Household income supplements in early childhood to reduce inequities in children's development.

Background: Early childhood interventions have the potential to reduce children's developmental inequities. We aimed to estimate the extent to which household income supplements for lower-income families in early childhood could close the gap in children's developmental outcomes and parental mental health.

Methods: Data were drawn from a nationally representative birth cohort, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107), which commenced in 2004 and conducted follow-ups every two years.

Addressing Child Mental Health Inequities Through Parental Mental Health and Preschool Attendance.

Background: Prevention is key to reducing socioeconomic inequities in children's mental health problems, especially given limited availability and accessibility of services. We investigated the potential to reduce inequities for disadvantaged children by improving parental mental health and preschool attendance in early childhood.

Methods: Data from the nationally representative birth cohort, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107, commenced in 2004), were used to examine the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage (0-1 year) on children's mental health problems (10-11 years).

Inequities in Children's Reading Skills: The Role of Home Reading and Preschool Attendance.

Objective: Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds have poorer learning outcomes. These inequities are a significant public health issue, tracking forward to adverse health outcomes in adulthood. We examined the potential to reduce socioeconomic gaps in children's reading skills through increasing home reading and preschool attendance among disadvantaged children.

Driving Precision Policy Responses to Child Health and Developmental Inequities.

The growing evidence base on the extent of and opportunities to reduce inequities in children's health and development still lacks the specificity to inform clear policy decisions. A new phase of research is needed that builds on contemporary directions in precision medicine to develop precision policy making; with the aim to redress child inequities. This would include identifying effective interventions and their ideal time point(s), duration, and intensity to maximize impact.

Correlates of hair cortisol concentrations in disadvantaged young children.

Children from highly disadvantaged families tend to experience worse health, educational, and job outcomes than less disadvantaged peers. However, the mechanisms underlying these relationships remain to be explicated. In particular, few studies have investigated the relationships between the psychosocial influences that children are exposed to early in life and longer term cortisol output.

More than a snapshot in time: pathways of disadvantage over childhood.

Background: Disadvantage rarely manifests as a single event, but rather is the enduring context in which a child's development unfolds. We aimed to characterize patterns of stability and change in multiple aspects of disadvantage over the childhood period, in order to inform more precise and nuanced policy development.

Methods: Participants were from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children birth cohort (n = 5107).