Longitudinal cohort study uncovers drivers of behavior problems and prosocial skills in preschoolers, suggesting behavioral issues remain malleable to parenting inputs.
Key Points
Investigate child, maternal, and household risk and protective factors associated with social-emotional development and behavioral difficulties in preschool children in rural Ghana.
Analyzed multimodal data collected between 2022 and 2024 using cross-sectional regression and longitudinal lagged models.
Controlled for baseline prosocial skills and behavioral problems while evaluating child (e.g., age, anthropometry), maternal (e.g., mental health, relationship quality, discipline), and household factors.
Prosocial skills were cross-sectionally associated with child age, height-for-age, and nonviolent discipline, but these associations did not persist in longitudinal lagged models.
Protective factors against behavioral difficulties included close mother-child relationships, nonviolent discipline, and maternal time spent with the child.
Persistent risk factors for behavioral difficulties across cross-sectional and lagged models included maternal mental health problems, mother-child conflict, stimulating activities, and negative parenting styles.