Publication: Better Social-emotional Behavior in Young Nepali Children is Associated with Household Wealth, Child Age, and Family Participation in a Community Development Intervention
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kathmandu University
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background
Mental health and behavior problems are under-recognized in low- and middle-
income countries, especially in young children. Early identification of these problems
could encourage governments to address the shortages of child mental health
professionals and promote early intervention programs to help children achieve their
full developmental potential.
Objective
Describe the social-emotional development of young rural Nepali children; explore
risk factors for poor development.
Method
The study was embedded in a longitudinal intervention trial comparing control
households with those who received training in family nutrition+livestock
management (Partial Package) or family nutrition+livestock management+community
mobilization (Full Package). At midline, enumerators completed a 145-item
household questionnaire, child anthropometry, and Administered the Ages and
Stages Questionnaire-Social-Emotional (ASQ-SE) to all enrolled children age 33-47
months (n=310). Bivariate and regression analyses examined the relationship of
child and household risk factors to administered the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-
Social-Emotional scores.
Result
Administered the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-Social-Emotional scores were below
age cutoffs in 24% of children, suggesting worse social-emotional development. In
bivariate analyses and the adjusted linear regression model, older child age, greater
household wealth, and Full Package Intervention status were all associated with
better social-emotional development scores. Partial Package Intervention status was
associated with worse scores.
Conclusion
The Administered the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-Social-Emotional is a potential
tool to assess child social-emotional development in the context of household
and community level interventions. Further work is necessary to validate the
administered the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-Social-Emotional and similar tools
in Nepal, and to better understand the prevalence of challenges to optimal social-
emotional development in young children in order to use this information to design
and monitor needed interventions.
KEY WORDS
Child development, Community, Developing countries, Social behavior
Description
Miller LC,1 Neupane S,2 Shrestha M,3 Joshi N,4 Lohani M,5 Thorne-Lyman A6
1Department of Pediatrics
Tufts Medical Center and Friedman School of Nutrition
Science and Policy, Tufts University, 800 Washington
St., Boston MA 02111, USA
2 Program Manager, Division of Poverty, Health and Nutrition. International Food Policy Research Institute, Block C, NASC Complex, DPS Marg
Opposite Todapur, Pusa, New Delhi 110012
3Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University
Kathmandu, Nepal
4Senior Director of Asia Programs
5Senior Vice President of Programs
Heifer International, 1 World Ave, Little Rock AR
72202, USA.
5Department of International Health, Bloomberg
School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E2545, Baltimore, MD
21205 USA
Keywords
Child development, Community, Developing countries, Social behavior