Socioeconomic status (SES) 社会经济地位

 Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measurement used by economists and sociologists. The measurement combines a person's or their family's economic or wealth level and social position (generally determined by education level) in relation to others.

社会经济地位（SES）是经济学家和社会学家使用的一种衡量指标。该指标结合了个人或其家庭的经济或财富水平以及相对于其他人的社会地位（通常由教育水平决定）。

An 1880 painting by Jean-Eugene Buland showing a stark contrast in socioeconomic status. 让-欧仁·布兰德于1880年创作的一幅画作，展现了社会经济地位的鲜明对比。

In common parlance, "socioeconomic status" is synonymous with social class. However, academics distinguish social class from socioeconomic status, using the former to refer to one's relatively stable cultural background and the latter to refer to one's current social and economic situation which is consequently more changeable over time.

在日常用语中，“社会经济地位”与“社会阶层”同义。然而，学术界区分社会阶层和社会经济地位，前者指的是一个人相对稳定的文化背景，后者指的是一个人当前的社会经济状况，因此这种状况会随着时间推移而发生更大的变化。

When analyzing a family's socioeconomic status, the household income and the education and occupations of its members are examined, whereas for an individual's socioeconomic status only their own attributes are assessed. Recently, research has revealed a lesser-recognized attribute of socioeconomic status as perceived financial stress, as it defines the "balance between income and necessary expenses". Perceived financial stress can be tested by deciphering whether a person at the end of each month has more than enough, just enough, or not enough money or resources. However, socioeconomic status is more commonly used to depict an economic difference in society as a whole.

在日常用语中，“社会经济地位”与“社会阶层”同义。然而，学术界区分社会阶层和社会经济地位，前者指的是一个人相对稳定的文化背景，后者指的是一个人当前的社会经济状况，因此这种状况会随着时间推移而发生更大的变化。

Socioeconomic status is typically broken into three levels (high, middle, and low) to describe the three places a family or an individual may fall into. When placing a family or individual into one of these categories, any or all of the three variables (income, education, and occupation) can be assessed. 

社会经济地位通常分为三个等级（高、中、低），用来描述家庭或个人可能处于的三个位置。在将家庭或个人归入这些类别时，可以评估收入、教育和职业这三个变量中的任何一个或全部。

Education in higher socioeconomic families is typically stressed as much more important, both within the household as well as the local community. In poorer areas, where food, shelter and safety are a priority, education is typically regarded as less important. Youth in poorer households are particularly at risk for many health and social problems in some countries, such as unwanted pregnancies, addiction, drug abuse, diabetes and obesity.

在社会经济地位较高的家庭中，教育通常被认为更为重要，无论是在家庭内部还是在当地社区。而在贫困地区，食物、住所和安全才是首要考虑因素，教育的重要性往往被忽视。在一些国家，贫困家庭的青少年尤其容易面临诸多健康和社会问题，例如意外怀孕、成瘾、药物滥用、糖尿病和肥胖。

Additionally, low income and education have been shown to be strong predictors of a range of physical and mental health problems, including meningitis, respiratory viruses, arthritis, coronary disease, psychosis, and schizophrenia. These problems may result from environmental conditions at home or in the workplaces, or using the social causation model where disability or mental illness, may be the precursor leading to a person's social status including freedoms and liberties.

此外，低收入和低教育水平已被证实是多种身心健康问题的强有力预测因素，包括脑膜炎、呼吸道病毒感染、关节炎、冠心病、精神病和精神分裂症。这些问题可能源于家庭或工作场所的环境条件，或者根据社会因果模型，残疾或精神疾病可能是导致个人社会地位（包括自由和权利）的先兆。

Important factors 重要因素

Income 收入

Income refers to wages, salaries, profits, rents, and any flow of earnings received. Income can also come in the form of unemployment or worker's compensation, social security, pensions, interests or dividends, royalties, trusts, alimony, or other governmental, public, or family financial assistance. It can also come from monetary winnings, like lotteries and other games or contests where money is awarded as a prize.

收入是指工资、薪金、利润、租金以及任何其他形式的收益。收入还可以包括失业救济金或工伤赔偿、社会保障金、养老金、利息或股息、版税、信托基金、赡养费或其他政府、公共或家庭提供的经济援助。此外，收入还可以来自金钱奖励，例如彩票和其他以金钱作为奖金的游戏或比赛。

Income can be looked at in two terms: relative and absolute. The absolute income hypothesis predicts that as income increases, so will consumption, but not at the same rate. Relative income dictates a person's or family's savings and consumption based on the family's income in relation to others. Income is a commonly used measure of socioeconomic status because it is relatively easy to figure for most individuals.

收入可以从两个方面来看待：相对收入和绝对收入。绝对收入假说预测，随着收入的增加，消费也会增加，但增长速度不会与收入增长速度相同。相对收入则根据个人或家庭相对于其他家庭的收入水平来衡量其储蓄和消费。收入是衡量社会经济地位的常用指标，因为对大多数人来说，收入的计算相对容易。

Income inequality is most commonly measured around the world by the Gini coefficient, where 0 corresponds to perfect equality and 1 means perfect inequality. Low-income families focus on meeting immediate needs and do not accumulate wealth that could be passed on to future generations, thus increasing inequality. Families with higher and expendable income can accumulate wealth and focus on meeting immediate needs while being able to consume and enjoy luxuries and weather crises.

世界各地最常用的收入不平等指标是基尼系数，0 代表完全平等，1 代表完全不平等。低收入家庭专注于满足眼前的需求，无法积累可以传承给子孙后代的财富，从而加剧了不平等。而收入较高且可支配收入较多的家庭，既能满足眼前的需求，又能积累财富，同时还能享受消费和奢侈品，并能应对危机。

Education 教育

Education also plays a role in determining income. Median earnings increase with each level of education. Higher levels of education are associated with better economic and psychological outcomes (i.e.: more income, more control, and greater social support and networking).

