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Gender differences in the quality of psychosocial stimulation in rural Bangladesh homes
S J Hossain1, F Tofail2, M I Hasan1
1Maternal and Child Health Division (MCHD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Insights
In rural Bangladesh, girls aged eight received slightly better home stimulation than boys, according to the Middle Childhood-Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (MC-HOME) tool. While statistically significant, this difference in child development may not be functionally important.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Pediatrics
- Sociology
Background:
- Limited understanding of gender's impact on home stimulation for children.
- Home stimulation is critical for overall child development.
- Focus on middle childhood in rural Bangladesh.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gender differences in the quality of psychosocial stimulation provided to children at home.
- To document variations in home learning environments for boys and girls in middle childhood.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from a long-term follow-up of a 2015 cluster randomized controlled trial.
- Adapted the Middle Childhood-Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (MC-HOME) to assess home stimulation quality.
- Employed t-tests, chi-squared tests, and multiple regression analysis for data analysis.
Main Results:
- 372 child-mother dyads participated; no significant socio-economic or anthropometric differences between genders.
- Girls showed a statistically significant advantage in total MC-HOME scores compared to boys (p=0.014) around age 8.
- A higher prevalence of electricity in homes was observed among girls (p=0.027).
Conclusions:
- Findings may inform child development policy in Bangladesh.
- The observed gender difference in home stimulation, though statistically significant, is weak and potentially lacks functional importance.
- Further research may be needed to understand the practical implications of these subtle differences.
Background:
Little is known about whether and to what extent gender differences affect the stimulation children receive at home, which is crucial to child development. The aim of this study was to document the differences, if any, in the quality of psychosocial stimulation boys and girls receive at home in middle childhood in rural Bangladesh.
Methods:
This study was done as a part of a long-term follow-up study of a cluster randomized controlled trial in 2015. The Middle Childhood-Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (MC-HOME) was adapted and used to measure the quality of home stimulation. Post hoc analysis of the long-term follow-up study was done. Data were analysed using t-test and chi-squared test for continuous and dichotomous variables, respectively. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to control for confounders.
Results:
A total of 372 child-mother dyads participated in the study. Socio-economic and anthropometric characteristics of the boys and girls did not differ except that more girls had electricity at home (p = .027). Girls were found significantly advantaged over boys in total MC-HOME scores (p = .014) at age around 8 years.
Conclusions:
These findings will play a role for child development policy formulation in Bangladesh. However, though the difference is statistically significant, the strength of relationship is very weak and may not be of functional importance.
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