ABSTRACT
Child health is determined by a complex interplay of factors. Conflicting explanations for differences in child health outcomes between and within child populations have been advanced: one large school of thought has focused on parenting and variables within the child's micro environment; the opposing school has focused on the macro environment in which child populations live with particular emphasis on the socioeconomic determinants. This chapter explores the relationship between macro and micro environmental influences on child health using data from a range of studies and the causal pathways by which socio-economic and socio-cultural variables in the macro environment may influence the child's micro environment. The concept of proximal and distal causes is used to consider causal models. The chapter concludes by proposing a framework for the use of causal pathways in the study of child health outcomes.
