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Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
14:05

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses

Published on: January 23, 2017

Mother-child interaction and the cognitive and behavioural development of four-year-old children with poor growth

C Puckering1, A Pickles, D Skuse

  • 1Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Glasgow, U.K.

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
|May 1, 1995
PubMed

Insights

Children with persistent poor growth showed cognitive delays. While maternal negativity affected behavior, quality of stimulation impacted cognition. Other factors likely caused the developmental delay, not just parenting.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Pediatric Health
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Persistent poor growth (failure to thrive) in children can impact development.
  • Inner-city environments present unique challenges for child health and development.
  • Understanding factors influencing cognitive and behavioral outcomes is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate cognitive development in stunted, healthy inner-city children.
  • To examine the relationship between parenting practices and child outcomes.
  • To identify potential causes of developmental delay in children with poor growth.

Main Methods:

  • Survey of an inner-city population to identify stunted children.
  • Matched comparison group for cognitive assessment.
  • Unstructured home observations and transcripts of mother-child interactions.

Main Results:

  • Stunted children exhibited significantly retarded cognitive development compared to controls.
  • Child behavioral adjustment correlated with maternal negativity.
  • Cognitive performance was linked to the quality of home stimulation.

Conclusions:

  • Developmental delay in chronically undergrowing children may stem from factors beyond current parenting.
  • Previous biological insults could be a contributing factor to developmental delay.
  • While parenting influences behavior and cognition, it may not be the sole cause of failure to thrive-associated delays.

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