教育程度也对收入产生影响。收入中位数随着教育水平的提高而增加。更高的教育水平与更好的经济和心理状态相关（例如：更高的收入、更强的自主权以及更广泛的社会支持和人脉网络）。

Education plays a pivotal role in skillsets and cultivating specific qualities that stratify people with higher SES socio economic status from lower SES socio economic status . Parents from lower socioeconomic status households have been observed as being more likely to give orders to their children in their interactions while parents with a higher SES socioeconomic status are more likely to encourage questioning in their children in the interest of fostering critical thinking. Research has shown how children who are born in lower SES socioeconomic status households have weaker language skills compared to children raised in higher SES socioeconomic status households. These language skills affect their abilities to learn and thus exacerbate the problem of education disparity between low and high SES socioeconomic status neighborhoods.

教育在技能培养和特定素质塑造方面发挥着关键作用，这些因素区分了社会经济地位较高的人群和社会经济地位较低的人群。观察发现，来自社会经济地位较低家庭的父母在与子女互动时更倾向于发号施令，而社会经济地位较高的父母则更倾向于鼓励子女提问，以培养批判性思维。研究表明，出生于社会经济地位较低家庭的儿童的语言能力较弱，而出生于社会经济地位较高家庭的儿童的语言能力较弱。这些语言能力会影响他们的学习能力，从而加剧社会经济地位较高和较低的社区之间的教育差距问题。

Research shows that lower SES socioeconomic status students have lower and slower academic achievement as compared with students of higher socioeconomic status SES. This may be attributed to the abundance of resources available to the upper and upper middle class school districts and parents, while the equivalent in areas which are predominantly lower-middle/working class do not have the resources (for staffing quality teachers, updating textbooks, providing free tutoring or counseling for students who need it in order to succeed at school, etc.).

研究表明，与社会经济地位较高的学生相比，社会经济地位较低的学生学业成绩更差、进步更慢。这可能归因于上层和中上层阶级学区及其家长拥有丰富的资源，而以中下层/工薪阶层为主的地区则缺乏相应的资源（例如，聘请优秀教师、更新教材、为有需要的学生提供免费辅导或咨询等）。

Female education 女性教育

The socioeconomic impact of female education constitutes a significant area of research within international development. Increases in the amount of female education in regions tends to correlate with high levels of development. Some of the effects are related to economic development. Women's education increases the income of women and leads to growth in gross domestic product (GDP). Other effects are related to social development. Educating girls leads to a number of social benefits, including many related to women's empowerment.

女性教育的社会经济影响是国际发展领域的一个重要研究方向。地区女性受教育程度的提高往往与该地区的发展水平呈正相关。其中一些影响与经济发展相关。女性教育能够提高女性收入，从而促进国内生产总值（GDP）的增长。另一些影响则与社会发展相关。女孩接受教育能够带来诸多社会效益，其中许多效益都与增强女性权能有关。

Occupation 职业

Occupational prestige, as one component of SES socioeconomic status , encompasses both income and educational attainment. The occupaiítional status reflects the educational attainment required to obtain the job and income levels that vary with different jobs and within ranks of occupations. Additionally, it shows achievement in skills required for the job. Occupational status measures social position by describing job characteristics, decision-making ability and control, and psychological demands on the job.

职业声望作为社会经济地位（SES）的一个组成部分，涵盖收入和教育程度。职业地位反映了获得特定工作所需的教育水平以及因工作性质和职业等级而异的收入水平。此外，它还体现了工作所需技能的掌握程度。职业地位通过描述工作特征、决策能力和控制权以及工作中的心理需求来衡量社会地位。

Occupations are ranked by the Census (among other organizations) and opinion polls from the general population are surveyed. Some of the most prestigious occupations are physicians and surgeons, lawyers, chemical and biomedical engineers, university professors, and communications analysts. These jobs, considered to be grouped in the high socioeconomic status classification, provide more challenging work and greater control over working conditions but require more ability. The jobs with lower rankings include food preparation workers, counter attendants, bartenders and helpers, dishwashers, janitors, maids and housekeepers, vehicle cleaners, and parking lot attendants. The jobs that are less valued also offer significantly lower wages, and often are more laborious, very hazardous, and provide less autonomy.

职业排名由人口普查局（以及其他机构）和公众民意调查共同决定。一些最负盛名的职业包括医生和外科医生、律师、化学和生物医学工程师、大学教授以及通讯分析师。这些职业被认为属于高社会经济地位类别，工作更具挑战性，对工作条件拥有更大的自主权，但也需要更高的能力。排名较低的职业包括食品加工工人、柜台服务员、调酒师和帮工、洗碗工、清洁工、女佣和管家、车辆清洁工以及停车场管理员。这些低价值的职业工资也明显更低，而且通常更加辛苦、危险性更高，自主性也更低。

Occupation is the most difficult factor to measure because so many exist, and there are so many competing scales. Many scales rank occupations based on the level of skill involved, from unskilled to skilled manual labour to professional, or use a combined measure using the education level needed and income involved.

职业是最难衡量的因素，因为职业种类繁多，衡量标准也五花八门。许多衡量标准根据技能水平对职业进行排名，从非技术性体力劳动到技术性体力劳动再到专业人员，或者采用综合指标，将所需教育水平和收入水平纳入考量。

In sum, the majority of researchers agree that income, education and occupation together best represent socioeconomic status SES, while some others feel that changes in family structure should also be considered. SES socioeconomic status affects students' cognitive abilities and academic success. Several researchers have found that SES socioeconomic status affects students' abilities.

总之，大多数研究者认为收入、教育和职业三者共同构成社会经济地位（SES）的最佳指标，而另一些研究者则认为家庭结构的变化也应纳入考虑。社会经济地位（SES）会影响学生的认知能力和学业成绩。多项研究发现，社会经济地位（SES）会影响学生的能力。

Wealth 财富

Wealth distribution in the country by net worth . The net wealth of many people in the lowest 20% is negative because of debt. By next seven years the wealth gap deepened. 

该国财富按净资产分配情况。由于负债，收入最低的20%人群中许多人的净资产为负。在接下来的七年里，财富差距进一步扩大。

Top 1% (34.6%) 前 1% (34.6%)

Next 4% (27.3%) 接下来的 4% (27.3%)

Next 5% (11.2%) 接下来的 5% (11.2%)

Next 10% (12.0%) 接下来的 10% (12.0%)

Upper Middle 20% (10.9%) 中上层 20% (10.9%)

Middle 20% (4.00%) 中间 20% (4.00%)

Bottom 40% (0.20%) 后40%（0.20%）

Wealth, a set of economic reserves or assets, presents a source of security providing a measure of a household's ability to meet emergencies, absorb economic shocks, or provide the means to live comfortably. Wealth reflects intergenerational transitions as well as accumulation of income and savings.

