Maternal-child interaction in survivors of severe malnutrition who received psychosocial stimulation

Jamaican children who had recovered from severe malnutrition 3 years previously (CM group) were observed with their mothers in a structured play situation. Their behaviour was compared with two other groups; another severely malnourished group which had participated in an intervention programme of psychosocial stimulation (IM group) and an adequately nourished group (controls). All children were subjects in a longitudinal intervention study (Grantham-McGregor, Schofield & Powell, 1987). Both malnourished groups had very low levels of development (DQ) initially. The CM group's DQs remained low but the IM group caught up to the controls. During the observation the CM children stayed nearer their mothers and played less than the children in other groups. It was hypothesized that this behaviour could have contributed to their poor development. The IM children behaved similarly to the controls. It is probable that non-nutritional intervention had changed their behaviour. Only little differences were found between the mothers.