main Methods:
- Utilized area-level data from the Australian Early Development Census.
- Analyzed developmental vulnerability across domains: Physical Health and Well-being, Social Competence, Emotional Maturity.
- Adjusted for sociodemographic factors.
Main Results:
- 9.0% of children were developmentally vulnerable in Physical Health and Well-being, 8.1% in Social Competence, and 8.1% in Emotional Maturity.
- Higher home yard space correlated with lower odds of emotional immaturity.
- Fewer main roads were linked to reduced social competence vulnerability.
Conclusions:
- Specific neighborhood features like yard space and road density show associations with child development.
- Sociodemographic factors are stronger predictors of developmental vulnerability than the investigated built environment aspects.
- Findings highlight the complex interplay between environment and early development.
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