财富，即一系列经济储备或资产，是一种安全保障，衡量着一个家庭应对紧急情况、抵御经济冲击或维持舒适生活的能力。财富反映了代际传承以及收入和储蓄的积累。

Income, age, marital status, family size, religion, occupation, and education are all predictors of wealth attainment.

收入、年龄、婚姻状况、家庭规模、宗教信仰、职业和教育程度都是财富积累的预测因素。

The wealth gap, like income inequality, is very large in the country. There exists a racial wealth gap due in part to income disparities and differences in achievement resulting from institutional discrimination. According to Thomas Shapiro, differences in savings (due to different rates of incomes), inheritance factors, and discrimination in the housing market lead to the racial wealth gap. Shapiro claims that savings increase with increasing income, but African Americans cannot participate in this, because they make significantly less than Americans of European descent (whites). Additionally, rates of inheritance dramatically differ between African Americans and Americans of European descent. The amount a person inherits, either during a lifetime or after death, can create different starting points between two different individuals or families. These different starting points also factor into housing, education, and employment discrimination. A third reason Shapiro offers for the racial wealth gap are the various discriminations African Americans must face, like redlining and higher interest rates in the housing market. These types of discrimination feed into the other reasons why African Americans end up having different starting points and therefore fewer assets.

与收入不平等一样，美国的财富差距也十分巨大。种族财富差距的存在部分源于收入差异以及制度性歧视造成的成就差异。托马斯·夏皮罗认为，储蓄差异（源于收入水平不同）、继承因素以及住房市场的歧视是造成种族财富差距的原因。夏皮罗指出，储蓄会随着收入的增加而增加，但非裔美国人无法享受到这一点，因为他们的收入远低于欧洲裔美国人（白人）。此外，非裔美国人和欧洲裔美国人的继承比例也存在显著差异。一个人在生前或死后继承的财产数额，会造成不同个人或家庭的起点不同。这些不同的起点也导致了他们在住房、教育和就业方面遭受歧视。夏皮罗提出的造成种族财富差距的第三个原因是，非裔美国人必须面对各种歧视，例如“红线区”政策和更高的住房市场利率。这些歧视加剧了其他导致非裔美国人起点不同、资产较少的原因。

Health 健康

Recently, there has been increasing interest from epidemiologists on the subject of economic inequality and its relation to the health of populations. Socioeconomic status has long been related to health, those higher in the social hierarchy typically enjoy better health than those below. Socioeconomic status is an important source of health inequity, as there is a very robust positive correlation between socioeconomic status and health. This correlation suggests that it is not only the poor who tend to be sick when everyone else is healthy, but that there is a continual gradient, from the top to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, relating status to health. Parents with a low socioeconomic status cannot afford many of the health care resources which is the reason that their children may have a more advanced illness because of the lack of treatment. This phenomenon is often called the "SES Gradient" or according to the World Health Organisation the "Social Gradient". Lower socioeconomic status has been linked to chronic stress, heart disease, ulcers, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, certain types of cancer, and premature aging.

近年来，流行病学家对经济不平等及其与人群健康的关系越来越感兴趣。社会经济地位与健康密切相关，社会阶层较高的人通常比社会阶层较低的人享有更好的健康状况。社会经济地位是造成健康不平等的重要因素，因为社会经济地位与健康之间存在非常显著的正相关关系。这种相关性表明，并非只有穷人才会生病，而是社会经济地位与健康状况之间存在着一个持续的梯度关系，从社会经济阶梯的顶端到底端，这种梯度关系尤为明显。社会经济地位较低的父母无力承担许多医疗资源，这可能导致他们的孩子因缺乏治疗而病情更为严重。这种现象通常被称为“社会经济地位梯度”（SES Gradient），世界卫生组织称之为“社会梯度”（Social Gradient）。较低的社会经济地位与慢性压力、心脏病、溃疡、2型糖尿病、类风湿性关节炎、某些类型的癌症以及过早衰老等疾病密切相关。

There is debate regarding the cause of the SES Gradient. Researchers see a definite link between economic status and mortality due to the greater economic resources of the wealthy, but they find little correlation due to social status differences.

关于社会经济地位梯度（SES梯度）的成因，目前尚存争议。研究人员认为，由于富人拥有更雄厚的经济资源，经济地位与死亡率之间存在明确的关联；但他们发现，社会地位差异与死亡率之间的相关性很小。

Other researchers have found that socioeconomic status strongly affects health even when controlling for economic resources and access to health care. Most famous for linking social status with health are the Whitehall studies—a series of studies conducted on civil servants in London. The studies found that although all civil servants in England have the same access to health care, there was a strong correlation between social status and health. The studies found that this relationship remained strong even when controlling for health-affecting habits such as exercise, smoking and drinking. Furthermore, it has been noted that no amount of medical attention will help decrease the likelihood of someone getting type 2 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis—yet both are more common among populations with lower socioeconomic status.

其他研究人员发现，即使控制了经济资源和医疗保健资源，社会经济地位仍然对健康有着显著影响。最著名的将社会地位与健康联系起来的研究是白厅研究——一系列针对伦敦公务员开展的研究。研究发现，尽管英国所有公务员享有同等的医疗保健资源，但社会地位与健康之间存在着很强的相关性。研究还发现，即使控制了运动、吸烟和饮酒等影响健康的习惯，这种相关性依然存在。此外，有研究指出，无论接受多少医疗护理，都无法降低患上2型糖尿病或类风湿性关节炎的风险——然而，这两种疾病在社会经济地位较低的人群中更为常见。

Political participation 政治参与

Political scientists have established a consistent relationship between SES and political participation. For example, in 2004, the American Political Science Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy has found that those with higher socioeconomic status participate at higher rates than those with lower status.

政治学家已经证实社会经济地位与政治参与之间存在着密切的联系。例如，2004年，美国政治科学不平等与美国民主工作组发现，社会经济地位较高的人比社会经济地位较低的人政治参与率更高。

Crime

Socioeconomic status (usually measured using the three variables income or wealth, occupational level, and years of education) correlates negatively with criminality, except for self-reported illegal drug use. Higher parental socioeconomic status probably has an inverse relationship with crime. Unstable employment and high frequency of unemployment correlate positively with criminality. 

