Conceptualizing a Monitoring System for Indicators in Middle Childhood

Middle childhood is often overlooked by researchers and policy makers. However, it is a unique developmental period with its own set of tasks and milestones, and inattention to the needs of this population can have consequences for adolescent and adult functioning. While research on middle childhood is limited compared with adolescence and early childhood, we take a distinctively developmental approach and draw on existing conceptual models and research for adolescence and middle childhood to identify domains and constructs that describe the health and well-being of the middle childhood population. This paper is the first of two papers in a multi-stage process of creating such a monitoring system. In this paper, we (1) review and synthesize relevant existing conceptual frameworks (generally developed for adolescents in the U.S.) that could be adapted for the middle childhood population, (2) outline considerations for identifying multiple domains of functioning within the child and specify multiple contexts of influence for a middle childhood monitoring system, (3) propose criteria for identifying constructs and indicators, and (4) suggest potential constructs and indicators to be reviewed by various stakeholders.