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Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection
Published on: May 31, 2024
A scoping review of responsive caregiving in diverse populations and its association with child development
Eunice Lobo1, Sandeep Mahapatra2, Joshua Jeong3
1Indian Institute of Public Health - Bengaluru, Public Health Foundation of India, Bengaluru, India; PHFI Centre for Developmental and Lifecourse Research, Bengaluru, India; Centre for Health Systems, Institute of Public Health Bengaluru, Bengaluru, India; Department of Family Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, Maastricht, 6200, MD, the Netherlands.
Background:
Responsive caregiving is a key component of nurturing care and crucial for early child development. While responsive caregiving has been examined in multiple studies, a comprehensive review summarizing findings from these studies across diverse caregiver, child, cultural, and socio-economic contexts is currently lacking.
Methods:
We conducted a scoping review to synthesize evidence on (1) caregiver, child, and contextual factors influencing responsive caregiving and (2) association between responsive caregiving and children's neurodevelopment and mental health. We included peer-reviewed English articles describing responsive caregiving for children aged 0-8 years. Articles were systematically searched in PubMed, Web of Science, APA PsychInfo, APA PsycArticles, SocINDEX, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of included articles. Relevant data were extracted, collated, and synthesized into descriptive summaries and associations with children's development.
Results:
We retrieved 7412 unique studies for title/abstract screening and 541 full-texts were screened and 138 studies met the inclusion criteria. Caregiver characteristics, including caregiver type, maternal health, and demographics, influenced responsive caregiving, with notable differences between mothers and fathers. Child-level factors, such as developmental disabilities, age, term or preterm birth status, and gender, also shaped responsive caregiving. Cultural context and socio-economic status also influenced responsive caregiving across populations. Language development was the most frequently reported with responsive caregiving.
Conclusion:
This scoping review maps how caregiver, child, and contextual factors influence responsive caregiving. Significant gaps remain in understanding caregiving in the under-researched Global South settings. Policymakers and practitioners should consider socio-cultural contexts, along with the pathways and mechanisms, when designing inclusive interventions that strengthen caregiving and support child development.
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