Center for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
Center for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
Acta Psychol (Amst). 2022 Oct;230:103743. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103743. Epub 2022 Sep 18.
Efforts to identify the predictors of maternal knowledge on Early Child Development (ECD) have proven inconclusive thus far, particularly with respect to socially deprived contexts in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). We quantified the extent of ECD knowledge among mothers who were the primary caregivers of 0-38-month-old infants in marginalized communities in Mexico. We also explored the characteristics of the children, both individually and with regard to their households, given the influence of these factors on childhood development.
We analyzed primary data obtained through a questionnaire administered to mothers who were the primary caregivers of 1045 girls and boys 0-38 months of age. The instrument was specifically designed for our study in order to explore the knowledge of participants about physical, neurological and psycho-affective development during childhood. We performed fractional regression analysis to assess the predictors of ECD knowledge.
The mean score of maternal ECD knowledge increased with their age and schooling as well as with their levels of cognitive ability and self-esteem. Irrespective of age at first birth, mean knowledge was relatively high for women with high school education and low for women with elementary or no formal education, a gradient with respect to age at fist birth was more marked among women with middle school education. ECD knowledge scores increased among mothers from households enjoying higher socioeconomic levels and from households with health insurance. Scores were lower for indigenous households regardless of their participation in social programs.
Public policies on ECD should promote programs that are not only adapted to specific contexts, but also designed to improve shared child-rearing, early childhood care and as well as psycho-emotional education skills as a pathway to healthier ECD. The participation of families and communities in sensitive childhood care should form part of multisectoral programs involving education, health and wellbeing.
迄今为止，人们努力识别母亲对早期儿童发展（ECD）的知识的预测因素，但尚未得出明确结论，特别是在中低收入国家（LMICs）的社会贫困背景下。我们量化了在墨西哥边缘社区中，作为 0-38 个月大婴儿主要照顾者的母亲对 ECD 知识的掌握程度。我们还探讨了儿童的特征，包括个体特征和家庭特征，因为这些因素会影响儿童的发展。
我们分析了通过专门为我们的研究设计的问卷从 1045 名 0-38 个月大的女孩和男孩的主要照顾者中获得的原始数据。该工具旨在探索参与者对儿童期身体、神经和心理情感发展的知识。我们进行了分数回归分析，以评估 ECD 知识的预测因素。
母亲 ECD 知识的平均得分随着年龄和受教育程度的提高而增加，也随着认知能力和自尊心的提高而增加。不论初育年龄如何，受过高中教育的女性平均知识水平相对较高，而受过小学或没有正规教育的女性平均知识水平较低，初中教育程度的女性在初育年龄方面的梯度更为明显。来自享有较高社会经济水平家庭和有医疗保险家庭的母亲的 ECD 知识得分较高。无论是否参与社会项目，土著家庭的得分都较低。
ECD 公共政策应促进不仅适应特定背景，而且旨在提高共同育儿、幼儿护理以及心理情感教育技能的方案，这是实现更健康的 ECD 的途径。家庭和社区参与敏感儿童护理应成为涉及教育、健康和福祉的多部门方案的一部分。
