Overcoming the streetlight effect: Qualitative examination of community experts' perceptions of foundations of learning and development (FOLD) skills.

Developmental science has a long history of studying skills that children need to thrive. However, there has been a primary focus on academic skills, with little attention to the breadth and diversity of other skills that young children need to thrive. Furthermore, little is known about the extent to which community experts involved in early childhood care and education (ECCE) value different early developmental skills.

Caregiver mental health and school-aged children's academic and socioemotional outcomes: Examining associations and mediators in Northern Ghana.

While there is a strong link between caregiver mental health, caregiver engagement, and child development, limited research has examined the underlying mechanisms of these associations in Africa. We examined the mediating role of dimensions of caregiver engagement in the association of caregiver psychological distress with children's academic and socioemotional outcomes in Ghana. Data came from 4,714 children (aged 5-17 years) and their caregivers in five regions of northern Ghana.

The interplay of maternal and paternal postpartum depressive symptoms with children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms from childhood to adolescence: does socioeconomic status matter? A longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Maternal postpartum depression is an important risk factor for internalizing and externalizing problems in children. The role of concurrent paternal depression remains unclear, especially by socioeconomic status. This study examined independent and interactive associations of postpartum maternal and paternal depression with children's internalizing/externalizing symptoms throughout childhood and adolescence (ages 3.

Effects of multi-component parenting and parental mental health interventions on early childhood development and parent outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Interventions supporting parents of young children often target parenting or parental mental health separately. Multi-component parenting and parental mental health interventions have the potential to improve parenting practices, mental health, and early childhood development. We aimed to examine their impact on child and parent outcomes.

Childhood and Adolescent Depression Symptoms and Young Adult Mental Health and Psychosocial Outcomes.

Importance: Depression is a leading cause of disability. The timing and persistence of depression may be differentially associated with long-term mental health and psychosocial outcomes.

Objective: To examine if depression symptoms during early and middle childhood and adolescence and persistent depression symptoms are associated with impaired young adult outcomes independent of early risk factors.

A qualitative study of maternal and paternal parenting knowledge and practices in rural Mozambique.

Background: Providing nurturing care for young children is essential for promoting early child development (ECD). However, there is limited knowledge about how mothers and fathers across diverse contexts in sub-Saharan Africa care for their children and from whom they receive guidance and support in their caregiving roles. We aimed to examine caregivers' nurturing care practices and sources of parenting knowledge in rural Mozambique.

Understanding modifiable caregiver factors contributing to child development among young children in rural Malawi.

This study examined modifiable caregiver factors influencing child development in Malawi using baseline data from 1,021 mothers and their children <2 years of age participating in a cluster-randomized controlled trial implemented in rural Malawi (2022-2025). We fit an evidence-based theoretical model using structural equation modelling examining four caregiver factors: (1) diet diversity (sum of food groups consumed in the past 24 h), (2) empowerment (assessed using the project-level Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index), (3) mental health (assessed using the Self-Reported Questionnaire, SRQ-20), and (4) stimulation (number of stimulation activities the mother engaged in the past 3 days). Child development was assessed using the Malawi Development Assessment Tool (norm-referenced aggregate Z-score).

Fathers' mental health and coping strategies: a qualitative study in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Objectives: To investigate the nature of paternal mental health problems, their causes and the coping strategies used by fathers of young children under the age of 2 years.

Design And Setting: We conducted in-depth interviews with fathers, mothers, community leaders and community health workers as well as focus group discussions with fathers-only, mothers-only and mixed groups of fathers and mothers. Respondents provided their perspectives on the psychosocial challenges affecting fathers and how fathers responded to their mental health problems.

A meta-analytic review of the implementation characteristics in parenting interventions to promote early child development.

This review summarizes the implementation characteristics of parenting interventions to promote early child development (ECD) outcomes from birth to 3 years. We included 134 articles representing 123 parenting trials (PROSPERO record CRD42022285998). Studies were conducted across high-income (62%) and low-and-middle-income (38%) countries.

Effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting and nutrition interventions on early child development and maternal and paternal parenting in Mara, Tanzania: a factorial cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: Multicomponent interventions are needed to address the various co-occurring risks that compromise early child nutrition and development. We compared the independent and combined effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting components into a nutrition intervention on early child development (ECD) and parenting outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a 2×2 factorial cluster-randomized controlled trial across 80 villages in Mara Region, Tanzania, also known as EFFECTS (Engaging Fathers for Effective Child Nutrition and Development in Tanzania; ClinicalTrials.

Formative research to inform the future design of a multicomponent fatherhood intervention to improve early child development in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Fathers can influence child development through various pathways, such as via their caregiving behaviors, marital relationships, and their psychosocial wellbeing. However, few parenting interventions have been designed to target these multiple dimensions among fathers with young children in low- and middle-income countries. In June 2022, we conducted qualitative formative research to explore the perceptions surrounding fatherhood and the underlying barriers and enablers to engaged fathering in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Implementation of UNICEF and WHO's care for child development package: Lessons from a global review and key informant interviews.

Introduction: In the last decade, there has been increased global policy and program momentum to promote early childhood development. The Care for Child Development (CCD) package, developed by UNICEF and the WHO, is a key tool responding to the global demand. The CCD package comprises two age-specific evidence-based recommendations for caregivers to 1) play and communicate and 2) responsively interact with their children (0-5 years) and was designed to be integrated within existing services to strengthen nurturing care for child development.