Low socioeconomic status is thought to be positively correlated with higher levels of stress, and therefore the mental and psychological ill-effects of stress. Indeed, higher stress levels have been positively associated with a propensity to commit crime.

社会经济地位（通常用收入或财富、职业水平和受教育年限这三个变量来衡量）与犯罪率呈负相关，但自述的非法药物使用除外。父母的社会经济地位越高，子女的犯罪率可能越低。就业不稳定和失业率高与犯罪率呈正相关。

人们认为，低社会经济地位与较高的压力水平呈正相关，因此也与压力带来的精神和心理不良影响呈正相关。事实上，较高的压力水平与犯罪倾向呈正相关。

Psychological 心理

Home environment 家庭环境

The environment of low socioeconomic status children is characterized by less dialogue from parents, minimal amounts of book reading, and few instances of joint attention, the shared focus of the child and adult on the same object or event, when compared to the environment of high socioeconomic status children. In contrast, infants from high socioeconomic status families experience more child-directed speech. At 10 months old, children of high socioeconomic status hear on average 400 more words than their low  socioeconomic status peers.

与高社会经济地位儿童相比，低社会经济地位儿童所处的环境特点是父母与孩子之间的对话较少，亲子阅读量极低，共同关注（即儿童与成人共同关注同一物体或事件）的情况也较少。相反，来自高社会经济地位家庭的婴儿会接触到更多以儿童为中心的语言。10个月大的婴儿平均比同龄的低社会经济地位儿童多听到400个词汇。

Language ability differs sharply as a function of  socioeconomic status , for example, the average vocabulary size of 3-year-old children from professional families was more than twice as large as for those on welfare.

语言能力与社会经济地位之间存在显著差异，例如，来自专业人士家庭的 3 岁儿童的平均词汇量是领取福利的儿童的两倍多。

Children from lower income households had greater media access in their bedrooms but lower access to portable play equipment compared to higher income children. This eventually leads children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to be at a disadvantage when comparing them with their counterparts in terms of access to physical activities.

与高收入家庭的孩子相比，低收入家庭的孩子在卧室里更容易接触到媒体，但却更难获得便携式游戏设备。这最终导致来自较低社会经济背景的儿童在参与体育活动方面处于劣势。

Parental interactions 父母互动

In addition to the amount of language input from parents, socioeconomic status heavily influences the type of parenting style a family chooses to practice. These different parenting styles shape the tone and purpose of verbal interactions between parent and child. For example, parents of high socioeconomic status tend toward more authoritative or permissive parenting styles. These parents pose more open-ended questions to their children to encourage the latter's speech growth. In contrast, parents of low socioeconomic status tend toward more authoritarian styles of address. Their conversations with their children contain more imperatives and yes/no questions that inhibits child responses and speech development.

除了父母的语言输入量之外，社会经济地位也极大地影响着家庭选择的教养方式。不同的教养方式塑造了父母与孩子之间语言互动的语气和目的。例如，社会经济地位较高的父母往往倾向于权威型或放任型教养方式。这些父母会向孩子提出更多开放式问题，以促进孩子的语言发展。相比之下，社会经济地位较低的父母则倾向于专制型教养方式。他们与孩子的对话中充斥着更多命令式和是非问句，这会抑制孩子的回应和语言发展。

Parental differences in addressing children may be traced to the position of their respective groups within society. Working class individuals often hold low-power, subordinate positions in the occupational world. This standing in the social hierarchy requires a personality and interaction style that is relational and capable of adjusting to circumstances. An authoritarian style of address prepares children for these types of roles, which require a more accommodating and compliant personality. Therefore, low-socioeconomic status parents see the family as more hierarchical, with the parents at the top of the power structure, which shapes verbal interaction. This power differential emulates the circumstances of the working class world, where individuals are ranked and discouraged from questioning authority.

父母对待孩子方式的差异可能源于他们各自在社会中的地位。工人阶级人士往往在职业领域处于低权力、从属地位。这种社会等级制度要求他们拥有善于交际、能够适应环境的性格和互动方式。权威式的教养方式则能帮助孩子适应这类角色，因为这类角色需要更顺从、更听话的性格。因此，社会经济地位较低的父母更倾向于将家庭视为等级森严的体系，父母处于权力结构的顶端，这种权力结构塑造了他们的语言互动。这种权力差异反映了工人阶级社会的现实状况：人们被划分等级，并且不被鼓励质疑权威。

Conversely, high-socioeconomic status individuals occupy high-power positions that call for greater expressivity. High-socioeconomic status parents encourage their children to question the world around them. In addition to asking their children more questions, these parents push their children to create questions of their own. In contrast with low-socioeconomic status parents, these individuals often view the power disparity between parent and child as detrimental to the family. Opting instead to treat children as equals, high-socioeconomic status conversations are characterized by a give and take between parent and child. These interactions help prepare these children for occupations that require greater expressivity.

相反，社会经济地位高的人往往身居要职，需要更强的表达能力。他们鼓励孩子质疑周围的世界。除了向孩子提出更多问题外，这些父母还会引导孩子自己提出问题。与社会经济地位低的父母不同，他们通常认为父母与子女之间的权力差距对家庭有害。因此，他们选择平等对待孩子，与孩子之间的对话往往是双向的。这种互动有助于孩子为未来需要更强表达能力的职业做好准备。

Disparities in language acquisition

语言习得方面的差异

The linguistic environment of low and high socioeconomic status children differs substantially, which affects many aspects of language and literacy development such as semantics, syntax, morphology, and phonology.

低社会经济地位儿童和高社会经济地位儿童的语言环境有很大不同，这影响了语言和读写能力发展的许多方面，如语义、句法、形态和音韵。

Semantics 语义学

Semantics is the study of the meaning of words and phrases. Semantics covers vocabulary, which is affected by socioeconomic status. Children of high socioeconomic status have larger expressive vocabularies by the age of 24 months due to more efficient processing of familiar words. By age 3, there are significant differences in the amount of dialogue and vocabulary growth between children of low and high socioeconomic status. The effects of socioeconomic status on vocabulary extend from childhood to adolescence and even into early adulthood according to a large socioeconomically diverse study. A lack of joint attention in children contributes to poor vocabulary growth when compared to their high socioeconomic status peers. Joint attention and book reading are important factors that affect children's vocabulary growth. With joint attention, a child and adult can focus on the same object, allowing the child to map out words. For example, a child sees an animal running outside and the mom points to it and says, "Look, a dog." The child will focus its attention to where its mother is pointing and map the word dog to the pointed animal. Joint attention thus facilitates word learning for children.

