Effects of nutritional supplementation on children's responses to novel, frustrating, and competitive situations

The effects of caloric supplementation for pregnant women and children from an endemically malnourished population on children's school age behavior were examined. The child's abilities to respond to routinely stressful problem-solving situations and to interact appropriately with peers were the dependent variables. Seventy-eight boys and 60 girls in rural Guatemala received different amounts of food supplementation, pre- and postnatally, as part of the INCAP Longitudinal Study. Children were classified as High or Low Supplementation, based on supplemental caloric intake prenatally and from birth to four years. When measured at 6 to 8 yr, High Supplementation children showed more interest in and exploration of a novel environment, more involvement in a competitive game, greater persistence on a frustrating task, better motor impulse control, and greater initiative across several group tasks than did Low Supplementation children. In free play with peers, the High Supplementation children showed more frequent happy affect, social involvement, and moderate activity level, and were less frequently timid or anxious. Results are consistent with findings from studies on the effects of early undernutrition on infant behavior, and suggest that behavior impairments associated with early undernutrition have long-term consequences for the child's development.