Adverse childhood experiences and maternal self-efficacy: Examining the mediating role of intimate partner violence and the moderating role of caste membership in rural India.

Maternal self-efficacy (MSE) is associated with healthy functioning in mothers and children globally. Maternal exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) is known to negatively impact MSE in high-income countries; however, the association has not been examined in low-and-middle-income countries, such as India, which face socioeconomic risks including poverty, illiteracy, and discrimination based on caste membership. The present study examines the mediating role of IPV in the association between ACEs (specifically-emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, and discrimination) and MSE and tests caste membership as a moderator.

Adolescents' internalizing symptoms predict dating violence victimization and perpetration 2 years later.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine bidirectional associations of adolescents' internalizing symptoms with dating violence . We conducted secondary analyses of the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development data ( = 974). Each adolescent completed items from the Conflict Tactics Scale (at ages 15 and 17 years) to assess in the past 12 months.

Maternal depressive symptoms and children's cognitive school readiness: the role of gene-environment interplay.

Maternal depressive symptoms are a robust risk factor for poor cognitive outcomes in children, yet the role of gene-environment interplay in this association is not well understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate gene-environment interaction in the association between maternal depressive symptoms and children's cognitive school readiness. Data come from a population-based birth cohort of 538 twin pairs.

The Long-Term Health and Human Capital Consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Birth to Thirty Cohort: Single, Cumulative, and Clustered Adversity.

Human capital-that is the cumulative abilities, education, social skills, and mental and physical health one possesses-is increasingly recognized as key to the reduction of inequality in societies. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to a range of human capital indicators, with the majority of research in high-income, western settings. This study aims to examine the link between adverse childhood experiences and adult human capital in a South African birth cohort and to test whether associations differ by measurement of adversity.

Effects of COVID-19 on child health services utilization and delivery in rural Mozambique: a qualitative study.

Little is known about the COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions in health services and the resilience of the health system response in rural low-resource settings. We conducted a phenomenological qualitative study (October-November 2020) to understand COVID-19-related influences on the utilization and delivery of child health services in Monapo district, rural Mozambique. We interviewed 36 caregivers with children <2.

Revisiting trajectories of BMI in youth: An in-depth analysis of differences between BMI and other adiposity measures.

Objective: Body mass index (BMI) is used to identify trajectories of adiposity in youth, but it does not distinguish fat- from fat-free-mass. There are other inexpensive measures of adiposity which might better capture fat-mass in youth The objective of this study is to examine differences between sex-specific trajectories of BMI and other adiposity indicators (subscapular and triceps skinfold thickness, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio) which may better capture fat-mass in youth.

Methods: Data come from four cycles of a longitudinal cohort of 1293 students in Montréal, Canada at ages 12, 15, 17 and 24.

A pilot to promote early child development within health systems in Mozambique: a qualitative evaluation.

Health systems offer unique opportunities for integrating services to promote early child development (ECD). However, there is limited knowledge about the implementation experiences of using health services to target nurturing care and ECD, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a qualitative implementation evaluation to assess the delivery, acceptability, perceived changes, and barriers and facilitators associated with a pilot strategy that integrated developmental monitoring, nutritional screening, and early learning and nutrition counseling into the existing health facility, and community-based services for young children in rural Mozambique.

Barriers and facilitators to father involvement in early child health services: A qualitative study in rural Mozambique.

Engaging men and increasing their involvement as partners and parents can improve child health and development. Despite the increasing global evidence and advocacy around father involvement and caregiving, there remain few father-inclusive interventions for promoting early child health, especially within primary health systems in low- and middle-income countries. In this study, we explored community perspectives regarding fathers' roles in early child health services during the first three years of life to identify the barriers and facilitators to father involvement in Monapo District in northern, rural Mozambique.

Analysis of Maternal Postnatal Depression, Socioeconomic Factors, and Offspring Internalizing Symptoms in a Longitudinal Cohort in South Africa.

Importance: Few studies from low-and-middle income countries have investigated long-term associations between maternal postnatal depression and offspring internalizing (ie, depressive and anxiety) symptoms, and none have investigated interactions in this association.

Objective: To investigate the association between maternal postnatal depression and offspring internalizing symptoms from adolescence to adulthood and the interaction with exposure to socioeconomic adversity and with the child's sex.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This secondary analysis used data from Birth to Twenty Plus (BT20+), a prospective birth cohort study of children born in Soweto, South Africa, and followed up until age 28 years.

Adolescent Mental Health Problems and Adult Human Capital: Findings From the South African Birth to Twenty Plus Cohort at 28 Years of Age.

Purpose: We investigated associations between adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems and adult human capital in a non-Western setting. Little is known about adolescent mental health problems and adult outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, many of which are characterized by high levels of adversities.

Methods: Data came from the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort, started in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1990.

Sex differences in the association between maternal depression and child and adolescent cognitive development: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Maternal depression is negatively associated with cognitive development across childhood and adolescence, with mixed evidence on whether this association differs in boys and girls. Herein, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of sex-specific estimates of the association between maternal depression and offspring cognitive outcomes.

Method: Seven databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL, Scopus, ProQuest) were searched for studies examining the longitudinal association between maternal depression and offspring (up to 18 years) cognitive outcomes.