语义学是研究词语和短语意义的学科。语义学涵盖词汇，而词汇量受社会经济地位的影响。由于对熟悉词汇的处理效率更高，高社会经济地位的儿童在24个月大时就拥有更丰富的表达词汇量。到了3岁，低社会经济地位和高社会经济地位的儿童在对话量和词汇增长方面存在显著差异。一项涵盖多种社会经济背景的大型研究表明，社会经济地位对词汇量的影响会从儿童期延续到青春期，甚至延续到成年早期。与高社会经济地位的同龄人相比，缺乏共同关注的儿童词汇量增长较慢。共同关注和阅读是影响儿童词汇量增长的重要因素。通过共同关注，儿童和成人可以专注于同一个物体，从而帮助儿童将词语与目标联系起来。例如，当一个孩子看到一只动物在外面奔跑时，妈妈指着它说：“看，一只狗。”孩子会将注意力集中在妈妈指的地方，并将“狗”这个词与妈妈指着的动物联系起来。因此，共同关注有助于儿童学习词汇。

Syntax 句法

Syntax refers to the arrangement of words and phrases to form sentences. socioeconomic status affects the production of sentence structures. Although 22- to 44-month-old children's production of simple sentence structures does not vary by socioeconomic status, low socioeconomic status does contribute to difficulty with complex sentence structures. Complex sentences include sentences that have more than one verb phrase. An example of a complex sentence is, "I want you to sit there". The emergence of simple sentence structures is seen as a structure that is obligatory in everyday speech. Complex sentence structures are optional and can only be mastered if the environment fosters its development.

句法是指词语和短语排列成句子的方式。社会经济地位会影响句子结构的产生。虽然22至44个月大的儿童的简单句能力与社会经济地位无关，但低社会经济地位确实会导致他们难以掌握复杂的句子结构。复杂的句子包含多个动词短语。例如，“我希望你坐在那里”。简单句的出现被认为是日常口语中必不可少的结构。复杂的句子结构是可选的，只有在有利于其发展的环境中才能掌握。

This lag in the sentence formation abilities of low socioeconomic status children may be caused by less frequent exposure to complex syntax through parental speech. Low socioeconomic status parents ask fewer response-coaxing questions of their children which limits the opportunities of these children to practice more complex speech patterns. Instead, these parents give their children more direct orders, which has been found to negatively influence the acquisition of more difficult noun and verb phrases. In contrast, high socioeconomic status households ask their children broad questions to cultivate speech development. Exposure to more questions positively contributes to children's vocabulary growth and complex noun phrase constructions. 

低收入家庭儿童句子结构能力的落后可能是由于他们较少接触父母语言中复杂的句法结构所致。低收入家庭的父母较少向孩子提出引导性问题，这限制了孩子练习更复杂语言模式的机会。相反，这些父母更多地向孩子下达直接命令，而研究发现，这会对孩子习得更复杂的名词和动词短语产生负面影响。相比之下，高收入家庭会向孩子提出更广泛的问题来促进他们的语言发展。接触更多的问题有助于孩子词汇量的增长和复杂名词短语结构的习得。

Morphology 形态学

Children's grasp of morphology, the study of how words are formed, is affected by socioeconomic status. Children of high socioeconomic status have advantages in applying grammatical rules, such as the pluralization of nouns and adjectives compared to children of low socioeconomic status. Pluralizing nouns consists of understanding that some nouns are regular and -s denotes more than one, but also understanding how to apply different rules to irregular nouns. Learning and understanding how to use plural rules is an important tool in conversation and writing. In order to communicate successfully that there is more than one dog running down the street, an -s must be added to dog. Research also finds that the gap in ability to pluralize nouns and adjectives does not diminish by age or schooling because low socioeconomic status children's reaction times to pluralize nouns and adjectives do not decrease.

儿童对词法（即词语构成方式的研究）的掌握程度受社会经济地位的影响。与社会经济地位较低的儿童相比，社会经济地位较高的儿童在运用语法规则方面具有优势，例如名词和形容词的复数形式。名词复数形式不仅包括理解某些名词是规则的（-s 表示多个），还包括理解如何将不同的规则应用于不规则名词。学习和理解复数规则是会话和写作中的重要工具。例如，为了准确地表达“街上有不止一只狗在跑”，必须在 dog 后面加 -s。研究还发现，儿童在名词和形容词复数形式运用能力上的差距并不会随着年龄或受教育程度的提高而缩小，因为社会经济地位较低的儿童对名词和形容词复数形式的反应时间并没有缩短。

Phonology 音系学

Phonological awareness, the ability to recognize that words are made up of different sound units, is also affected by socioeconomic status. Children of low socioeconomic status between the second and sixth grades are found to have low phonological awareness. The gap in phonological awareness increases by grade level. This gap is even more problematic if children of low socioeconomic status are already born with low levels of phonological awareness and their environment does not foster its growth. Children who have high phonological awareness from an early age are not affected by socioeconomic status.

语音意识，即识别单词由不同音素组成的能力，也受到社会经济地位的影响。研究发现，二至六年级的低收入家庭儿童语音意识较弱。语音意识的差距随着年级的升高而增大。如果低收入家庭儿童天生语音意识水平较低，且其成长环境不利于语音意识的发展，那么这种差距会更加严重。而从小就具备较高语音意识的儿童则不受社会经济地位的影响。

Positive outcomes of low socioeconomic status. 

低社会经济地位带来的积极影响。

Given the large amount of research on the setbacks children of low socioeconomic status face, there is a push by child developmental researchers to steer research to a more positive direction regarding low socioeconomic status. The goal is to highlight the strengths and assets low income families possess in raising children. For example, African American preschoolers of low socioeconomic status exhibit strengths in oral narrative, or storytelling, that may promote later success in reading. These children have better narrative comprehension when compared to peers of higher socioeconomic status. Since 2012, there has also been some research on the Shift-and-persist model, which attempts to account for the counterintuitive positive health outcomes that can occur in individuals who grow up in low socioeconomic status families.

