1. Associations between caregiver mental health and young children’s behaviour in a rural Kenyan sample
- Author
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Laurenzi, Christina A, Hunt, Xanthe, Skeen, Sarah, Sundin, Phillip, Weiss, Robert E, Kosi, Victor, Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane, and Tomlinson, Mark
- Subjects
Health Services and Systems ,Health Sciences ,Depression ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Mental Health ,Clinical Research ,Mental health ,Good Health and Well Being ,Adult ,Anxiety ,Caregivers ,Child ,Child ,Preschool ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Humans ,Kenya ,Child behaviour ,caregiver depression ,caregiver anxiety ,parenting stress ,Sub-Saharan Africa ,Public Health and Health Services ,Epidemiology ,Public health - Abstract
Background: Research shows that caregiver mental health problems have direct, significant effects on child behaviour. While these risks are amplified in low-resource settings, limited evidence exists from these places, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Objective: We measured associations between caregiver mental health and child behaviour in a rural Kenyan sample, hypothesizing that higher rates of caregiver mental health would be associated with increased child behavioural problems. We also sought to provide an overview of caregiver mental health symptoms in our sample. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected from caregivers of children ages 4-5 years old enrolled in a community-based early child development programme in western Kenya. 465 caregivers were recruited and assessed at baseline, and answered questions about child behaviour, mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, stress), and help-seeking. A multivariate linear regression model was used to assess significance of each mental health factor. Results: Caregiver anxiety (p = 0.01) and parenting stress (p
- Published
- 2021