This study aims to first develop a child-centered measure of structural racism (SR) for four racial/ethnic groups (Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander) and then evaluate the validity of this child-centered SR measure by testing its association with children’s health in a multilevel analysis. State-level SR will be based on indicators from the American Community Survey and the Stanford Education Data Archive, capturing both children’s direct SR exposure and mediated

exposure through their families. Individual-level data on children’s health and controls come from the National Survey of Children’s Health. Preliminary results based on six indicators (median household income, housing instability, poverty rate, rental housing, bachelor’s degree, and segregation) reveal noticeable divergence between the child-centered and adult-oriented approaches (lowest correlation: 0.476). This limited alignment affirms the theoretical and empirical value of child-specific measurement for understanding how structural racism gets under the skin from a life course perspective.