鉴于已有大量研究关注低社会经济地位儿童所面临的困境，儿童发展研究人员正努力引导研究朝着更加积极的方向发展，关注低社会经济地位带来的影响。其目标是凸显低收入家庭在养育子女方面所拥有的优势和资源。例如，来自低社会经济地位的非裔美国学龄前儿童在口头叙事或讲故事方面表现出优势，这可能有助于他们日后在阅读方面取得成功。与来自较高社会经济地位家庭的同龄人相比，这些儿童的叙事理解能力更强。自2012年以来，一些研究也关注了“转变与坚持”模型，该模型试图解释在低社会经济地位家庭中成长的个体所出现的反直觉的积极健康结果。

Literacy development 读写能力发展

A gap in reading growth exists between low socioeconomic status and high socioeconomic status children, which widens as children move on to higher grades. Reading assessments that test reading growth include measures on basic reading skills (i.e., print familiarity, letter recognition, beginning and ending sounds, rhyming sounds, word recognition), vocabulary (receptive vocabulary), and reading comprehension skills (i.e., listening comprehension, words in context). The reading growth gap is apparent between the spring of kindergarten and the spring of first-grade, the time when children rely more on the school for reading growth and less on their parents. Initially, high socioeconomic status children begin as better readers than their low socioeconomic status counterparts. As children get older, high socioeconomic status children progress more rapidly in reading growth rates than low socioeconomic status children. These early reading outcomes affect later academic success. The further children fall behind, the more difficult it is to catch up and the more likely they will continue to fall behind. By the time students enter high school in the United States, low socioeconomic status children are considerably behind their high socioeconomic status peers in reading growth.

低社会经济地位儿童和高社会经济地位儿童的阅读能力发展存在差距，并且随着年级的升高，这种差距会越来越大。用于测试阅读能力发展的评估包括对基本阅读技能（例如，熟悉印刷文字、字母识别、首尾发音、押韵、单词识别）、词汇量（接受性词汇）和阅读理解能力（例如，听力理解、语境中的单词理解）的测量。这种阅读能力发展差距在幼儿园春季到一年级春季之间尤为明显，因为在这个阶段，儿童的阅读能力发展更多地依赖于学校，而较少依赖父母。最初，高社会经济地位儿童的阅读能力优于低社会经济地位儿童。随着年龄的增长，高社会经济地位儿童的阅读能力发展速度也比低社会经济地位儿童更快。这些早期的阅读能力发展结果会影响他们日后的学业成就。儿童的阅读能力落后得越多，就越难赶上，也越有可能继续落后。 在美国，当学生进入高中时，低社会经济地位的孩子在阅读能力发展方面远远落后于高社会经济地位的同龄人。

Home environment

家庭环境

Home environment is one of the leading factors of a child's well-being. Children living in a poor home with inadequate living conditions are more likely to be susceptible to illness and injuries. The disparities in experiences in the home environment between children of high and low socioeconomic status affect reading outcomes. The home environment is considered the main contributor to socioeconomic status reading outcomes. Children of low socioeconomic status status are read to less often and have fewer books in the home than their high socioeconomic status peers, which suggests an answer to why children of low socioeconomic status status have lower initial reading scores than their high socioeconomic status counterparts upon entering kindergarten. Low socioeconomic status parents are also less involved in their children's schooling. The fact that many students go to school outside of their home to learn does not mean that it is the only determinant of their literacy growth. Parenting at home plays a role in shaping emotional, physical and mental health, all things that are extremely important to educational success in the classroom. This is a crucial factor that must be acknowledged by educators because boundaries such as constant parenting stress and approach to learning, for example, have a major impact on the students' literacy development.

家庭环境是影响儿童福祉的主要因素之一。生活在贫困家庭、居住条件恶劣的儿童更容易生病和受伤。高低社会经济地位儿童在家庭环境方面的差异会影响他们的阅读能力。家庭环境被认为是影响社会经济地位儿童阅读能力的主要因素。低社会经济地位儿童的阅读频率较低，家中藏书也较少，这或许可以解释为什么低社会经济地位儿童在进入幼儿园时，初始阅读成绩低于高社会经济地位儿童。低社会经济地位的父母也较少参与子女的教育。虽然许多学生到校学习，但这并不意味着学校教育是他们读写能力发展的唯一决定因素。家庭教育在塑造儿童的情感、身体和心理健康方面发挥着重要作用，而这些对于课堂学习的成功至关重要。 这是教育工作者必须认识到的一个关键因素，因为诸如持续的育儿压力和学习方法等限制会对学生的读写能力发展产生重大影响。

The home environment makes the largest contribution to the prediction of initial kindergarten reading disparities. Characteristics of the home environment include home literacy environment and parental involvement in school. Home literacy environment is characterized by the frequency with which parents engage in joint book reading with the child, the frequency with which children read books outside of school, and the frequency with which household members visited the library with the child. Parental involvement in school is characterized by attending a parent–teacher conference, attending a parent–teacher association (PTA) meeting, attending an open house, volunteering, participating in fundraising, and attending a school event. Resources, experiences, and relationships associated with the family are most closely associated with reading gaps when students' reading levels are first assessed in kindergarten. The influence of family factors on initial reading level may be due to children experiencing little schooling before kindergarten—they mainly have their families to rely on for their reading growth.

