The relationship between parental socio-economic status and children's health and development during early childhood period

• Project/Area Number: 26870404
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Hygiene and public health; Childhood science (childhood environment science)
• Research Institution: National Center for Child Health and Development
• Principal Investigator: Kato Tsuguhiko 国立研究開発法人国立成育医療研究センター, 社会医学研究部, 室長 (10711369)
• Research Collaborator: KAWACHI Ichiro ; YORIFUJI Takashi ; YAMAKAWA Michiyo ; INOUE Sachiko ; SAITO Keiko ; SANADA Satoshi ; DOI Hiroyuki ; EBOSHIDA Akira ; FUJIWARA Takeo ; OKUZONO Sakurako ; AIDA Jun ; MATSUYAMA Yusuke ; TABUCHI Takahiro ; KOMAZAKI Yuko ; TSUBOYA Toru ; OSAKA Ken
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
• Keywords: 母子保健 / 幼児発達 / 社会疫学 / ペアレンティング / 縦断調査 / 発達 / 健康 / 乳幼児期 / 子どもの貧困 / 少子化 / 乳幼児の健康と発達 / 小児の健康 / 小児の発達

Outline of Final Research Achievements

James Heckman, a recipient of Nobel Memorial Prize, insists that investment during the early childhood period is cost-effective in building human capital. However, research on how parental socio-economic status and parenting influence child health and development is limited in Japan. Therefore, I utilized the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21st Century data collected by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to analyze several research questions related to child health and development. For example, my colleagues and I showed association of parenting at the child’s age of 6 months with children’s adjustment to school life at later ages. I plan to continue to accumulate more findings and also advocate for creating a better childrearing environment in the Japanese society.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Spanking and subsequent behavioral problems in toddlers: A propensity score-matched, prospective study in Japan (2017)
  • Author(s): Okuzono, S., Fujiwara, T., Kato, T. & Kawachi, I.
  • Journal Title: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 24;69 Pages: 62-71
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.04.002
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Trajectory of social inequalities in the treatment of dental caries among preschool children in Japan (2017)
  • Author(s): Aida, J., Matsuyama, Y., Tabuchi, T., Komazaki, Y., Tsuboya, T., Kato, T., Osaka, K., & Fujiwara, T.
  • Journal Title: Journal of Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology Volume: 印刷中 Issue: 5 Pages: 1-6
  • DOI: 10.1111/cdoe.12304
  • Peer Reviewed / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Associations of maternal age with child health: A Japanese longitudinal study (2017)
  • Author(s): Kato, T., Yorifuji, T., Yamakawa, M., Inoue, S., Doi, H., Eboshida, A., and Kawachi, I.
  • Journal Title: PLoS One Volume: 24:12(2) Issue: 2 Pages: e0172544-e0172544
  • DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172544
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Associations between mothers’ active engagement with infants at 6 months and children’s adjustment to school life at ages 5.5 and 11 years (2017)
  • Author(s): Kato, T., Fujiwara, T., and Kawachi, I.
  • Journal Title: Child: Care, Health, & Development Volume: 43(3) Issue: 3 Pages: 406-414
  • DOI: 10.1111/cch.12432
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Association of Breastfeeding with Early Childhood Dental Caries: Japanese Population-based Study (2015)
  • Author(s): Kato, T., Yorifuji, T., Yamakawa, M., Inoue, S., Saito, K., Doi, H., and Kawachi, I.
  • Journal Title: BMJ Open Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Pages: 1-8
  • DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006982
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Presentation] 乳児期における母親の関わりと子の小学校生活への適応 (2016)
  • Author(s): 加藤承彦、藤原武男
  • Organizer: 日本公衆衛生学会総会
  • Place of Presentation: 大阪
  • Year and Date: 2016-10-27
• [Presentation] 母親の年齢と子どもの健康及び発達 (2015)
  • Author(s): 加藤承彦
  • Organizer: 日本公衆衛生学会総会
  • Place of Presentation: 長崎県長崎市
  • Year and Date: 2015-11-05
• [Presentation] Poverty as the major obstacle to children’s learning (2015)
  • Author(s): 加藤承彦
  • Organizer: Mid South Reading and Writing Institute
  • Place of Presentation: アメリカ合衆国アラバマ州バーミンガム市
  • Year and Date: 2015-06-19
  • Invited
• [Presentation] 母乳と虫歯 (2014)
  • Author(s): 加藤承彦、頼藤貴志、山川路代、井上幸子、斉藤景子、土居弘幸、烏帽子田彰
  • Organizer: 日本公衆衛生学会総会
  • Place of Presentation: 宇都宮
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-06