3.1.4. Racial Inequalities and Early Child Development

Only a few studies using EDI data examined racial inequalities in child development. Race is a complex construct to study, and is almost impossible to study in Canada, where race and ethnicity data are rarely collected. EDI results from the US point to racism as the root cause of observed racial inequalities. Halfon et al. [51], based on a sample of over 180,000 kindergarten children in the United States, found large differences in developmental vulnerability between racial groups; specifically, vulnerability on one or more domains was 32% for Black children, 26% for Latinx children, 19% for White children, and 18% for Asian children. All groups showed the familiar gradient by neighborhood income, although it was steepest for White children and least steep for Black children. Halfon et al. concluded that equity from the start was required, and "must consider the services, supports, and interventions that children and families need to promote optimal health development" (p. 1708).