家庭环境对预测幼儿园入学初期阅读水平的差距影响最大。家庭环境的特征包括家庭阅读氛围和家长参与学校活动的频率。家庭阅读氛围的特征体现在家长与孩子共同阅读的频率、孩子在校外阅读的频率以及家庭成员陪同孩子去图书馆的频率。家长参与学校活动的特征体现在参加家长会、家长教师协会（Parent Teacher Association ）会议、参加学校开放日、担任志愿者、参与筹款活动以及参加学校活动。家庭资源、经验和人际关系与学生在幼儿园首次接受阅读水平评估时的阅读差距密切相关。家庭因素对初始阅读水平的影响可能是由于儿童在幼儿园入学前接受的学校教育较少——他们的阅读发展主要依赖于家庭。

Socioeconomic status plays a role in the involvement of certain parents over others. It affects parenting practices and as a result proves to be a strong predictor of child achievement when comparing households. A parent's involvement in their child's reading literacy performance progress is often overcome by demographic factors such as poverty, racial and ethnic identity, family and parenting stress, and the parent's educational level. Studies show that when parents become involved in reading-related activities with their children outside of school, reading performance, literacy, love for reading and language skills are more likely to improve. Parent involvement in students' education is a large factor in their literacy achievement, but the way they parent has a large impact on the overall development of the child. These kinds of involvements are often determined by privilege and the level of stress that a parent must endure, especially when of low socioeconomic status. The reading literacy gap has been further exposed by the enhancement of these already existing inequalities. Studies have found a direct link between Family Processes (including parenting stress and discipline practices), Social-Emotional Readiness (including approaches to learning and self control), and Reading Literacy. Although seeming unrelated, the way that a parent interacts with their child and their child's learning at home sets the stage for how well they will be able to improve their reading literacy in school.

社会经济地位影响着不同父母参与子女教育的程度。它影响着父母的教养方式，因此，在比较不同家庭时，社会经济地位往往是预测儿童学业成就的重要指标。父母参与子女阅读素养提升的程度常常受到贫困、种族和民族认同、家庭和育儿压力以及父母教育水平等人口因素的影响。研究表明，当父母参与到孩子课外的阅读活动中时，孩子的阅读能力、读写能力、阅读兴趣和语言技能更有可能得到提高。父母参与学生的教育是影响其读写能力的重要因素，但他们的教养方式对孩子的全面发展有着深远的影响。这种参与程度往往取决于父母的特权和所承受的压力，尤其是在社会经济地位较低的情况下。这些本已存在的不平等现象的加剧，进一步凸显了阅读素养方面的差距。 研究发现，家庭过程（包括育儿压力和管教方式）、社交情感准备（包括学习方法和自我控制能力）与阅读素养之间存在直接联系。虽然看似无关，但父母与孩子的互动方式以及孩子在家中的学习情况，会直接影响孩子在学校提高阅读素养的能力。

The disadvantages of the achievement gap have exposed itself further for students and children as students have been forced to practice remote learning of the 2020 pandemic. Limited access to the correct school resources affects a child's literacy level dramatically, even more so during the switch to online learning, given the combination of decreased parent involvement and access to outdoor play. Low to lower-middle class households had the highest rate of employment change during the pandemic, which includes loss of employment, reduced hours and/or reduced pay. Large historical events like this one have only extenuated and exposed already existing inequities and in turn have negatively affected students of these demographics. The US Department of Labor revealed that layoffs that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic had the biggest impact on historically minorities groups, which include Black, Latino, low income workers, and women. This means that children of these same working adults experienced disparities as well. In a 2013 report by the US Department of Commerce, it was found that only 55% of African American and 58% of rural households had any internet access in their home. This can be compared to the 74% of white and 81% of Asian American homes that had reliable internet. Comparing this 2013 report to the occurrences existing in 2020 are not very different given that the demographic students still experience this "digital gap" and disproportionate lack in access to the internet and/or technological equipment necessary. Without access to the correct materials at home, including books and digital tools, students cannot perform as well in reading literacy as their more privileged classmates.

2020年疫情期间，学生被迫进行远程学习，这进一步暴露了教育成就差距带来的不利影响。由于缺乏合适的学校资源，儿童的读写能力会受到显著影响，尤其是在转向线上学习后，家长参与度降低、户外活动减少，这种影响更为严重。疫情期间，中低收入家庭的就业变动率最高，包括失业、工时减少和/或收入下降。此类重大历史事件只会加剧和暴露原本就存在的各种不平等现象，进而对这些群体中的学生造成负面影响。美国劳工部指出，新冠疫情期间的裁员对历史上少数族裔群体的影响最大，其中包括黑人、拉丁裔、低收入工人和女性。这意味着这些劳动者的子女也面临着同样的困境。美国商务部2013年的一份报告显示，只有55%的非裔美国人家庭和58%的农村家庭能够在家中接入互联网。 相比之下，白人家庭和亚裔美国家庭拥有可靠互联网的比例分别为74%和81%。将2013年的报告与2020年的情况进行比较，会发现两者并没有太大区别，因为这些学生群体仍然面临着“数字鸿沟”，并且在互联网和/或必要的科技设备方面严重缺乏。如果家中没有合适的学习材料，包括书籍和数字工具，这些学生的阅读能力就无法与那些条件优越的同学相提并论。

Family socioeconomic status is also associated with reading achievement growth during the summer. Students from high socioeconomic status families continue to grow in their ability to read after kindergarten and students from low socioeconomic status families fall behind in their reading growth at a comparable amount. Additionally, the summer setback disproportionately affects African American and Hispanic students because they are more likely than White students to come from low socioeconomic status families. Also, low socioeconomic status families typically lack the appropriate resources to continue reading growth when school is not in session. After the long summer break, it is found that the reading literacy gap between middle and lower class students is about 3 months long. This is a substantial amount of skills lost over a period of break from classes that, if not addressed, can grow extremely worse over time. It is especially important to address this issue and create solutions for young students of low socioeconomic status in order to address the cycle of disadvantages faced by these communities. Studies show that by providing books to disadvantaged students over the summer, the reading achievement dramatically improves for elementary school students. Specifically, providing access to self-selected books consistently over the months of summers is successful in limiting reading setbacks. Many of these students continue to feel discouraged, have less motivation and therefore fall more behind. By providing encouragement through opportunity, there is more chance of future success in literacy development.

