Study: Impacts of inequality on child health in India

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In this work, we will reveal the biopsychological mechanisms of the intergenerational impact of colonialism. These discoveries will lead to better programs and policies to scaffold the health, education and well-being of children within and beyond India.

The majority of the world’s children live in low- and middle-income countries, where they are more likely to have poor physical and mental health and less effective learning in schools. The remnants of an extractive colonial past have resulted in millions of children growing up under chronic stress and adversity from poverty and inequality. These conditions may “get under the skin” to affect children’s brains and bodies, undermining children’s adaptive functioning and making them less likely to thrive and flourish.

In neighboring areas in India with histories of less versus more extractive economic policies, we will study how historic inequality affects biological markers of key processes in children’s brains. We will show how this biological functioning shapes children’s physical and mental health, behaviors, and school learning. Further, we will prove that empowering historically disadvantaged groups in local governments can buffer children from the developmental disadvantage due to past colonialism.

This research will benefit children in low- and middle-income countries by helping develop interventions to scaffold healthier brain functioning to support children's well-being, and advocate for social policy change to rectify the enduring impacts of past colonialism.