Social determinants of health and developmental profiles among diverse Chinese youth

Comprising a substantial proportion of the global youth population, Chinese youth play critical roles in Chinese and global societies. Yet extensive research on the development of Chinese youth has mainly taken a deficit approach. A comprehensive understanding of their holistic developmental profiles and their profiles' associations with social determinants of health (SDOHs) is needed. This person-centered study collected data from a nationally representative sample of 16,317 Chinese youth (M_age = 13.13 ± 2.52 years, 47.94% girls) on their negative and positive developmental indicators and key SDOHs. Four distinct profiles were identified: lower positive, moderately positive, thriving, and higher positive but highest negative (troubled). The likelihood of different profile memberships among youth was significantly predicted by the SDOHs examined. The findings revealed diverse coexisting patterns of negative and positive indicators and underscored the need to attend to SDOHs, which may generate differentially favorable profiles among youth through unequal exposure to stress or benefit from allocated resources.