家庭社会经济地位也与暑期阅读能力的增长有关。来自高社会经济地位家庭的学生在幼儿园之后阅读能力持续提升，而来自低社会经济地位家庭的学生则在阅读能力增长方面明显滞后。此外，这种“暑期滑坡”现象对非裔和拉美裔学生的影响尤为严重，因为与白人学生相比，他们更有可能来自低社会经济地位家庭。同时，低社会经济地位家庭往往缺乏必要的资源，难以在学校放假期间维持阅读能力的增长。研究发现，经过漫长的暑假，中产阶级家庭学生与低收入家庭学生之间在阅读素养方面会产生约三个月的差距。这种在假期中流失的技能相当可观；若不加以解决，差距可能会随时间推移而进一步扩大。针对低社会经济地位家庭的年幼学生解决这一问题并制定相应对策至关重要，这有助于打破这些群体所面临的劣势循环。研究表明，在暑假期间为处于不利地位的学生提供书籍，能显著提升小学生（尤其是低收入家庭学生）的阅读成绩。具体而言，在整个暑假期间持续提供学生可自主选择的书籍，能有效遏制阅读能力的退步。许多此类学生往往感到气馁、缺乏动力，从而导致学业进一步落后。通过提供机会给予鼓励，能为他们未来的读写能力发展创造更多成功的可能。

Neighborhood influence 邻里影响

The neighborhood setting in which children grow up contributes to reading disparities between low and high socioeconomic status children. These neighborhood qualities include but are not limited to garbage or litter in the street, individuals selling or using drugs in the street, burglary or robbery in the area, violent crime in the area, vacant homes in the area, and how safe it is to play in the neighborhood. Low socioeconomic status children are more likely to grow up in such neighborhood conditions than their high socioeconomic status peers. Community support for the school and poor physical conditions surrounding the school are also associated with children's reading. Neighborhood factors help explain the variation in reading scores in school entry, and especially as children move on to higher grades. As low socioeconomic status children in poor neighborhood environments get older, they fall further behind their high socioeconomic status peers in reading growth and thus have a more difficult time developing reading skills at grade level.

In a study, it was determined that when low-income families are moved from poor neighborhoods to suburban neighborhoods, there are reductions in delinquency in children. When comparing different social statuses of families, the environment of a neighborhood turns out to be a major factor in contributing to the growth of a child.

儿童成长的社区环境会影响低收入家庭儿童和高收入家庭儿童的阅读能力差距。这些社区环境因素包括但不限于：街道上的垃圾、街头贩卖或吸毒者、入室盗窃或抢劫、暴力犯罪、空置房屋以及社区的安全性。低收入家庭儿童比高收入家庭儿童更有可能在这样的社区环境中成长。社区对学校的支持以及学校周边糟糕的硬件设施也与儿童的阅读能力相关。社区因素有助于解释入学时以及升入高年级后儿童阅读成绩的差异。随着居住在贫困社区的低收入家庭儿童年龄增长，他们在阅读能力发展方面与高收入家庭儿童的差距越来越大，因此更难达到年级阅读水平。

一项研究表明，当低收入家庭从贫困社区搬迁到郊区社区时，儿童的犯罪率会降低。 在比较不同社会地位的家庭时，邻里环境被证明是影响儿童成长的重要因素。

School influence 学校的影响

School characteristics, including characteristics of peers and teachers, contribute to reading disparities between low and high socioeconomic status children. For instance, peers play a role in influencing early reading proficiency. In low socioeconomic status schools, there are higher concentrations of less skilled, lower socioeconomic status, and minority peers who have lower gains in reading. The number of children reading below grade and the presence of low-income peers were consistently associated with initial achievement and growth rates. Low socioeconomic status peers tend to have limited skills and fewer economic resources than high socioeconomic status children, which makes it difficult for children to grow in their reading ability. The most rapid growth of reading ability happens between the spring of kindergarten and the spring of first grade. Teacher experience (number of years teaching at a particular school and the number of years teaching a particular grade level), teacher preparation to teach (based on the number of courses taken on early education, elementary education, and child development), the highest degree earned, and the number of courses taken on teaching reading all determine whether or not a reading teacher is qualified. Low socioeconomic status students are more likely to have less qualified teachers, which is associated with their reading growth rates being significantly lower than the growth rates of their high socioeconomic status counterparts.

学校特征，包括同伴和教师的特征，都会影响低收入家庭儿童和高收入家庭儿童的阅读能力差距。例如，同伴在影响早期阅读能力方面发挥着重要作用。在低收入家庭学校，技能较差、社会经济地位较低以及少数族裔的同伴更为集中，他们的阅读进步也较慢。阅读水平低于年级标准的儿童人数以及低收入同伴的存在与儿童的初始成绩和阅读能力增长速度密切相关。低收入家庭的同伴往往技能有限，经济资源也比高收入家庭的儿童少，这使得他们的阅读能力难以提升。阅读能力增长最快的时期是幼儿园春季到一年级春季之间。教师的经验（在特定学校的教龄和特定年级的教龄）、教师的教学准备（基于早期教育、小学教育和儿童发展相关课程的数量）、获得的最高学历以及阅读教学相关课程的数量，都会影响阅读教师的资质。 低社会经济地位的学生更有可能遇到资质较差的教师，这与他们的阅读增长率明显低于高社会经济地位学生的阅读增长率有关。

Influences on nonverbal behavior 

影响非语言行为的因素

Children of parents with a high socioeconomic status tended to express more disengagement behaviors than their peers of low socioeconomic status.  In this context, disengagement behaviors included self-grooming, fidgeting with nearby objects, and doodling while being addressed. In contrast, engagement behaviors included head nods, eyebrow raises, laughter and gazes at one's partner. These cues indicated an interest in one's partner and the desire to deepen and enhance the relationship. Participants of low socioeconomic status tended to express more engagement behaviors toward their conversational partners, while their high socioeconomic status counterparts displayed more disengagement behaviors. Authors hypothesized that, as socioeconomic status rises, the capacity to fulfill one's needs also increases. This may lead to greater feelings of independence, making individuals of high socioeconomic status less inclined to gain rapport with conversational partners because they are less likely to need their assistance in the future.

父母社会经济地位较高的孩子比社会经济地位较低的同龄人更容易表现出疏离行为。这些疏离行为包括整理仪容、摆弄附近的物品以及在被交谈时涂鸦。相反，积极参与的行为包括点头、扬眉、大笑以及注视对方。这些信号表明了对对方的兴趣以及加深和提升关系的愿望。社会经济地位较低的参与者往往对谈话对象表现出更多的积极参与行为，而社会经济地位较高的参与者则表现出更多的疏离行为。作者假设，随着社会经济地位的提高，满足自身需求的能力也会增强。这可能会导致更强的独立感，使得社会经济地位较高的人不太愿意与谈话对象建立融洽的关系，因为他们认为自己未来不太可能需要对方的帮助。