Socio-Economic Differences in the Development of Six-Year-Old Children in Rural Areas of East Poland

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate socio-economic differences in physical, cognitive, and motor development among six-year-old children living in rural areas. The study encompassed 228 children, including 118 girls and 110 boys living in different rural settlements in the Świętokrzyskie Province in Poland, who were selected through a combination of nonprobability and random sampling. The study was carried out from April to June 2014. A questionnaire was used to collect information from the parents of the children concerning the parents’ education, number of children in the family, and the number of persons per room. Based on the concept of socio-economic status (SES), three levels of quality of life conditions of each family, i.e., high, average, and low, were distinguished. The study noted considerable differences in BMI, and especially the cognitive development of the children with respect to the socio-economic status of their family. It was observed that children from rural areas who live in bad socio-economic conditions are exposed to a wide range of negative factors affecting their health, which leads to lower educational results and negative long-term biological and psychosocial consequences. The chance for more rapid alignment of development deficits for those children would have been their earlier cover of school duty.